Of course it's good for a web developer to have a feel for design! At least at some level. Getting a feel for flow, balance, typography and colors at least at a

Of course it's good for a web developer to have a feel for design! At least at some level. Getting a feel for flow, balance, typography and colors at least at a level where you can recognize what makes a great design great, is a huge advantage. There are some great resources for design, which I think can be approached by a typical programmer. * Grid layouts such as http://960.gs/ http://960.gs/ and http://www.blueprintcss.org/ http://www.blueprintcss.org/ * Typogrify which helps you create better typography (and is also a resource for stuff to think about!) http://code.google.com/p/typogrify/ http://code.google.com/p/typogrify/ * Compass makes it easier to create good design with standards http://compass-style.org/ http://compass-style.org/ * Good read on typography http://informationarchitects.jp/the-web-is-all-about-typography-period/ http://informationarchitects.jp/the-web-is-all-about-typogra... * Color schemes http://colorschemedesigner.com/ http://colorschemedesigner.com/ On your other question, yes that sounds really, really tough. You should have a few people in your circle, to work with and to bounce ideas with. I wish I had more, knowledgeable designers myself, to learn from.