[luxstyle]

Why settle for a mediocre designer just because they also know how to write code. The same argument can be said for hiring a programmer.

"Only hire programmers that are good at product and design who can deliver a product that not only works well but looks well." This I'm sure would be ridiculed if I said it seriously.

Programming and design are very different fields and while you can find some people that are solid at both, most of the really good ones will have focused on their respective fields. So odds are you'll get a programmer that designs like crap as well as the designer that can't really code. Demanding that they be great at both seems naive.

[seivan]

This sorta feels like a defeatist attitude. "Oh it requires a different sort of a brain" and etc. Not sure I agree nor even would want to agree. It's also insulting to those who do both. I'm trying to do both (still learning)