Bridging the Gap: How Devs and Designers Can Work Better Together

Designers + Developers: How Font Awesome Bridges the Creative-Tech Divide

In this episode of Podcast Awesome, we dive deep into the sometimes-harmonious, sometimes-hilariously-clashing worlds of design and development. Host Matt Johnson sits down with Cory LaViska (creator of Shoelace) and Font Awesome’s very own Jory Raphael and Noah Jacobus to unpack the nuanced dynamics between developers and designers. From figma files to file formats, these pros explore how collaboration, communication, and culture shape better digital products—and friendlier Slack channels.

Whether you’ve ever been handed an impossible mockup or spent hours coding around a whimsical curve, this episode gives you the real talk (and real laughs) about bridging the gap between right-brainers and left-brainers. Spoiler: empathy is the secret weapon. 🧠💥

💡 What We Cover in This Episode

• 💬 Why communication is key—and how to make it less awkward
• 🧪 The designer-developer pairing method we swear by
• 🎨 How design systems like Shoelace create common ground
• 🍰 Why working in “vertical slices” beats serving sheet cake
• 🛠️ Figma, code pens, and using design tools in weird-but-brilliant ways
• 🎭 Killing ego culture to create safe spaces for learning

⏱️ Timestamps

• [00:01:08] Devs & Designers: The classic tension explained
• [00:02:18] Communication: The MVP of collaboration
• [00:04:34] Design/dev balance in Font Awesome’s DNA
• [00:06:21] Why mutual understanding beats “just trust me”
• [00:10:56] Vertical slices vs. horizontal disasters
• [00:13:11] Shoelace as a sandbox for team creativity
• [00:18:47] The value of shared design vocabulary
• [00:20:59] Being design-led vs. adding polish last
• [00:22:57] Breaking down silos, and why size matters (in teams!)
• [00:27:12] Creating a safe space for “stupid” questions

🗣️ Notable Quotes

"Communication is key. I think that's number one." — Cory LaViska
A simple truth that sets the tone for the whole discussion.

"Designers ask for the impossible a lot more than might be necessary." — Jory Raphael
Said with love—and a deep understanding of pixel-perfect pain.

"We always have a dev and a designer paired together on a project." — Jory Raphael
A peek into the Font Awesome philosophy: build together, from the start.

"Shoelace provides a common ground for both designers and developers to work from." — Cory LaViska
The power of a shared design language, distilled.

"Not wanting to appear in your eyes stupid... is such a great way to not learn anything." — Cory LaViska
Wisdom bomb incoming. Vulnerability FTW.

"You end up with a sheet cake that doesn’t have any frosting on it." — Jory Raphael
An extremely delicious metaphor for bad workflows.

"Good culture means it’s safe to ask the 'stupid' questions." — Cory LaViska
The unsung hero of productivity: psychological safety.

🔗 Links & Resources

• Font Awesome Website
• Shoelace: A forward-thinking web component library
• Font Awesome YouTube Channel
• Figma Plugin for Font Awesome
• Theme music by Ronnie Martin
• Audio mastering by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions

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