I would start with Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1933820241?tag=bagcheckcom00-20), reason being that from an incremental perspective, a developer should be in control of how the user interacts with the application, not with the design elements (which most designers believe are the interaction). CRUD is the basis of the user experience, everything else is just fluff.
It won't teach developers anything about Photoshop or CSS, but it's an incredible book in terms of Visual Iconography and its effects on readers/users.
His follow up 'Reinventing Comics' is also a must read.
To quote Will Wright (The Sims, Spore)
"Anyone involved in interactive entertainment (games, web, etc.) should read this book. Scott McCloud has once again transcended the world of comics and tapped into much deeper issues of creativity, entertainment and economics."
Book is awesome. Not only does it tell you how different elements of design interact with each other, but what about it causes people to react the way they do
"The Non-Designer's Design Book: Design and Typographic Principles for the Visual Novice"
By Robin Williams (not that Robin Williams)
Quick, easy read geared towards non-designers (it's in the title!) that explains the basics of C.R.A.P. (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity), 4 things that will change the way you look at things and stop centering everything :D
great recommendation! I have heard of it before but I got it today, flicking through it and it is excellent - every dev really should read this. thanks again.
Certainly! I find myself shilling this book all the time. It's a great starting point for people dipping their toes in the design pool because it tells you just enough to improve simple stuff without being preachy or over-complicating things.
Thanks for the recommendations everybody. I will probably end up buying each of these and going through them.
I have picked up a lot of design tips over the years but never spent time to really learn the fundamentals of what makes good design. It is a bit like non-graduate programmers who skip over compsci theory, for eg. I know how to do stuff in CSS, I know how to copy and paste templates from the web, but never understood why certain designs and UI's are good and others aren't
I will prob do a blog post on these books and tips etc. in a few months once I go through it all properly - thanks again.
Practice. Fire up Photoshop, and paste in a bunch of designs that are well done. Start picking out individual elements, and then recreate them from scratch. You'll constantly be asking yourself why your redesign comes short, and through this, you'll begin to understand the subtle differences that make a great design.
I've never read a book on web design in my life, and I've kicked out some award winning layouts. The trick, don't stop refining the design, and don't be afraid to take a step back. The only time the design stops improving is when you stop working on it. Continue to refine, and you'll look back tomorrow, and laugh at the layout you once thought was acceptable. Fast forward another day, and you'll do the same. Have patience. Although great designs might look simple, realize they've gone through an endless number of revisions to reach that point.
12 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 34.3 ms ] threadIt won't teach developers anything about Photoshop or CSS, but it's an incredible book in terms of Visual Iconography and its effects on readers/users.
His follow up 'Reinventing Comics' is also a must read. To quote Will Wright (The Sims, Spore)
"Anyone involved in interactive entertainment (games, web, etc.) should read this book. Scott McCloud has once again transcended the world of comics and tapped into much deeper issues of creativity, entertainment and economics."
http://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Typographic-...
By Robin Williams (not that Robin Williams)
Quick, easy read geared towards non-designers (it's in the title!) that explains the basics of C.R.A.P. (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity), 4 things that will change the way you look at things and stop centering everything :D
edit: formatting
Good luck!
I have picked up a lot of design tips over the years but never spent time to really learn the fundamentals of what makes good design. It is a bit like non-graduate programmers who skip over compsci theory, for eg. I know how to do stuff in CSS, I know how to copy and paste templates from the web, but never understood why certain designs and UI's are good and others aren't
I will prob do a blog post on these books and tips etc. in a few months once I go through it all properly - thanks again.
Also see this site, which adapts the book's contents to the web: http://webtypography.net/toc/
I've never read a book on web design in my life, and I've kicked out some award winning layouts. The trick, don't stop refining the design, and don't be afraid to take a step back. The only time the design stops improving is when you stop working on it. Continue to refine, and you'll look back tomorrow, and laugh at the layout you once thought was acceptable. Fast forward another day, and you'll do the same. Have patience. Although great designs might look simple, realize they've gone through an endless number of revisions to reach that point.