Hello,
I am a mix of web designer and developer. But i have no “wow” skills for designing. I really would like to know how to be good at designing, colors and font, typography. I sometimes feel confused of what am i. designer or developer because i would like to get better at mockup, designing, color schemes, forms, layout. any adivces?
Good question nofel,
You aren’t alone. There are a lot of developers that are very talented when it comes to coding but they have virtually no design or usability instincts. While design is one of those things people kind of have an eye for (natural talent like writing or singing), you can learn basic concepts. I would suggest looking around at successful website and studying them. Practice with colors, shapes and designs of your own until you can make things look appealing.
Maybe you can find some tips here,
Hope that helps,
Shawn
Smanaher is right, there are those aspects that you can learn if you don’t have a natural ability at design.
Some really quick tidy-ups for a website are things like using a grid for layout. You’d be surprised how just having a simple grid suddenly makes things look tidier.
Like-wise with fonts, stick to only one or two and read an article or two on good webfont practice. If you don’t “get it” with typography then I would find a well used and respected website (eg smashing magazine) and copy their font-use. They often agonise over what fonts to use because they know they will be looked to and scrutinised.
Colour theory is pretty easy these days. If you are working with a logo or company colours already then use a tool like Colour Scheme Designer. Some people may see it as cheating but when it comes to colour theory it is way more complicated than people think, these tools help you stick to the well trod paths of colour relationships. When you start to get a feel for how things relate to each other then you start to get more adventurous.
There are good resources around on design basics and if you search the forums on the topic of design you are bound to find more recommendations for books and courses if you so desire.
You cannot be a better designer, you are born that way with the artistic sense. You can educate yourself, true, by reading design books, typography etc, but the WOW can`t be learned.
Hmmm I wonder whether that is true.
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.” - Pablo Picasso
I would contend that you can absolutely be a better designer by learning and education. Some innate natural artistic ability may lift a talented few far above everyone else, but in this day and age you can learn a lot of tricks to take your own talents and use them to full advantage. It can be incredibly difficult for some people to learn in those areas that don’t come naturally, but it is still possible.
Few people have the WOW factor. Today we are bombarded by high profile talent published to the web in the blink of an eye, but in our everyday lives few people have need of true WOW factor to earn a living. In terms of getting better at “designing, colour schemes, forms, layout, typography”, those are all things that can be learnt and improved.
The Kuler Adobe website is a nice resource for choosing colour schemes:
It’s worth poking about in that site. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
Paul
I’ve never heard that before but I like it. I agree, just about every designer I’ve ever worked with has looked on the web for inspiration when starting a project. For me it’s about getting ideas from around the Internet and using that information to put something unique together for the client.
Practice around in photoshop with design. Many designers (maybe yourself too?) start out desinging their site in a dreamweaver or whatever client you’re using, and they are restrricted in a way because it doesn’t have the same capabilites as photoshop. Design a site in photoshop, just go with your head and design what comes naturally. Then once you have done that, implement those elements into your web client. Start with photoshop first, that’s the best way to get a good basis for a site design.