Recent Design Books

I recently purchased and read two design books, Bootstrapping Design by Jarrod Drysdale and Step by Step UI Design by Sacha Greif. Both books came out around the same time and were on the front page of Hacker News, so they are linked in my brain and probably many other people's minds. I felt I got a lot of value out of each book and for different reasons. If I had to do it over again, I would still purchase both.

Bootstrapping Design

Bootstrapping Design had a lot of specific advice for web application designers. In particular, the chapters on typography and color were fantastic. The typography advice on using a sans serif font for headlines and a serif font for block text really improved my designs (which need to be incorporated into this blog). The advice on choosing one color to start with and then using a second color sparingly really helped get me past that initial hurdle of uncertainty around picking color schemes.

I've read the CRAP (Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, and Proximity) principles before, so I had a general understanding of how to use them in good design. Bootstrapping Design presented specific tips on how to handle each of these principles in practice, which is often lacking from other books.

Overall there were only two areas I could see improvement in this book. First, incorporating a complete example (similar to how Step by Step UI Design is presented) at the end of the book that reinforces the tips presented. Second, the advice and tips presented were so useful I found myself saying, "I really want more advice like this."

Step by Step UI Design

Step by Step UI Design presents a complete example from start to finish of a web application screen design. A Photoshop PSD is included in the deluxe package of the book (I purchased this deluxe version). I found the PSD useful while going through the book although I'm on the fence as to whether I would spend the extra money for it if I had to do it over again.

What I really liked about this book was that it was very practical and focused on creating a single web application screen. The explanations behind why certain design decisions were made opened up the curtain as to what goes on in a designers' mind during the creation process. As a software developer but non-design expert, the logical, rational look at the process greatly appealed to my analytical method of thinking.

I found the book short enough to read in a single sitting. It is worth several read-throughs simply because it is difficult to assimilate all the details at once. When Step by Step UI Design is combined with Sacha's recent post on the 10 hours it took to create The Toolbox it provides a complete picture of how to both come up with an idea, design it, and execute it quickly.

Overall I am very pleased I purchased both of these design books. I recommend them to fellow software developers who want to improve their design thinking and have a more comfortable grasp on the design process.