Design and Styling
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And why have you posted this to me? The OP doesn't get replies to other peoples answers you know. You have to specifically answer that question for them to be notified.
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So as programmers we are usually lacking good asthetic skills. Who knows why. So often we say, "Well I am not a designer but...." And before you know it we are doing the design of the UI etc. Anyways, anybody have some links to blogs or sites that are focused on do's and don'ts of design and asthetics?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Well I've looked a bit through these chapters. Maybe this is what you're searching. http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox/school/default.aspx[^] For example, the Design Principles, Chapter 1, is a recording of Robby Ingebretsen talking about some design concepts and how they apply on software.
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So as programmers we are usually lacking good asthetic skills. Who knows why. So often we say, "Well I am not a designer but...." And before you know it we are doing the design of the UI etc. Anyways, anybody have some links to blogs or sites that are focused on do's and don'ts of design and asthetics?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
One of the most common issues with UI design that seems to be missed is the consistant placement of the widgets from screen to screen. If the widgit is called "Add" then place it in the same location from screen to screen and make the functionality be the same. This will help the users learn your application quicker and they will have less frustration.
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Not really something you can teach IMO... you either have an eye for detail or you don't. If you don't have an eye for detail or don't care about stuff like aligned UI, shifted pixels, etc... you probably shouldn't be doing UI work and leave it for the guys that like that stuff.
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So as programmers we are usually lacking good asthetic skills. Who knows why. So often we say, "Well I am not a designer but...." And before you know it we are doing the design of the UI etc. Anyways, anybody have some links to blogs or sites that are focused on do's and don'ts of design and asthetics?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Try the following link - http://www.perceptualedge.com/library.php#Articles. Tons of insight into designing UI's. Also try "Microsoft Inductive User Interface Guidelines" at MSDN. But Perceptual Edge should be your first stop. :) Best Wishes Steve
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So as programmers we are usually lacking good asthetic skills. Who knows why. So often we say, "Well I am not a designer but...." And before you know it we are doing the design of the UI etc. Anyways, anybody have some links to blogs or sites that are focused on do's and don'ts of design and asthetics?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
second that for smashing magazine... here are a few bookmarks I have: http://www.sensible.com/[^] http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/[^] http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/15/10-useful-techniques-to-improve-your-user-interface-designs/[^] http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/02/7-interface-design-techniques-to-simplify-and-de-clutter-your-interfaces/[^] http://www.usernomics.com/user-interface-design.html[^] http://ui-patterns.com/patterns[^] http://colorfilter.wickline.org/[^]
Toto1107
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Of course it can be taught! Where did you get that dreamy eyed nosense? Maybe the belief that it can't be IS the problem.
Oh, absolutely!!! thats why every musician sells million of records... thats why every fashion designer is famous and selling millions and on the runways in Paris... thats why Megan Fox has a bunch of oscars... thats why ever painter can roll with Picasso and Rembrandt... thats why everybody can dance like Michael Jackson... thats why every chef is famous and has a show on the Food network... UI design is just like every other "artistic" venture out there... you might be able to teach somebody the basics, but in order for them to take it to the next level, they have to have some sort of talent. Thats why if you stepped out of your little bubble and into the real world, you'd see that some people cut hair at SuperCuts for $5/hr and some people cut hair for $2000/hr at salons in Beverly Hills.
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Oh, absolutely!!! thats why every musician sells million of records... thats why every fashion designer is famous and selling millions and on the runways in Paris... thats why Megan Fox has a bunch of oscars... thats why ever painter can roll with Picasso and Rembrandt... thats why everybody can dance like Michael Jackson... thats why every chef is famous and has a show on the Food network... UI design is just like every other "artistic" venture out there... you might be able to teach somebody the basics, but in order for them to take it to the next level, they have to have some sort of talent. Thats why if you stepped out of your little bubble and into the real world, you'd see that some people cut hair at SuperCuts for $5/hr and some people cut hair for $2000/hr at salons in Beverly Hills.
But at the same time every musician had their first lesson at some point in their life every fashion designer had some sort of mentor etc. etc. etc. Yes it may be true that you have to have natural talent, but there are still things a "natural" has to learn or they do not succeed.
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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second that for smashing magazine... here are a few bookmarks I have: http://www.sensible.com/[^] http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/[^] http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2008/12/15/10-useful-techniques-to-improve-your-user-interface-designs/[^] http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/02/7-interface-design-techniques-to-simplify-and-de-clutter-your-interfaces/[^] http://www.usernomics.com/user-interface-design.html[^] http://ui-patterns.com/patterns[^] http://colorfilter.wickline.org/[^]
Toto1107
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Thank you! Exactly what I am looking for!
