…  Zack Design As a designer I’m primarily an engineer. I started writing software full-time in …  and other tools that are only used by other engineers. My design philosophy was simple: Phase 1: It works so stop …

Design Is Wrong This is a real conversation I had just recently: “We really need to improve the design of this product.” “No. We don’t have time to work on the design. Let’s just make it usable.” I have this …

…  that really matters I just can’t use them. Adobe InDesign has ruined other word processors for me. I made my resume in InDesign, my offline checklist in InDesign, and every other document I create …

…  by Jason Santa Maria and a list of other well-known designers, so it’s no surprise that it looks good and feels good.  …  just show up when you need them. When I add a new designer I click the “Add another” link and the field fades in nicely.  …  The AJAX they use to suggest potential designers and type foundries has the natural ease found in every well-worn …

…  Friendly Buttons You’re a user experience designer. With every decision you make about your blog, website, or application you’re designing the way your users will experience it. And you want to give them a …

…  it was some of the best advice I received as a burgeoning designer. However, lately I’ve started to change my mind. Now I’m trying to …  to engineers they see nifty as look how cool this is, but designers see it differently. The designers say look how smooth this is, or …

…  review of Get The Eye with Justin Evans from Stress Limit Design. Justin was, as always, amazingly helpful. One of his big pieces of …  This site started as a place for me to play with different design ideas and layouts. I never thought I’d write more than nine articles.  …

…  When you design your interfaces there are a few different frame metaphors to choose …

…  want to go. Start by making a color plan part of your design process. Create a color plan Creating a color plan is one of the first steps in designing a new application. Categorizing the actions your users will perform …

…  it feels The process of designing something is a frightening one as you lay yourself bare before your critics. Most designers try to defend themselves with proof that they’ve made something good. …

…  Wireframing is one of the first tools a designer adds to their toolbox. The wireframe is the foundation your design is built on. The basic wireframe is a series of rectangles positioning …

…  the whole screen just because you’re too lazy to make your design work in a smaller space. Immersive …

The Source Code All of the code for Get The Eye is minimized and embedded. It makes the pages load faster, and the code much more difficult to read. This page contains links to all the source code with good formatting and copio …

…  I drew diagrams and made the occasional slide, but as a designer I’m drawing more. I still can’t draw very well, but I’m sketching.  …

…  Design is good UI is important User experience …  Think about your design Create a good design Enjoy your design The …

…  You probably never noticed, and that’s OK. Every design contains 1,000 little details you’ll never notice on a conscious level.  …  by themselves, and making each visible would make the design too busy. Instead they combine to create a subtle effect of grace in …

…  In most areas of user interface design there are many opportunities to be creative. This isn’t one of them.  …  Forms are boring, but even boring design elements deserve a little love. Make your forms simple and neat and …

…  composition and how you can apply those ideas to your UI designs. Many of the best images make use …  are confusing, but make one the clear winner and the design feels satisfying. If your software is boring …

…  know the speeds you are working with you can change your design to make it feel faster. So how do you make …

…  original but familiar? The guys from Stress Limit Design came to my rescue again when they gave me some simple advice, “steal …  make something original. UI design is the art of combining existing ideas into something new, but unlike …

…  class graphics and she didn’t have the budget to hire a design firm. She just wanted a simple and solid design. Good design is half art and half science.  …

…  and unprofessional. Rhythm in design is like rhythm in music. It is the basic structure the song follows.  …  there is no excuse for poor vertical rhythm. Tools like InDesign make it easy to maintain vertical rhythm by letting you define a grid.  …

Your users need your help. You’re the expert. Nobody knows your stuff better than you. The users want to learn, but they need you to guide them. Guiding with simple text is easy. You  …

…  a by-product of function. It is the same way in software design. Software is just a means to an end. It doesn’t matter if you are …  and you want people to notice, but making them notice the design means the design is wrong. Finding nifty  …

…  This example is from the menu bar of a blog I designed recently. I wanted to show that home takes you somewhere different.  …  Group deliberately In design a bad plan is better than no plan at all and grouping is no exception.  …

…  answered that question very well. He is the newest designer at 37 Signals. As a web designer you might expect his site would be full of bells and whistles, but he …

…  Your designs will never be pixel perfect, but they must be close. Especially on …

…  you’ve ever made a website then you are a user interface designer. All software, including web sites, are interactive. Simply …

…  The most common proportion in design is the golden ratio. You might remember that from grade school as the …  ratio is used to determine the ratio of width to height in design, architecture and all over nature.  …

…  The grid has been a crucial tool in print design for over 100 years, but it has just become popular on the Internet in …  information. They help guide the user through the design and make it easier for them to read. They also make a thinner column of …