4 ms·

Startups, this is how design works — The Numbers | Wells Riley

42 points by jarederondu 14y ago

michaelpinto 14y ago
beware the designer who has a widow on his headline
dbcooper 14y ago
"I have a flair for the extravagantly simple. I observe trends and politely refuse them. I am proud of my integrity and honesty as a designer. I am an entrepreneur who creates products, not business plans." {sniggers}
polari 14y ago
I don't think that the design on the original site, his portfolio (which has changed no less than 3 times now since the launch of 'How Design Works') or the unskinned, default blog layout are doing him any favors in proving that he knows how design works, which is the biggest problem plaguing the industry right now. It's easy to quote a bunch of people and get a bunch of interviews together, but Mr. Wells himself is a shining example of the difference between a trendwhore designer and a disciplined one. The second biggest problem this industry faces are people like Mr. Wells who, through efforts like his site and the subsequent post on its success, try to assert themselves as consultants or experts in fields that they aren't. Between shoddy UI templates sold on ThemeForest, bad UX practices, generic icon design and people like Sacha Grief who has tons of followers, but then sells an eBook on "UI Design" going over how he made what is probably one of the most over-designed chat applications I've ever seen before it even leaves Photoshop. The biggest stress test of UI design is that it works in production, is that it is natural to the user and doesn't cause them to pull their hair out because an overzealous designer decided layer effects and boxes with modals were more important than ease-of-use. Certain design communities exaggerate these tendencies, so I don't think we'll be seeing bad design die anytime soon, but I hope that startups can find those unicorns they're looking for that will turn things around.

4 ms·

Startups, this is how design works — The Numbers | Wells Riley

42 points by jarederondu 14y ago

michaelpinto 14y ago
beware the designer who has a widow on his headline
dbcooper 14y ago
"I have a flair for the extravagantly simple. I observe trends and politely refuse them. I am proud of my integrity and honesty as a designer. I am an entrepreneur who creates products, not business plans." {sniggers}
polari 14y ago
I don't think that the design on the original site, his portfolio (which has changed no less than 3 times now since the launch of 'How Design Works') or the unskinned, default blog layout are doing him any favors in proving that he knows how design works, which is the biggest problem plaguing the industry right now. It's easy to quote a bunch of people and get a bunch of interviews together, but Mr. Wells himself is a shining example of the difference between a trendwhore designer and a disciplined one. The second biggest problem this industry faces are people like Mr. Wells who, through efforts like his site and the subsequent post on its success, try to assert themselves as consultants or experts in fields that they aren't. Between shoddy UI templates sold on ThemeForest, bad UX practices, generic icon design and people like Sacha Grief who has tons of followers, but then sells an eBook on "UI Design" going over how he made what is probably one of the most over-designed chat applications I've ever seen before it even leaves Photoshop. The biggest stress test of UI design is that it works in production, is that it is natural to the user and doesn't cause them to pull their hair out because an overzealous designer decided layer effects and boxes with modals were more important than ease-of-use. Certain design communities exaggerate these tendencies, so I don't think we'll be seeing bad design die anytime soon, but I hope that startups can find those unicorns they're looking for that will turn things around.