Artists, shrug off that imposter syndrome – the tech world needs you

Imposter syndrome generally requires that you are/were in the role that makes you feel like an imposter waiting to be found out.

There’s an interesting tie between UI/design and a color principle. There’s recognition that an artist may find this gratifying and relevant. But, it’s a limited example not necessarily relevant to all visual artists. As a specific example, these guidelines could easily rolled into UI best practices and require no further input from color experts or artists.

What I was reminded of, was interfaces designed for visual interest with little concern for design principles: Winamp skins, Enlightenment window manager themes and Kai’s Power Tools (https://www.mprove.de/script/99/kai/2Software.html)

I remember when I was younger it was a lot easier to be more productive and creative with Pages, Numbers, Keynote than their competitors (this was when they were still skeuomorphic). The pretty UI genuinely motivated and inspired me, to an extent that I actually noticed. I really believe it helped start projects easier and work on them longer.

Still, you should never have flashiness sacrifice usability. Pages was a good example because Apple understood usability. I’m not arguing for excess animations, ugly contrasts, etc.

In fact, plenty of minimalist design is pretty while also being usable. Google Docs/Slides/Sheets in the browser, for example, are actually well designed. Material design without the shadows would still have all the usability with less flare, but nobody would build their website off of that. I think a lot of graphic designers who make minimalist designs, strive to make them pretty without even realizing

At least until they need to pay the bills.