Upgrade to Pro
— share decks privately, control downloads, hide ads and more …
Speaker Deck
Features
Speaker Deck
PRO
Sign in
Sign up for free
Search
Search
Developers Can't Design
Search
Jen Myers
January 13, 2012
Programming
13
1.6k
Developers Can't Design
(And Other Completely Untrue Design Myths)
Jen Myers
January 13, 2012
Tweet
Share
More Decks by Jen Myers
See All by Jen Myers
Listen to Your (and All) Mothers
jenmyers
0
180
Cartoon Creativity
jenmyers
0
240
How To Not Be an Expert
jenmyers
1
270
How to Start Coding from Any Level
jenmyers
0
260
Shepherding Unicorns
jenmyers
2
310
Owning It
jenmyers
0
300
Developers Can't Design (2013)
jenmyers
6
490
How to Not Be an Expert
jenmyers
8
580
Redesigning the Interface
jenmyers
4
840
Other Decks in Programming
See All in Programming
AI 駆動開発ライフサイクル(AI-DLC):ソフトウェアエンジニアリングの再構築 / AI-DLC Introduction
kanamasa
11
5.2k
Graviton と Nitro と私
maroon1st
0
160
フルサイクルエンジニアリングをAI Agentで全自動化したい 〜構想と現在地〜
kamina_zzz
0
360
Kotlin Multiplatform Meetup - Compose Multiplatform 외부 의존성 아키텍처 설계부터 운영까지
wisemuji
0
170
[AtCoder Conference 2025] LLMを使った業務AHCの上⼿な解き⽅
terryu16
6
1k
AtCoder Conference 2025「LLM時代のAHC」
imjk
2
650
GISエンジニアから見たLINKSデータ
nokonoko1203
0
190
AI前提で考えるiOSアプリのモダナイズ設計
yuukiw00w
0
210
0→1 フロントエンド開発 Tips🚀 #レバテックMeetup
bengo4com
0
480
DevFest Android in Korea 2025 - 개발자 커뮤니티를 통해 얻는 가치
wisemuji
0
180
MDN Web Docs に日本語翻訳でコントリビュート
ohmori_yusuke
0
390
チームをチームにするEM
hitode909
0
440
Featured
See All Featured
Building a Scalable Design System with Sketch
lauravandoore
463
34k
DevOps and Value Stream Thinking: Enabling flow, efficiency and business value
helenjbeal
1
78
A Modern Web Designer's Workflow
chriscoyier
698
190k
Rails Girls Zürich Keynote
gr2m
95
14k
How to Create Impact in a Changing Tech Landscape [PerfNow 2023]
tammyeverts
55
3.2k
Product Roadmaps are Hard
iamctodd
PRO
55
12k
Hiding What from Whom? A Critical Review of the History of Programming languages for Music
tomoyanonymous
1
350
Bootstrapping a Software Product
garrettdimon
PRO
307
120k
Visualization
eitanlees
150
16k
AI Search: Implications for SEO and How to Move Forward - #ShenzhenSEOConference
aleyda
1
1.1k
ラッコキーワード サービス紹介資料
rakko
0
2M
Money Talks: Using Revenue to Get Sh*t Done
nikkihalliwell
0
130
Transcript
DEVELOPERS CAN’T DESIGN AND OTHER COMPLETELY UNTRUE DESIGN MYTHS JEN
MYERS • @ANTIHEROINE • SCOTTISH RUBY CONFERENCE, 30 JUNE 2012
What is design?
“Design is the appropriate combination of materials in order to
solve a problem.” - CHARLES EAMES
“Design is thinking made visual.” - SAUL BASS
“Design is the method of putting form and content together.
Design, just as art, has multiple definitions, there is no single definition.... Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” - PAUL RAND
What is design? Graphic design Industrial design Interaction design Experience
design Web/interface design
Why should developers care?
Design is teachable. Design is communication.
DESIGN IS DECORATION DESIGN MYTH #1
“It’s not just what it looks like and feels like.
Design is how it works.” - STEVE JOBS
How design works Structure Content Organization Message Functionality
How design works Wireframes Palettes Mood boards Copy Data flows
User testing
DESIGN IS SUBJECTIVE DESIGN MYTH #2
“Like all forms of design, visual design is about problem
solving, not about personal or unsupported opinion.” - BOB BAXLEY
Basic design principles Balance Repetition Proximity Emphasis Unity
BALANCE SYMMETRICAL
BALANCE ASYMMETRICAL
REPETITION COLOR, FONT, SHAPE, LOGO
REPETITION COLOR, FONT, SHAPE, LOGO
EMPHASIS VISUAL DOMINANCE & HIERARCHY
PROXIMITY GROUPING LIKE ELEMENTS
UNITY COHERENCE OF LOOK, FEEL & MESSAGE
Related design concepts Positive/negative space Contrast Typography Color theory Ratios
DESIGN IS SEPARATE FROM DEVELOPMENT DESIGN MYTH #3
“The secret is to gang up on the problem, rather
than each other.” - THOMAS STALLKAMP
No silos Communication Community Design & Dev 4eva Project integration
should code. Designers ...
Jen Myers Relevance
[email protected]
@antiheroine SLIDES: speakerdeck.com/u/jenmyers/p/developers-cant-design