

Why you don't need to hire a designer - nitam
http://www.bootstrappingdesign.com/

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studiofellow
Thanks for posting this. I'm the author. Happy to answer any questions.

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NameNickHN
Learning about design in theory and knowing the technical aspects of it can't
hurt, but the reason why people create bad designs is not because they don't
know how to make a design. It's because they lack creativity. Designing things
is a creative process, not a technical one.

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studiofellow
I completely disagree. Everyone is creative. Design is not about learning to
be creative, but about learning how to use your creativity. Here's an excerpt
from the book that speaks to this:

 _...we assign mystical reverence to the work of professional designers. Their
elegant color schemes, provocative typography, and eye-scorching aesthetics
leave us dumbfounded. Only “creative types” can achieve this; only near-
savants who were born with a special talent.

Browsing design websites further compounds this assigned reverence. There,
designers discuss creating processes rather than creating design. They promote
glossy techniques over the boring fundamentals. They fawn over other
designers, who command the current popular aesthetic.

The design forums that helped groom and educate many who now call themselves
professional designers (including myself) have all but disappeared. Instead,
we have ffffound, Dribbble, Cargo Collective, and other closed-gate
communities where the intent is that you peek in through the bars and hope
that someday you’ll get inside. There are fewer modes of meaningful learning.
Less sharing of experience. Now, it’s “Check out this beautiful illustration
and custom lettering. If you can’t do something this cool, we won’t let you
in. Good luck getting here.”

Seeing all that, you’d think design is difficult. You’d think it’s
complicated, and that gaining basic skill requires hours of studying a
multitude of advanced topics. And you’d be wrong.

Anyone can be a great designer with practice. It’s both at once liberating and
frightening: your future as a designer depends only on how hard you’re willing
to work. Design is a skill and a trade; you get better at it by practicing.
First, learn the basics and go design something. Then, call yourself a
designer. The more things you design, the better you will get and the more
lovely and insightful your creations will become. No magic knowledge hidden
away in design books, blogs, or classes will teach you to be a great designer.
All you have to do is practice. Learning design is that simple.

The basics you need to learn fill the rest of this book..._

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cskau
While this is an interesting book I'd love to own, I can't help feeling $39
for an ebook is a bit much. And well over the impulse buying price.

Of course that's the price you've set and that's all fine. I just wanted to
let you know why at least this guy is abstaining for now.

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studiofellow
People launching businesses face much more substantial design costs. At the
high end, paying a designer $100/hr. At the low end, buying: templates, fonts,
logos, icons, photos, etc.

The premise of the book is how to achieve design yourself that's good enough
to launch a new business. You can always hire a designer later, as you
business grows.

If that's not worth $39 to you, that's fine and I completely respect your
decision. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for being so nice about it!

All feedback welcome. You can get in touch with me at
hello@BootstrappingDesign.com

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imjustaguy
Is there any place to view the table of contents

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studiofellow
There's a sample pdf linked on the website that includes the table of
contents. Here's the direct link:
<http://bootstrappingdesign.com/pdf/sample.pdf>

