Thinking with Type - Google Search

https://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253

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https://www.are.na/josh-pindjak/books-yfa8gi9xgu8

yeah, that quote really sums up my design journey. i think i'm better and decent now, but i still feel that way lol.

but yeah, just keep on designing things—take a step back and evaluate what's good/bad. also don't be afraid to ask! i find designers are generally a decent lot 😄

Make just *anything* as a start point. Work out what’s wrong with it. Rinse and repeat! Get friendly with really good designers and ask them for feedback.

Something looking terrible is just part of the process.. Embrace it!

Being able to understand *why* something looks bad is half the battle

Try to make copies of your favorite interfaces. Then get a bunch of books about graphic design fundamentals like The Grid™ and Typography®!

I appreciate the response - especially the bit about variations and options, will take a look at doing more of that! Also, I love your feed - sent some posts to my designer friends and we all had a chuckle :D

Will check it out! The ones I have on my shelf (read them...a looong time ago) are Thinking with Type, Logo design love, and The elements of graphic design which were all very helpful when I took a class on this stuff in college.

Of course, the Bringhurst book is really old and and a lot of the typographic rules just aren't applicable when designing UI, websites, etc. but it's a good foundational exploration of typography in it's purest sense, and it was integral for my training as a designer

Ignore Figma and just design in what you are comfortable with. Tools change

Yeah the "why" has always been a struggle for me - I did recently start reading "Refactoring UI", which targets developers and helps them figure out this question. Thanks for this :)

Specific book recos would be --

Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton: https://g.co/kgs/GeFFtuY

Making and Breaking the Grid by Tim Samara: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Breaking-Grid-Graphic-Workshop/dp/1592531253

Does anyone have practical advice for a developer looking to improve their skills in Figma and design? I think my hesitation can be summarized as "Afraid of making initial stuff look bad", with an accompanying image:

Do what designers do in their education:

Design lots of variations and options. Compare everything. Train your eye for what works and what doesnt work. 

even 10+ years into my career, the first thing i design is rarely the thing I ship.

I did see the advice for recreating stuff on Reddit - I just have to make sure I don't lean too much into it because I struggled with that during my Illustrator learnings. Are those titles by any specific authors or....?

Some resources for fundamentals https://www.degreeless.design/

Thank you! 🫡 doing my part to add to the "discourse" lol

Great suggestions by @cattsmall - I was lucky enough to take a drawing class by Tim Samara back in 2013 or so.

I'll add The Elements of Typographic Style (Bringhurst) for finer details of typography. I have a PDF of it here: https://www.are.na/josh-pindjak/books-yfa8gi9xgu8

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