

My apps look ugly as sin. How do I improve my design skill? - psycovic23

I've been working on apps where packaged themes don't quite cut it due to UI requirements. I've never had technical trouble implementing ideas, but my layouts, colors, and general UI leave a lot to be desired.  How do I improve my design know-how?
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MrMike
I just compiled a list of reading (and watching) materials for this yesterday.
Here you go:

[http://blip.tv/djangocon-europe-2010/idan-gazit-design-
for-d...](http://blip.tv/djangocon-europe-2010/idan-gazit-design-for-
developers-making-your-frontend-suck-less-3704780) (great overview of the
major design aspects - nearly 1hr)

<http://media1.kadavy.net/allthefontsyoulleverneed-kadavy.pdf>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4X4f83C8ANg>

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkJ6fPPRA5Q>

18min <http://vimeo.com/1542721>

[http://journal.drawar.com/d/we-do-not-need-you-to-design-
any...](http://journal.drawar.com/d/we-do-not-need-you-to-design-anymore/)

<http://designingfortheweb.co.uk/book/> (free)

~~~
charles_d
Awesome collection! Cant wait to go through all of them!

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dchuk
Don't.

Go here: [http://themeforest.net/category/site-templates/admin-
templat...](http://themeforest.net/category/site-templates/admin-templates)

Purchase a theme for $20 that would take you weeks to design and more time to
slice and code. Get profitable, then hire a professional designer.

~~~
kodeshpa
I agree with dchuk .

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revorad
Gathering skill will take time, so for that read up on the sources often
linked here. But to get your apps looking less than fugly asap, just copy
others. Buy some cheap wordpress themes, view source, rip them apart to pick
and choose individual elements. Copy the CSS from the best designed sites out
there.

Initially it will feel like you're cheating, but over time you will learn the
patterns and develop your own style.

EDIT: This couldn't have arrived at a better time -
<https://postgres.heroku.com>. Just look at that beautiful design. A lot to be
learnt (and copied!) there.

~~~
munaf
Agreed. It's very easy to learn by example, and with all the great CSS
frameworks out there you won't need Photoshop to produce good-looking widgets.
A lot of my early designs were based on ideas from this book:

[http://www.amazon.com/Web-Designers-Idea-Book-
Vol/dp/1600619...](http://www.amazon.com/Web-Designers-Idea-Book-
Vol/dp/160061972X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314725103&sr=8-1)

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jmuir
There are a number of resources that can be found via Google (i.e. "app
design") but Smashing Magazine has some good articles relating to app design
and layout in general. You can also try searching for "beautiful apps" which
brings up links to collections of different apps that might provide an idea.
As far as color goes, I like searching for web site templates or 'best web
design of 2011' collections and finding a color scheme that I like or think
would work well with the general feel of what my product does. Remember,
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery"

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nathanbarry
An easy first step is to focus on spacing and alignment. Make sure everything
is consistently spaced with equal distance between items. This will make even
a mediocre layout look better designed.

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detour
I used to stress about making my apps look good. Now I just use Skeleton
(<http://www.getskeleton.com/>) to cover the basics and when my app is ready I
pay a designer to make something that looks awesome.

Other options include Less Framework (<http://lessframework.com/>) and
Twitter's Bootstrap (<http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/>)

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ScottWhigham
I like <http://colourlovers.com>. I can choose what I like as a color and then
see 4 other colors that other people felt went well with it. Saves me the
brain power.

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ForrestN
If you've got anything that needs work, maybe we can help demonstrate by
critiquing it:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2971477>

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iisbum
This is a great guide: <http://paulstamatiou.com/startup-web-design-ux-crash-
course>

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staunch
Copy. Modify. Repeat many times. Pretty soon you'll be doing "original" work
that's really the sum of everything you've learned copying other people + your
influence.

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digitalbanana
not out yet, but i like the approach of this book (i got some good tips from
the mailing list)

[http://www.amazon.com/Design-Hackers-Reverse-Engineering-
Bea...](http://www.amazon.com/Design-Hackers-Reverse-Engineering-
Beauty/dp/1119998956/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1314737114&sr=1-1)

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venturebros
Google: "PSD UI" you will find tons of elements to make a web app.

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rouss
Hire a professional designer and spend your time programming. I personally
don't think skill of "designing" can be learnt, it's something you already
have, adjusting and refining all the way.

~~~
dylanmcd
That is as silly as the myth that mathematics is either something you have or
you don't.

