Are you brilliant at developing but still struggling when it comes to designing your apps for success? No worry. We’re here to help. In this article we list 12 essential resources that introduce you to the concepts, terms, techniques, inspirations and guidelines of good designs, to lay a strong foundation on which you can build up a solid practical understanding to design apps that deliver impressive user experience. Some of these resources are targeted specifically for web developers, but the principles apply also to designing for apps.
1. Designing Great Apps
When it comes to designing exceptional user interface, without a doubt, Apple is the obvious leader. Even though you might not be developing for the Apple platform, such as iOS and Mac, you will be wise to study and learn their design resources to gain invaluable insight on how to build polished, engaging, and intuitive apps.
2. Google Design
Google is not traditionally well-known for its design, but things have changed with the introduction of the Material Design, their new delightful visual design language praised by designers and technologist everywhere. Even if you’re new to design, there are plenty of resources you can learn in this site to understand how you can approach design from the material point of view.
3. 50 Design Terms Explained Simply For Non-Designers
You maybe one of the super smart ubercoder who can articulately explained the meaning of Yoda Conditions, Heisenbug, Higgs-Bugson, and other highly technical jargons with such stunning fluency. But are you recoiling and always trying to change the subject when your colleagues start talking about kerning, tracking, palette, CMYK, and Color Theory? Relax. Mary Stribley will break down some of the common design terms for you.
4. Design School For Developers
If you are new, or simply interested in design, or if you are a developer who used to working with other designers and want to get a better understanding of design in general, or you may be a developer that wants to – or has to – work on your own projects and would like to learn how to design better, this tutorial series will definitely help you understand more about the techniques and decisions employed behind the design.
5. Design Lessons For Everyone
Hackers are the modern-day Renaissance men and women with such desires and love to learn, explore, build, dig deeper and take things apart. But, for most of them, design is, let’s say, not their forte. Fortunately, the team at HackDesign.org have asked some of the world’s best designers to help curate the best and most useful blogs, books, games, videos, and tutorials to change that.
6. Course: UX Design For Mobile Developers
This is free UX design course from Udacity, optimized for the current and aspiring mobile developers who are looking to efficiently learn the most important design techniques to help them make better apps (with a focus on mobile/Android).
7. Course: Material Design for Android Developers
Another excellent free design course from Udacity, targeted at Android developers who want to learn how to apply the material design principles to your apps. If you follow through this course, you’ll understand how to crate and use material design elements, surfaces, transitions and graphics in your app, across multiple device form factors.
8. 25 Epic Design Tips For Non Designers
From font pairing and scale, to alignment and white space, the facets of the design world are complex. Let Poppie Pack gives you twenty five epic design tips to help you through the pits and the peaks of the creative process.
9. The Non-Designer’s Design Book
Through her straightforward and light-hearted style, for nearly 20 years author Robin Williams has taught hundreds of thousands of people, designers and non designers alike, the fundamental principles of great design and how to make their designs look professional using four surprisingly simple principles.
10. Video: A Crash Course On Design For Developers
A talk from Yevgeniy Brikman targeted at developers and any other design newbies who want to improve their design skills.
11. Slide: Design For Developers
Johan Ronsse share these slides from his 2 hour presentation that aims to teach interface design as a set of rules. Very helpful for non designers, beginners, and developers who want to learn more about design.
12. Slide: Design Basics For Non Designers
These presentation slides from melchoyce aim to explain the basics of design for non-designers to make their sites or apps more usable and compelling.