Essay · 25 min read

7 Rules for Creating Gorgeous UI

Erik D. Kennedy · Learn UI Design (Erik Kennedy) Free Beginner

Erik Kennedy writes for engineers and founders who were never taught design, and his rules are unusually memorable (light comes from the sky, double your white space, only use good fonts). Each one targets a specific amateur tell, so you can audit your own screens against them. The updated version reflects current UI conventions, not 2015 skeuomorphism.

  • Pick from a short list of proven fonts instead of the tool default
  • Doubling white space is the fastest credibility upgrade
  • Text over images needs a scrim or overlay to stay readable
Open on learnui.design ↗

It answers 3 questions

  1. I'm not a designer, how do I make my product not look terrible?
  2. How do I make a no-code app feel polished and trustworthy instead of looking like an obvious template?
  3. What are the most common design mistakes that make an early product feel amateur, and how do I avoid them?

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