How I taught myself Design and shipped an app in 12 weeks • Hacker News Board

Re: How I taught myself Design and shipped an app in 12 weeks

#41

Post by udayaprakash19 » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:50 PM UTC

ctbeiser wrote: post #38

A few things that should be noted: "There are only a bunch of fonts that designers use." This really isn't true. There are about a hundred or so that are particularly common that any good designer should be able to recognize on sight, but there's an enormous long tail, many of which are perfectly servicable for specific uses. "Corrections at this stage will generally be minor" Your interface's visual corrections may…

bunch of fonts should more be like "bunch of fonts that they use on a regular basis" and I would like to incorporate your second comment into the slide if it is ok with you. I am making corrections in the app based on usability tests and thanks for pointing out the fb and twitter icons.

Re: How I taught myself Design and shipped an app in 12 weeks

#42

Post by eddieroger » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 3:52 PM UTC

endtwist wrote: post #24

I hate to be the negative nancy here, but there is absolutely nothing in this slide deck about learning design. You learned how to use Photoshop and parrot other designs--and that's a fine start--but you absolutely did not learn any design fundamentals.

Exactly. I got dissuaded at "Font" -- I have known too many designers who jump down my throat over the difference between a font and typeface.

Re: How I taught myself Design and shipped an app in 12 weeks

#43

Post by patothon » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 4:21 PM UTC

sagacityhappens wrote: post #40

patothon wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just saying that, if you're a developer, isn't it better to directly code and ship an "almost okay" app in 1/2 week, get feedback and iterate than learning photoshop, wireframe, design, code and ship in 7/8 weeks?

Not sure i follow your point.

This guys are better than me to explain things probably : http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2009/12/version-1-sucks-but... and http://successfulsoftware.net/2007/08/07/if-you-arent-embarr...

But I get all you points guys, no problem, and I find amazing that he managed to do all of that by himself.

Re: How I taught myself Design and shipped an app in 12 weeks

#44

Post by pubby » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 4:25 PM UTC

Please, be explicit when you say the word "design". It's not a single skill; it's an all encompassing term that means nothing more than the step before creation.

Anyway, good for you and nice slides!

Re: How I taught myself Design and shipped an app in 12 weeks

#45

Post by ctbeiser » Mon, Jan 21, 2013, 7:54 PM UTC

udayaprakash19 wrote: post #41

ctbeiser wrote: post #38

A few things that should be noted: "There are only a bunch of fonts that designers use." This really isn't true. There are about a hundred or so that are particularly common that any good designer should be able to recognize on sight, but there's an enormous long tail, many of which are perfectly servicable for specific uses. "Corrections at this stage will generally be minor" Your interface's visual corrections may…

bunch of fonts should more be like "bunch of fonts that they use on a regular basis" and I would like to incorporate your second comment into the slide if it is ok with you. I am making corrections in the app based on usability tests and thanks for pointing out the fb and twitter icons.

I'd say "bunch of fonts that are widely used." Some designers have obscure favorites that they use regularly.

If you're really looking for a good grounding in HCI fundamentals, The Design of Everyday Things, The Humane Interface, and, oddly enough, the OS X Human Interface Guidelines are among the best. For type, try "The Elements of Typographic Style," and for a basic, general overview of some concepts you should understand, "The Universal Principles of Design" is, well, not bad.