[jberm123]

Agreed. I think content plays a much more significant role than aesthetics in what makes a site "great". I mean, look at the site we're on now. HN's aesthetics are clearly outdated and "unsleek" by all modern comparisons. But the site facilitates bringing the relevant content to its users well, like Stripe's website. That's the differentiating thing Stripe does well -- its visual design is not the difference maker.

[Zenbit_UX]

HN is the exception not the rule, it's half full of devs with irrational hatred towards javascript frameworks and half full of devs with irrational devotion towards javascript frameworks. The two groups have found a tenuous peace by agreeing to direct their hatred towards designers.

As a designer, I use one of the many alternative HN clients made for my people.

[nojvek]

I don’t think we hate designers. I think they are great.

The best designers are those who are absolute maniacs at trying to figure out the essentials, ensuring every little thing has a purpose, design that helps the user get their job done. It’s fast, it’s simple, it’s readable and delightful.

I think what I as a dev loathe is bloated design, animations without a purpose, megabytes of crap that slow things down. Those social sharing buttons no one clicks.

I have a job to do, I have little patience, don’t make me feel like an idiot. Just get the job done.

[jberm123]

I think I phrased my comment wrong. I didn't mean to imply that what you actually see on the screen and how content is presented to you are unimportant. I meant aesthetically pleasing elements (like nice colors and brilliant animations) are less important components to "great" design than actually feeding content to users in the most intuitive way possible. Great designers are still very much needed to achieve the latter in my opinion.

I'm not a hater of designers :)