Designing better GUIs? [closed]

Question

I've been using C# for a while now but haven't really homed in my UI design skills. At the time I design them, I find myself enjoying the design, but later on, I look back on it and see horrible work. An example comes to mind from my project at work where I had to use 127 buttons to represent 127 computers in our lab. :/

I was wondering if anyone could refer me to a site or book that would teach good UI design?

Thanks!

Answer 1

I believe observation and instincts helps tremendously.

Play with applications and dig deep into the functionality they implemented. Especially look at Apple, since they revolve around aesthetics. What worked? What didn't? Why did it work? Start asking yourself questions as you tinker with web sites and software.

Then I would play around and design some concepts. Show these concepts to friends, both technical and non. Ask them questions like, "Add a new drink to the list" or "Find x for me." See how they react and differ from each other. Did someone with a technical background notice buttons faster than the non-techies? Should you combine elements together?

This stuff should be fun. After all, this is like building a complete Lego set and showing it off to your friend. He/she get's to see, touch, and play with your creation.

Answer 2

Joel Spolsky wrote a book called User Interface Design for Programmers, which is a good read, and an abridged version can be found online.