Video · 44 min

Refactoring UI (CSS Day 2019 talk)

Steve Schoger · YouTube Free Beginner

Refactoring UI (CSS Day 2019 talk)

Watch Steve Schoger take ugly, developer-built screens and fix them live, narrating every decision. Seeing the transformation happen in real time makes the rules stick better than reading them. It is the fastest way to understand what actually separates a plain interface from a polished one.

  • Small cosmetic changes compound into a big jump in polish
  • Contrast, spacing, and shadow do most of the heavy lifting
  • Watching a redesign happen teaches the eye faster than theory
Watch on YouTube ↗

It answers 3 questions

  1. I'm not a designer, how do I make my product not look terrible?
  2. What are the most common design mistakes that make an early product feel amateur, and how do I avoid them?
  3. As a solo technical founder, when is it worth hiring a designer versus using a template or design system?

Read with it

  1. Design tactics written specifically for developers and non-designers who need to ship good-looking UI without a design... refactoringui.com Book · ~250 pages Refactoring UI Adam Wathan & Steve Schoger
  2. A free, fast preview of the Refactoring UI mindset that you can apply this afternoon. It gives you seven fixes (use more white... Refactoring UI (Medium) Article · 10 min read 7 Practical Tips for Cheating at Design Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger
  3. Typography is the fastest way to stop looking like a template, because every no-code builder ships one default font that... fontpair.co Tool Fontpair fontpair.co
  4. Erik Kennedy writes for engineers and founders who were never taught design, and his rules are unusually memorable (light comes... Learn UI Design (Erik Kennedy) Essay · 25 min read 7 Rules for Creating Gorgeous UI Erik D. Kennedy
  5. An interactive page that improves an ugly wall of text step by step in front of you, so you feel exactly which changes matter... jgthms.com Tool · 4 min interactive Web Design in 4 Minutes Jeremy Thomas
  6. The classic that gives non, designers four principles they will use forever: contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity.... Robin Williams (Peachpit) Book · 240 pages The Non-Designer's Design Book Robin Williams
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