Refactoring UI
Design advice written for developers, as a set of specific rules you can apply rather than principles you have to interpret. It will visibly improve your interfaces within a day, without making you a designer.
Book
Web Development
Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger
A weekend
All
About $99
What it is
A book of concrete visual design tactics aimed at developers who have no design training, presented as before and after pairs with the specific change named.
Why it works when design books usually do not
It gives rules rather than taste. Use fewer font sizes and pick them from a fixed scale. Do not communicate hierarchy with colour alone. Give elements space in proportion to their relationship. Use a real shadow rather than a border for elevation. Rules can be applied on a Tuesday afternoon; principles cannot.
The realistic outcome
Your side projects and internal tools will stop looking like unstyled forms, and your portfolio will read as more professional. It will not replace a designer on a product team, and it does not claim to.
Best for: backend and full stack developers who ship their own interfaces, and anyone building a portfolio.
Ready to start?
Opens on Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger in a new tab.
Stuck on something specific?
Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Every session is free; a few slots open each week.
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