Learning Design for UI and Website Design [closed]

Question

I'm current a computer science student with a minor in psychology. I have the programming down when it comes to software design, but not so much the design of UI. What are some good books/websites/blogs for learning design principles for user interfaces and/or websites?

Answer 1

A must read: Don't Make Me Think

Answer 2

I'd look at A List Apart and Signals vs. Noise for good advice, but learning about design is about exposing yourself to a lot of good and bad design — look at really well designed websites (like those made by HappyCog, SimpleBits, or Airbag Industries). Look at all the people who work there, their blogs, their work, their books — be inspired but never copy.

I'd also be wary of sites dedicated exclusively to 'user experience' design or 'usability', many of the principles of design have nothing to do with user testing, studies or HCI, and focusing to much on those things can lead to development of methodologies rather than sense. I'd recommend taking a class in communication design and learning about type. Good design starts with type and hierarchy — Thinking With Type is a great introductory book. Also read about grid systems and gestalt psychology.

Good luck!

Answer 3

The consummate book on UI design is Don't Make Me Think. Additionally, The Design of Everyday Things is enlightening though it is not specifically about UI design.

That said, my experience with UI design has been primarily focused on web applications. I have found the work by Dan Cederholm to be the most enlightening in designing excellent user interfaces for the web. One of the most important aspects of web design is ensuring semantically correct accessible sites and Cederholm does an excellent job describing how to do that in Web Standards Solutions which was followed by the also excellent Bulletproof Web Design.

Though the CSS Zen Garden may not be explicitly about UI design it is an outstanding example of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design.

Finally, an often overlooked part of UI design is delivering effective error messages. While, Defensive Design for the Web emphasizes web error design much of what is described is applicable to other mediums. Those responsible for the book 37Signals maintain an excellent blog Signal vs. Noise.