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Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

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Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#21

Post by changing1999 »

austin-cheney wrote: post #19
changing1999 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The least effective FE engineers I worked with (big tech) are people who learned client-side tech by learning React. They have a very limited understanding of UI concepts and an insufficient attention to detail. React is arguably more about encapsulation, data flow, and state than about the fundamentals of UI and UX.

Agreed, but employment in software is not about effectiveness. Its about conformity. That is why the decision is a forced dichotomy.

That's an overly pessimistic view. Both professional and personal growth depend on effectiveness. Even conformity doesn't exclude it. You can conform better by being more effective.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#23

Post by solardev »

ninjha01 wrote: post #5

I really like this short book: https://www.refactoringui.com/

Came here just to look for and upvote this book :)

It's a great, short primer for anyone who needs to do a bit of light UI design as part of their job, but doesn't necessarily want to become a UX/UI specialist.

It's one of the best resources I've come across as a FE dev.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#24

Post by austin-cheney »

changing1999 wrote: post #21
austin-cheney wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but employment in software is not about effectiveness. Its about conformity. That is why the decision is a forced dichotomy.

That's an overly pessimistic view. Both professional and personal growth depend on effectiveness. Even conformity doesn't exclude it. You can conform better by being more effective.

What if instead it were about shifting direction in favor of what is deterministic in response to numeric measures? For example instead of doing what feels comfortable as necessary to lower the perceived cost of hiring/training what if the focus were on building things that execute faster, achieve superior accessibility, or lower the cost to refactor according to automated analysis? Excellence is exclusive to those who wish to achieve it while conformity is the opposite.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#25

Post by catchmost »

Similar background here. I think what made it «click» into place for me was the notion of metaphors and mental models.

When someone (remember to define who!) looks at your app, they’ll subconsciously build a map/model of how your system works. This model doesn’t have to be accurate nor complete, and very often it certainly doesn’t match your system model and architecture diagrams. But it needs to be good enough for the user to get their task done. Example: many devs think of a git repo as a tree of commits, and they mostly get the job done even if that’s not at all how git actually works.

The challenge then becomes to communicate a sufficient mental model with the minimal amount of effort on the user’s part. (You could write a user manual or an interactive onboarding tutorial, but let’s be honest nobody is going to read that.)

How? Reduce the burden by explaining in terms of things they already understand. Examples:

* Practically all UI toolkits come with buttons that resemble real-life physical buttons. You don’t need to read the label or anything else to recognise that pressing it will trigger an immediate action. * A bus ticket app will visually display the ticket in a design that resembles a paper ticket. This helps drive home the point that «this box with a QR code in it is just like having a ticket in your hand».

A lot of design work can be seen as mapping out first what the users need, then how to communicate to them through the UI how your system can help them achieve whatever they want to do. This involves finding users and asking them a boatload of questions to understand how they think, what they really need. And also whether your UI communicates a sufficient mental model (don’t contaminate their minds by explaining your UI!) and how to fix it when it’s inevitably not correct on the first attempt.

After all that, you can start worrying about colors. There’s lots of good recommendations here already, highly recommend both reading some of the books and observing some real users trying real systems for the first time afterwards.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#26

Post by mattkevan »

UX and UI are quite different, and are different again to visual design.

UX is about understanding who your users are and what the problems they’re trying to solve are, then organising flows, content and layouts to help them achieve it.

I’d recommend reading Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf as it’s a good introduction to a flexible, user-centred approach to product design.

I’ve heard good things about the Google UX course on Coursera if you want to go into more detail. Interaction Design Foundation and Baymard Institute have a lot of great information.

Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#28

Post by Rut7 »

Hey, the best way to learn UI UX is to do a project with a friend (or make online friends in a community like 10k designers) who is already at a good level at UI UX. This friend will guide you through entire process of learning and designing . Make sure to communicate your new to UI UX to your friend. I'm from data background too and I learnt UI UX by doing an end to end project - fitness App with my friend who knew UI UX thoroughly.

you could read more about this on my blog - https://medium.com/@Rutuja.Kelkar/how-i-started-my-ui-ux-des...

Re: Ask HN: How to learn UI/UX as a data/BE engineer?

#30

Post by everythingabili »

codr7 wrote: post #13

I find that many designers are sadly missing a solid foundation. Everything by Tufte is worth reading. The design of everyday things, Norman. The humane interface, Raskin.

I came here to say the same thing exactly. Tufte books are very visual (and expensive - see if you can find a copy of any of his books, changed my life). You can just dip in.

Norman is ace. Although his books turned me into a usability weirdo unable to switch off my usability sensors... be careful! :-)

As is Raskin - whose interface "notation" (click-drag-click etc) I think isn't talked about enough.

Can I also throw in these...

Don't Make Me Think: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/032... - I found this a REALLY useful book, and great to share with people too.

A Pattern Language https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pattern-Language-Buildings-Construc... - OK, this is a bit esoteric, but it's so valuable and lots of geeks/UX-ers kind of aim to create their own pattern language as opposed to a UX-dogma.

Information Architecture https://www.amazon.co.uk/Information-Architecture-Beyond-Lou...

Visual Language https://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Language-Global-Communicatio... - a kind of fundamental - hard to find.

--

There are dozens of methodologies to learn, and put into practice. I would put it that you don't really learn UX, you do it, and revise - in order to solve problems and make things better. Once you've digested some of the ideas you need to start trying the methodologies out. This is harder than it sounds. Even companies that claim to support UX, sort of bugger things up.... in that UX can't "fix" crap... it needs to be in at the beginning.

My favourite activities / methodologies, that produced REAL results were

* Ethnography - kinda just hanging out and observing what actually goes on. One client used to print off every page to proof read their changes cos the font sizes were designed by 21 year olds and they were 60+. The applause I got for raising the font size would never have been found any other way than sitting in the corner. * Card sorting - often collaboratively with armfuls of post its to decide on categories/navigation * Wireframing - I had less success with paper prototyping, but still ... * Personas + Use Cases

...and Eye Tracking - which tbh was SO VALUABLE, not because of the insights it provided, but for the EVIDENCE (video and heatmaps) that you could use to persuade the big wigs.

So find a way to start getting yourself into trying out various methodologies, to fix problems. Doing UX when things are "kind of OK" can be quite hard imo, especially at the beginning.

Your background will be so useful, again imo and experience, you will be able to use UX to provide guidance and ideas and then MAKE THE BLOODY THING which lots of UX-ers can't do. I liked the cross-over - I code a bit and sometimes found it easier to make what I wanted, rather than specifying it or creating "designs".

Good luck!

Tom

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