Web Design for the Artistically Inept

There’s a lot of discussion around the topic of whether designers should learn to code or not. That’s a valuable question, but why don’t we ever debate about whether or not developers should learn how to do web design? Perhaps it’s because the answer is obvious. They should.

Now I understand the value in focusing on your strengths as a programmer, but the truth is, understanding a few fundamental design principles can take you a very long way. Understanding how to use contrast, white space, and color balance are pretty simple principles. It isn’t difficult to tell good designs from bad designs but being able to see why a bad design is bad, and how it can be improved… that’s game changing. And it’s within reach.

Maybe one day I’ll start holding a course called “web design for the artistically inept.” Until then, here are a few good resources to get you started:

• Hack Design: Design lessons for programmers, curated by top designers
• Team Treehouse: Aesthetic Foundations
• Design For Developers [SLIDES]

If you’ve found some other particularly useful resource then feel free to add it to the comments.