[whalesalad]

I'd argue that engineers should only "design" so much as they feel comfortable. If you have a decent sense of laying things out, stick to a nice minimalist grid. If you feel you have a decent idea of what fonts look great together, contrast serif and sans-serif fonts, sizes, weights, etc... and there ya go.

If you're just throwing a gradient here, a border there, a glow there, etc... then you're just shooting blind.