Should designers code? Why Alan Cooper might be wrong in 2025

First things first: I largely agree with Alan Cooper's argument that designers shouldn't code—except for the part where I think designers absolutely should!

Alan Cooper's perspective in brief

Alan Cooper argues that when designers understand the complexity of coding, they might unintentionally gravitate towards simpler, developer-friendly solutions instead of user-centric ones. In other words, coding knowledge might inadvertently constrain creative, user-focused design solutions.

However, Cooper does advocate for designers understanding code—not necessarily writing it—to better appreciate technical constraints and complexities. He states:

"No, designers should not code. But lurking behind the demand for designers to code is the more pertinent and useful question of whether or not designers should understand the strong forces that the coder has to wrestle with. My answer to that is an unequivocal 'Yes!'"

Why designers actually should code

Now, let's explore the reason why—in 2025—designers absolutely should embrace coding.

Between purely static Figma designs and fully-developed applications, there's a powerful intermediate step: the coded, clickable prototype.

This approach blends the strengths of both ends of the spectrum, removing their drawbacks. And it's quickly becoming mainstream in 2025.

But why is this trend emerging now?

Because modern design tools have dramatically evolved beyond static frames. Figma's introduction of advanced features—such as components, variables, and conditional rendering—already equips designers with about 80% of the conceptual knowledge required for frameworks like React.

These innovations don't just speed up workflow; they improve designers' ability to think through complex user scenarios. Speed and adaptability are now essential skills for designers—especially in a landscape shaped by AI, as previously discussed in my article Why AI won't replace designers—but might still cost you your job.

If you've mastered components, variables, and conditional rendering in Figma, you're just one step away from applying the same principles directly in code.

Taking that step opens the door to AI-driven automation in your workflow. You also gain direct access to powerful development infrastructure, like Git, allowing you to manage your design process without the hacks and limitations that come with being strictly Figma-dependent, as covered in Why designers who code will always outperform Figma-only designers.