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How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

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Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#11

Post by revorad »

davidw wrote: post #2

The "Non Designer's Design Book" is pretty good. It was suggested to me on this forum some time ago, and I got a lot out of it, even though it's still a struggle to really internalize it https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321534042/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=de... ; (And, yes, I have an affiliate link there. That's why I got a high karma score here, so I could start raking in the millions with affiliate links to books...)

You're clearly not greedy enough. Here's the UK link with my affiliate ID :-P :

Papaerback - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Will...

Kindle - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Designers-Design-Book-3rd-ebook/...

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#12

Post by davidw »

revorad wrote: post #11
davidw wrote: post #2

The "Non Designer's Design Book" is pretty good. It was suggested to me on this forum some time ago, and I got a lot out of it, even though it's still a struggle to really internalize it https://www.amazon.com/dp/0321534042/ref=as_li_ss_til?tag=de... ; (And, yes, I have an affiliate link there. That's why I got a high karma score here, so I could start raking in the millions with affiliate links to books...)

You're clearly not greedy enough. Here's the UK link with my affiliate ID :-P : Papaerback - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Will... Kindle - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Designers-Design-Book-3rd-ebook/...

+1

I do not fathom the people who have been downvoting my comment. By all means, if you find someone on this site who submits nothing but link spam, downvote and flag them. Otherwise, why get your knickers in a knot about me getting a pittance for recommending a book I happened to like?

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#13

Post by revorad »

davidw wrote: post #12
revorad wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're clearly not greedy enough. Here's the UK link with my affiliate ID :-P : Papaerback - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Designers-Design-Book-Robin-Will... Kindle - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-Designers-Design-Book-3rd-ebook/...

+1 I do not fathom the people who have been downvoting my comment. By all means, if you find someone on this site who submits nothing but link spam, downvote and flag them. Otherwise, why get your knickers in a knot about me getting a pittance for recommending a book I happened to like?

I have learnt to ignore HN downvotes on my comments, and am now learning to also ignore upvotes. Thinking about internet karma is not worth anyone's time, especially because it robs you of your sense of humour.

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#14

Post by revorad »

DavidChouinard wrote: post #10
angusdavis wrote: post #7

That article misses the bulk of what good design is actually about. To quote Steve Jobs: "Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it's this veneer -- that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." If you want to learn about design, before read…

I would also add Don't Make Me Think (by Steve Krug) to that list.

I recently read that book and found bits of it useful, but overall quite overrated, considering it's recommended every time UI/UX is discussed. Does anyone else feel this way?

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#16

Post by tedkimble »

A question to web-designers: What are the metrics with which you test your design experimentations?

Does it pass the test if it aligns to a grid, contains a pleasant color palette, has enough whitespace, hierarchy, and contrast? Or is there something more fundamental you strive for?

I think a formal design education would be much less concerned with the former, and more concerned with the latter -- what are your most fundamental first principles as a person, and how can you instill those into your design and/or design process.

I want to see more articles about that.

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#17

Post by _delirium »

angusdavis wrote: post #7

That article misses the bulk of what good design is actually about. To quote Steve Jobs: "Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it's this veneer -- that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." If you want to learn about design, before read…

For a design-studies take even more on the "how things work" side, I like Herb Simon's classic The Sciences of the Artificial, which conceives of design as a science of man-made artifacts.

I also like Nigel Cross's stuff. His book Designerly Ways of Knowing (2006) is good but published in some absurdly expensive, for-libraries-only monograph series, so find it in a library rather than buying it. His more recent book, Design Thinking, is a collection of case studies with some analysis, a bit lighter but also good (and not $149: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1847886361/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...)

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#18

Post by justincormack »

dirtyaura wrote: post #8
jeremydavid wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Ogilvy on Advertising" is his most famous book

Thanks, that was what I ordered. And it seems Confessions is actually from 60s, just the print sold in Amazon was from 2004.

Confessions is a good read, suspect it covers a lot of the same ground, but with autobiography added, although havent read the other. Good writing about advertising is interesting, though there is not much of it.

Re: How to self-educate if you lack a formal design education

#19

Post by radley »

tedkimble wrote: post #16

A question to web-designers: What are the metrics with which you test your design experimentations? Does it pass the test if it aligns to a grid, contains a pleasant color palette, has enough whitespace, hierarchy, and contrast? Or is there something more fundamental you strive for? I think a formal design education would be much less concerned with the former, and more concerned with the latter -- what are your most…

It's always about conversion. More people, less bounce.

The former is introductory design (and the focus of the article). The latter is advanced design & expression - applying one's voice towards different fundamentals.

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