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Design Foundations For Developers

In this episode of Syntax, Scott and Wes talk about design foundations for developers — tips to follow that will make your designs better!

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Show Notes

6:35 - Our backgrounds in design

12:41 - Foundations

  • Consistency makes a big difference
  • Use “training wheel” tools until you are confident
  • Always work within a system
  • Less is more - subtle is better

19:39 - Color

  • Color theory
  • Complementary colors and shades
  • Stick to color pallet generators until you are good enough

28:51 - Spacing

  • More spacing than you think you need
  • Vertical rhythm
  • Letter spacing: -1px
  • Consistent margin and padding

34:47 - Typography

  • Sans vs serifs
  • Finding fonts
  • Use proven combinations until you know your way around

41:49 - Interaction

  • Design for all states (e.g. standard, visited, active, hover, etc.)
  • Animations should be quick
  • Interactions should make sense

45:04 - Concerns beyond visuals

  • Accessibility via color contrast
  • Thin fonts and light grey are awful
  • Think about the poor Windows users

48:47 - Inspiration + Resources

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