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I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

sazzy.co.uk

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Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#21

Post by andrewingram »

Puts wrote: post #13

I'm kind of allergic to doing things just because the sake of it, even with design. Start with what you have, which is pure text. Then you look at the text and you ask your self, how do I make this more readable? Design is about function and not about looks. If you begin the design process in photoshop your starting of in the wrong end, because then you start with looks before function. I can however understand why p…

I think this is a result of people starting with the decoration rather than the tool they chose. I'm primarily a programmer, but i'll always fire up Sketch (previously Photoshop) if I want to do any design work.

Much like the author of the article, I find that designing in the browser doesn't use the right parts of my brain. I don't just mean in the sense of decoration.

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#22

Post by mcbetz »

SunShiranui wrote: post #20
mcbetz wrote: post #15

I held up the belief that you should design right in the browser and skip the design phase. But I came to the same conclusion as the author: thinking in code is a completely different process than drawing things and trying out how your site might look like. My best advice is: draw on paper first, using just a pencil and an eraser. This forces you to focus on structure and relationship rather than pixel-perfection. He…

In my opinion pen and paper are fundamental. Not just in design, but also in programming. There's a lot to be gained by just thinking over and sketching ideas for something rather than just diving into action.

I could not agree more about the role of paper for coding. I used to jump right into action and got lost very quickly in details and gave up soon after. Now I try to slow myself down and do sketches about quite everything. Database design seems to be of a special importance, as it hurts so much the find out later that you did not think hard enough and forgot too many cases that you need to incorporate in your database schema. Slowing down with all screens off and mind on certainly makes a huge difference in my workflow.

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#23

Post by lmm »

rokhayakebe wrote: post #18
Puts wrote: post #13

I'm kind of allergic to doing things just because the sake of it, even with design. Start with what you have, which is pure text. Then you look at the text and you ask your self, how do I make this more readable? Design is about function and not about looks. If you begin the design process in photoshop your starting of in the wrong end, because then you start with looks before function. I can however understand why p…

I am trying to think which companies truly won because of Design. Genuinely curious.

Apple - they sell hardware with worse specs at higher prices than their competitors, the design is what makes it worth it.

Skype - people talk about their video/voice support but my friends don't even use that, just the chat UI is better. (Or was - these days Slack is displacing it for the same reason)

Uber, if you count them as having won yet. There are plenty of competitors with the same functionality (at least here in London), I think the incredibly beautiful website is a big part of what's keeping them on top.

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#24

Post by interfacesketch »

mcbetz wrote: post #15

I held up the belief that you should design right in the browser and skip the design phase. But I came to the same conclusion as the author: thinking in code is a completely different process than drawing things and trying out how your site might look like. My best advice is: draw on paper first, using just a pencil and an eraser. This forces you to focus on structure and relationship rather than pixel-perfection. He…

I hope this isn't considered spamming, but for anyone wanting to sketch a site or app on paper, I created some simple, free templates for web sites or apps. The templates are CC licenced and you can create your own sketch sheets too.

http://www.interfacesketch.com

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#25

Post by tracker1 »

mcbetz wrote: post #15

I held up the belief that you should design right in the browser and skip the design phase. But I came to the same conclusion as the author: thinking in code is a completely different process than drawing things and trying out how your site might look like. My best advice is: draw on paper first, using just a pencil and an eraser. This forces you to focus on structure and relationship rather than pixel-perfection. He…

I admittedly don't think as much in terms of finer points of design so much as usability, and often how structure plays with that... I think about how will this be used. I'll usually only go so far as to create mockups in something like balsamiq, and code as a followup. I find that delving too far into specific aspects of look/feel tend to block the purpose of what's being built.

The exception to that being something that is mostly serving as a static content/advertisement/landing page etc... A lot of the time people will try to go too far outside the box.

That said, I also spend a lot of time dealing with software that anyone should be able to use... this has lead me to the firm belief that if you try to make something idiot proof, they will only build a better idiot. It doesn't mean that one shouldn't try.. but it does mean that sometimes you shouldn't stray too far from convention...

Also, most programmers make lousy interfaces left to their own devices...

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#26

Post by sopooneo »

Puts wrote: post #13

I'm kind of allergic to doing things just because the sake of it, even with design. Start with what you have, which is pure text. Then you look at the text and you ask your self, how do I make this more readable? Design is about function and not about looks. If you begin the design process in photoshop your starting of in the wrong end, because then you start with looks before function. I can however understand why p…

I am not a designer, but I disagree that design is "not about looks". My gut feeling is that the goal is not just to make things easier to use, but also to make people want to use them, and for that looks do matter.

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#27

Post by rrrx3 »

This is from 2012. I'm not sure how relevant it is anymore. As tons of others have mentioned here, tools like Sketch help to bring designs closer to implementation. Also, "design in the browser" was never meant to mean "forgo all other parts of the design process and just start coding." Some people seemed to skip over that.

Re: I Can’t Design in the Browser (2012)

#29

Post by normloman »

uptown wrote: post #4
userbinator wrote: post #2

If I don’t have my design to follow, the whole process breaks down for me. I’ve tried, goodness knows I’ve tried, but my designs end up suffering, looking boxy, bland and uninspiring. I can see there being some users here (including me) who would think that's actually a good thing... unless your goal is to make an extremely artistic site.

Even unartistic sites should aim higher than "bland and uninspiring".

I dunno. Craigslist is pretty successful.
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