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I have been looking into full stack developments and I am confused as I am getting different answers from people.

I know that full stack developers are responsible for front end and back end programming, but some people say that they are also responsible for designing websites as well. Can someone clarify this? If this is true, it seems impossible that someone would be able to keep up with all of the latest design/art trends while keeping up with an insane amount of languages and frameworks which constantly change (considering they would technically be doing 3 jobs in 1)

EDIT: By designing websites, I mean, are they responsible for making the template in Photoshop and then implementing it? Or will they be presented with a photoshop template which they will have to implement? It was incorrectly worded by me, so I thought I would clarify.

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closed as off-topic by MichaelT, Wayne M, GlenH7, Bart van Ingen Schenau, Kilian Foth Aug 11 '14 at 8:26

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The 'full stack developer' position description really depends on the person writing the job description. Its as broad as saying 'Java developer' without saying what part of Java. You would need to ask the person for the exact nature of the responsibilities for the position. –  MichaelT Aug 10 '14 at 23:03
    
meta.programmers.stackexchange.com/a/6488/40980 –  gnat Aug 11 '14 at 2:26

2 Answers 2

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If, by design, you mean the actual artwork or template in photoshop, then, no, full-stack developers do not typically do this.

However, there's been many a time when I've been presented with a single template and expected to extrapolate it into a functional site - this means making design choices beyond the original template. And then, typically, I've had to implement UI design that was never included in the original brief. So a full-stack developer needs to have some design skills, but not to be the designer.

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In particular very few designers in my experience have had a good grasp of using css/html/js together neatly, so in many cases it was a lot tidier to reconstruct a design image than to work with something created in a dodgy tool. If you find a designer who is good at that stuff, though, they're going to be a real asset. –  glenatron Aug 10 '14 at 23:51
up vote 1 down vote

A web developer develops, but does not necessarily design, web sites. Graphic artists design, but do not necessarily develop, web sites. You can do both but not many can do both well.

Therefore, a "full stack web developer" is not expected to also do design.

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