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Ask HN: How can i get better at design and using design tools

7 points by toddan ↗ HN
Hi

I am wondering what i can do to increase my ability to do good looking user interfaces. I feel that my limited ability on that front is crippling my skills as a programmer.

Currently i am building a startup with my brother, I have no problem producing backend code, but when i work on the ui my whole brain freezes and it seems that i just cant see when something looks good or not.

Luckily we have a guy that is working with us that have this visual ability. I get so full of envy when i see him work because it seems there is something that he can sens or see that i cant.

Is it possible to learn this artistic skill? and what do i need to work on to get better? During my time as a programmer i have only looked at resources evolving around code and found plenty. But what resources are there about the user interface? and by that i mean everything from css/html to the more abstract artistic creation of the ui.

7 comments

[ 4.8 ms ] story [ 27.3 ms ] thread
lsiunsuex
Practice, practice, practice! The same way it took you time to learn programming is now the same for design.

I'm a big fan of themeforest.net and graphicriver.net - as much as the assets are for sale, they provide huge galleries to gain inspiration from.

I'll also spend hours just looking through the app stores for design ideas.

Also, look at your competition - look at their design. Step back and don't look at things from a programmer point of view. Look at them from a strait up user point of view. What do you like? What's confusing? What's ugly?

Feedback is key also - you said your working with your brother and someone else. Show them what you design and listen. Show it to friends, so it to strangers you meet at the coffee shop. Any input (good or bad) is input.

dave_sid
How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
auser678
For UX there are a breed of great drag and drop tools like http://xiffe.com which require almost no training.
meerita
Read a lot about design. There's hundreds books you can start, I particulary love grid/typography books, they cover about 80% of the design topics.

You can also improve your skills using software by watching screencasts. If you have money, Lynda.com and many others are available by searching google. If you don't you can rely on Youtube, many people there post tutorials.

tomek_zemla
You should distinguish between design skills and tool skills in your quest for learning. To draw the parallel with the technology world - knowing IDE well does not make you a good programmer nor computer scientist. So being skilled with Photoshop or Illustrator won't make you a good designer.

In my opinion the good introduction to basics of graphic design 'seeing' would be this book: http://www.amazon.com/Graphic-Design-The-New-Basics/dp/15689...

It's essentially like Graphic Design 101 the modern way. It would be a good start towards more specialized learning towards interface design, user experience design, information design or data visualization disciplines.

eliot_sykes
For web developers, whenever you see some styling you like when you're browsing and you don't know how to do it, use dev tools to figure out how it was done in CSS.
exslacker
can't say I'm an expert but I think the key is the design approach, its like when someone tells you to open your eyes, you open it and see. you already interested in it now you should look sites like behance.net or search articles but it's more important to think about the designs. but dont worry it realy isn't that hard. one more thing: less is more, especially nowdays