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
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Smashing Magazine is hands down the best IMHO[^]... And for those who prefer to "retire to the library with a book", they've also done a couple which are worth reading...
C# has already designed away most of the tedium of C++.
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So as programmers we are usually lacking good asthetic skills. Who knows why. So often we say, "Well I am not a designer but...." And before you know it we are doing the design of the UI etc. Anyways, anybody have some links to blogs or sites that are focused on do's and don'ts of design and asthetics?
Computers have been intelligent for a long time now. It just so happens that the program writers are about as effective as a room full of monkeys trying to crank out a copy of Hamlet.
Check out smashingmagazine.com they've got awesome design tutorials. edit...nevermind, people already said that. I'd highly recommend it though.
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Oh, absolutely!!! thats why every musician sells million of records... thats why every fashion designer is famous and selling millions and on the runways in Paris... thats why Megan Fox has a bunch of oscars... thats why ever painter can roll with Picasso and Rembrandt... thats why everybody can dance like Michael Jackson... thats why every chef is famous and has a show on the Food network... UI design is just like every other "artistic" venture out there... you might be able to teach somebody the basics, but in order for them to take it to the next level, they have to have some sort of talent. Thats why if you stepped out of your little bubble and into the real world, you'd see that some people cut hair at SuperCuts for $5/hr and some people cut hair for $2000/hr at salons in Beverly Hills.
I know some very good musicians that have no interest in selling records and I hardly think Megan Fox's Oscars have much to do with the type of talent were talking about here. And I am sure that you would want Michael teaching your talented kid dance because it one of the best... Talent is only about 90% of being good at something. The other 90% is just plain hard work. Do you really have to be the Rembrandt of UI design to be good at it?
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Oh, absolutely!!! thats why every musician sells million of records... thats why every fashion designer is famous and selling millions and on the runways in Paris... thats why Megan Fox has a bunch of oscars... thats why ever painter can roll with Picasso and Rembrandt... thats why everybody can dance like Michael Jackson... thats why every chef is famous and has a show on the Food network... UI design is just like every other "artistic" venture out there... you might be able to teach somebody the basics, but in order for them to take it to the next level, they have to have some sort of talent. Thats why if you stepped out of your little bubble and into the real world, you'd see that some people cut hair at SuperCuts for $5/hr and some people cut hair for $2000/hr at salons in Beverly Hills.
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I know some very good musicians that have no interest in selling records and I hardly think Megan Fox's Oscars have much to do with the type of talent were talking about here. And I am sure that you would want Michael teaching your talented kid dance because it one of the best... Talent is only about 90% of being good at something. The other 90% is just plain hard work. Do you really have to be the Rembrandt of UI design to be good at it?
Actually, there is a common expression out there: "Those that can do and those that can't teach" :). *Sorry*, I'm not trying to say that you need to be some super special person to do UI design. What I'm trying to say is that not everybody has the eye for it to do it really well. Not every person is the creative type or the artistic type. For example, have you ever come up with anything like the Office UI before Microsoft? Have you ever invented a custom control or a new concept in UI? In regards to your other comment, I have also known some musicians who *SAID* they had no interest in selling records... one guy in particular was always hating on me for liking mainstream music, etc. then one day he got a chance to write a song for a main stream movie... hmm... suddenly he did a 180 and was interested in selling records... Anybody who says they don't care about being super successful just says that because they haven't had the chance to be. Sorry, but thats just the truth. Nobody truly thinks "I'm happy playing music in front of 20 people in a cowboy bar" vs. selling out arenas on a 50 state tour.
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I didn't realise we were talking about composing a symphony. I thought it was about designing a good working UI. To comment further: good work is 90% practise/repetition and 10% inspiration or talent.
Not true. Not true at all. I can practice playing basketball 24/7 for the next 100yrs and never come close to being able to play like Michael Jordan or Shaq. Yes, theres a lot more people who can do UI design vs. being a basketball star, but the concept is the same. Some people are just better at certain things then others... thats just life. How can I possibly explain to you "what looks good". If you showed me a UI, I could tell you what was good or bad about it, but I couldn't really teach you to decide that for yourself. I mean, over time, you might pick up on a pattern, but thats not really deciding if it looks good for yourself, now is it? :).
