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Many software engineers make the mistake of treating UI design like configuration - the more configurations options, the better. Do not fall into this trap. The mark of good design is not when there's nothing left to add, but when there's nothing left to remove. Turn every configuration option into a sensible default value. Some designers think good UI design is about polish. This is where Smashing Mag, PSD Tuts, CSS galleries, etc. come in. But often, that's putting lipstick on a pig. I bring this up because you mentioned drop shadows, rounded corners, gradients, etc. I like to recommend Don't Make Me Think! and Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox articles (useit.com). Research things like the golden ratio, grid layouts, principal of least astonishment, etc. Those will really help understand the low level considerations that go into good UI design. One thing I've learned to appreciate is that at a low level, good design isn't very brand or time specific. It's timeless. At a high level, it's very specific to the brand and current trends. The HN high level design (color, brushes, gradients, somewhat typography) wouldn't work for most companies, but the low level design would work. Too many people get caught up on the high level details (the "web 2.0" look), and fail to see much deeper and more important low level design flaws. |