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
280
How to Start Coding from Any Level
jenmyers
0
260
Shepherding Unicorns
jenmyers
2
310
Owning It
jenmyers
0
310
Developers Can't Design (2013)
jenmyers
6
500
How to Not Be an Expert
jenmyers
8
590
Redesigning the Interface
jenmyers
4
850
Other Decks in Programming
See All in Programming
[KNOTS 2026登壇資料]AIで拡張‧交差する プロダクト開発のプロセス および携わるメンバーの役割
hisatake
0
250
ぼくの開発環境2026
yuzneri
0
160
Rust 製のコードエディタ “Zed” を使ってみた
nearme_tech
PRO
0
150
Oxlint JS plugins
kazupon
1
810
AI によるインシデント初動調査の自動化を行う AI インシデントコマンダーを作った話
azukiazusa1
1
700
Oxlintはいいぞ
yug1224
5
1.3k
Spinner 軸ズレ現象を調べたらレンダリング深淵に飲まれた #レバテックMeetup
bengo4com
1
230
CSC307 Lecture 03
javiergs
PRO
1
490
Architectural Extensions
denyspoltorak
0
280
Patterns of Patterns
denyspoltorak
0
1.4k
OCaml 5でモダンな並列プログラミングを Enjoyしよう!
haochenx
0
140
15年続くIoTサービスのSREエンジニアが挑む分散トレーシング導入
melonps
2
180
Featured
See All Featured
Bioeconomy Workshop: Dr. Julius Ecuru, Opportunities for a Bioeconomy in West Africa
akademiya2063
PRO
1
54
Rebuilding a faster, lazier Slack
samanthasiow
85
9.4k
The Anti-SEO Checklist Checklist. Pubcon Cyber Week
ryanjones
0
55
The Organizational Zoo: Understanding Human Behavior Agility Through Metaphoric Constructive Conversations (based on the works of Arthur Shelley, Ph.D)
kimpetersen
PRO
0
240
Context Engineering - Making Every Token Count
addyosmani
9
650
The Web Performance Landscape in 2024 [PerfNow 2024]
tammyeverts
12
1k
Design in an AI World
tapps
0
140
Data-driven link building: lessons from a $708K investment (BrightonSEO talk)
szymonslowik
1
910
Mozcon NYC 2025: Stop Losing SEO Traffic
samtorres
0
140
We Analyzed 250 Million AI Search Results: Here's What I Found
joshbly
1
690
How To Stay Up To Date on Web Technology
chriscoyier
791
250k
The Success of Rails: Ensuring Growth for the Next 100 Years
eileencodes
47
7.9k
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