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Actually, there is a common expression out there: "Those that can do and those that can't teach" :). *Sorry*, I'm not trying to say that you need to be some super special person to do UI design. What I'm trying to say is that not everybody has the eye for it to do it really well. Not every person is the creative type or the artistic type. For example, have you ever come up with anything like the Office UI before Microsoft? Have you ever invented a custom control or a new concept in UI? In regards to your other comment, I have also known some musicians who *SAID* they had no interest in selling records... one guy in particular was always hating on me for liking mainstream music, etc. then one day he got a chance to write a song for a main stream movie... hmm... suddenly he did a 180 and was interested in selling records... Anybody who says they don't care about being super successful just says that because they haven't had the chance to be. Sorry, but thats just the truth. Nobody truly thinks "I'm happy playing music in front of 20 people in a cowboy bar" vs. selling out arenas on a 50 state tour.
SledgeHammer01 wrote:
Nobody truly thinks "I'm happy playing music in front of 20 people in a cowboy bar" vs. selling out arenas on a 50 state tour.
Sorry to bust your bubble on that one mate. I've been playing guitar for more years than I care to remember, and I prefer not to play the large scale stuff anymore, primarily because that would mean playing what other people want to hear rather than what I want to play. Some of the stuff I like to play has virtually zero commercial audience, but I'm happiest playing it because I love listening to it and I feel happy playing it. It has nothing to do with disliking mainstream, it's just that I've spent years getting a sound I'm happy with and that's what I'll keep playing.
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility
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SledgeHammer01 wrote:
Nobody truly thinks "I'm happy playing music in front of 20 people in a cowboy bar" vs. selling out arenas on a 50 state tour.
Sorry to bust your bubble on that one mate. I've been playing guitar for more years than I care to remember, and I prefer not to play the large scale stuff anymore, primarily because that would mean playing what other people want to hear rather than what I want to play. Some of the stuff I like to play has virtually zero commercial audience, but I'm happiest playing it because I love listening to it and I feel happy playing it. It has nothing to do with disliking mainstream, it's just that I've spent years getting a sound I'm happy with and that's what I'll keep playing.
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility
Well, I'm not going to pretend like I can read your mind, but I'm willing to bet that if you were offered a chance to play lead guitar for Britney Spears on a world wide tour and make millions, you'd probably think "I can always come back to my sound later and have a lot more freedom in doing it" :). Anyways, I think this thread has gotten a bit off topic lol (my fault :))... all I was trying to get across is that you can teach a lot of stuff, but creativity and aesthetics is not really teachable. Copying somebody elses UI doesn't make you a designer... often times you need to be able to think outside the box and not everybody is capable of that. I can teach somebody basic layout skills, but I've worked with enough software engineers in my life to know not everybody has "it" for UI design. Lots of people just think "hey, a button is a button...".
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Well, I'm not going to pretend like I can read your mind, but I'm willing to bet that if you were offered a chance to play lead guitar for Britney Spears on a world wide tour and make millions, you'd probably think "I can always come back to my sound later and have a lot more freedom in doing it" :). Anyways, I think this thread has gotten a bit off topic lol (my fault :))... all I was trying to get across is that you can teach a lot of stuff, but creativity and aesthetics is not really teachable. Copying somebody elses UI doesn't make you a designer... often times you need to be able to think outside the box and not everybody is capable of that. I can teach somebody basic layout skills, but I've worked with enough software engineers in my life to know not everybody has "it" for UI design. Lots of people just think "hey, a button is a button...".
Oh I agree - this is why I have a designer, but I'd never play for Spears. I'd rather pull my own fingernails out.
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility
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Well, I'm not going to pretend like I can read your mind, but I'm willing to bet that if you were offered a chance to play lead guitar for Britney Spears on a world wide tour and make millions, you'd probably think "I can always come back to my sound later and have a lot more freedom in doing it" :). Anyways, I think this thread has gotten a bit off topic lol (my fault :))... all I was trying to get across is that you can teach a lot of stuff, but creativity and aesthetics is not really teachable. Copying somebody elses UI doesn't make you a designer... often times you need to be able to think outside the box and not everybody is capable of that. I can teach somebody basic layout skills, but I've worked with enough software engineers in my life to know not everybody has "it" for UI design. Lots of people just think "hey, a button is a button...".
Hmm. Voted 5 to compensate for the downvote. It appears somebody doesn't like the tone of this thread.
Forgive your enemies - it messes with their heads
My blog | My articles | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier - my favourite utility