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
AI Schema Enrichment for your Oracle AI Database
thatjeffsmith
0
300
AIによる高速開発をどう制御するか? ガードレール設置で開発速度と品質を両立させたチームの事例
tonkotsuboy_com
7
2.4k
Package Management Learnings from Homebrew
mikemcquaid
0
230
なぜSQLはAIぽく見えるのか/why does SQL look AI like
florets1
0
470
AI & Enginnering
codelynx
0
110
開発者から情シスまで - 多様なユーザー層に届けるAPI提供戦略 / Postman API Night Okinawa 2026 Winter
tasshi
0
200
Implementation Patterns
denyspoltorak
0
290
Architectural Extensions
denyspoltorak
0
290
Honoを使ったリモートMCPサーバでAIツールとの連携を加速させる!
tosuri13
1
180
カスタマーサクセス業務を変革したヘルススコアの実現と学び
_hummer0724
0
710
要求定義・仕様記述・設計・検証の手引き - 理論から学ぶ明確で統一された成果物定義
orgachem
PRO
1
140
それ、本当に安全? ファイルアップロードで見落としがちなセキュリティリスクと対策
penpeen
7
3.9k
Featured
See All Featured
The Art of Programming - Codeland 2020
erikaheidi
57
14k
JAMstack: Web Apps at Ludicrous Speed - All Things Open 2022
reverentgeek
1
340
職位にかかわらず全員がリーダーシップを発揮するチーム作り / Building a team where everyone can demonstrate leadership regardless of position
madoxten
57
50k
Building Applications with DynamoDB
mza
96
6.9k
Learning to Love Humans: Emotional Interface Design
aarron
275
41k
Rails Girls Zürich Keynote
gr2m
96
14k
Kristin Tynski - Automating Marketing Tasks With AI
techseoconnect
PRO
0
140
How Fast Is Fast Enough? [PerfNow 2025]
tammyeverts
3
450
The Cost Of JavaScript in 2023
addyosmani
55
9.5k
Designing Dashboards & Data Visualisations in Web Apps
destraynor
231
54k
Unlocking the hidden potential of vector embeddings in international SEO
frankvandijk
0
170
Optimizing for Happiness
mojombo
379
71k
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