prva cast

In the end, I learned the aesthetics of apps the same way I’ve learned any creative endeavor: cold, hard analysis. And shameless copying of what works. I’ve worked 10 hours on a UI project and billed for 1. The other 9 were the wild flailing of learning. Desperately searching Google and Pinterest and Dribbble for something to copy from.

These “rules” are the lessons from those hours.

So word to the nerds: if I’m any good at designing UI now, it’s because I’ve analyzed stuff — not because I came out the chute with an intuitive understanding of beauty and balance.

This article is not theory. This article is pure application. You won’t see anything about golden ratios. I don’t even mention color theory. Only what I’ve learned from being bad and then deliberately practicing.

Think of it this way: Judo was developed based on centuries of Japanese martial and philosophical traditions. You take judo lessons, and in addition to fighting, you’ll hear a lot about energy and flow and harmony. That sort of stuff.

druha

asdfasdfas

tretia

The Rules

Here they are:

1. Light comes from the sky
2. Black and white first
3. Double your whitespace
4. Learn the methods of overlaying text on images (see Part 2)
5. Make text pop— and un-pop (see Part 2)
6. Only use good fonts (see Part 2)
7. Steal like an artist (see Part 2)

Let’s get to it.

piata

asdfasdf