I spent about a 1.5 years doing design primarily as my job. I enjoy design, but I think my passion really lies in combining the design with a functional and interactive site, and that is where my exploration in coding started.
I actually first started seriously getting into development by building Photoshop extensions/plugins so that my photographer and designer friends could be more productive in their design workflows.
Finding real world problems that you can code out a solution to is a great way to start exploring what areas of development you want get into more as far as a career path goes.
For me when I transitioned from design to development at my employer, it was because I was building tools to improve our designer's day with code, coding out new UI bits for our site platform and trying to innovate in any way I could. I wanted to move past the role of designer, and I showed them that through the work I did.
At a certain point, I sat down and talked to my leadership team, and told them I wanted to move into dev full time, and they listened to my ideas and moved me into a position so that I could do development full time.
I would continue using your design skills to work on problems you find you could solve with code. Build out mockups in design programs first, think about typography choices and hierarchy when you create css for projects, and just continue to think about how your explorations within code can benefit from all your knowledge in design.
I doubt you will lose your knack for design, and stepping away from your code for a bit when you hit a snag or tough bug to think about the design aspects of your code can be a great way to approach your project with fresh eyes.
If you can find a job full time in a company you believe in, and believes in you, even if it is just design at first, then you can show them your skills, and show them where you want to go. Work hard, think about the problems unique to your situation, and work to solve them.
I spent about a 1.5 years doing design primarily as my job. I enjoy design, but I think my passion really lies in combining the design with a functional and interactive site, and that is where my exploration in coding started.
I actually first started seriously getting into development by building Photoshop extensions/plugins so that my photographer and designer friends could be more productive in their design workflows.
Finding real world problems that you can code out a solution to is a great way to start exploring what areas of development you want get into more as far as a career path goes.
For me when I transitioned from design to development at my employer, it was because I was building tools to improve our designer's day with code, coding out new UI bits for our site platform and trying to innovate in any way I could. I wanted to move past the role of designer, and I showed them that through the work I did.
At a certain point, I sat down and talked to my leadership team, and told them I wanted to move into dev full time, and they listened to my ideas and moved me into a position so that I could do development full time.
I would continue using your design skills to work on problems you find you could solve with code. Build out mockups in design programs first, think about typography choices and hierarchy when you create css for projects, and just continue to think about how your explorations within code can benefit from all your knowledge in design.
I doubt you will lose your knack for design, and stepping away from your code for a bit when you hit a snag or tough bug to think about the design aspects of your code can be a great way to approach your project with fresh eyes.
If you can find a job full time in a company you believe in, and believes in you, even if it is just design at first, then you can show them your skills, and show them where you want to go. Work hard, think about the problems unique to your situation, and work to solve them.
I wish you the best of luck!
Thank you very much! It means a lot.