I am a web developer and I have built many websites. And over the years my designs is getting better but now I can't seem to figure out how to be better in design. I don't know how to draw but I have a somewhat good selection in color combination for a website.

My question is ... How do I get better in design?
It seems like I have the following options:

  • Look for great websites on the web and see what they are doing.
  • Try to copy great looking websites.
  • Play around with some designs and try to figure out how to do it better.

If you have any advice please tell me.

Thanks,
Farris

Jen Larosa commented: I'd totally recommend to just have a minimal design, and search for color palette regarding with the niche of your site. +0

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Your post reminds me of another question. Which is:

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

The answer to that is the same as getting better at web sites. Practice, practice, practice.

There are folk that ask such questions but fib about the question in a vain attempt at SEO but let's go with your question.

Not only do you practice but you build a bigger team. If you need better graphics, there's a lot of untapped talent out there that may do the work for just a mention in the web site credits.

I know that I should practice, but what should I focus on? And regarding team building, I want to work by myself. I like creating websites from scratch.

I have removed the links from your post as they are not required in order to answer the question, and they could put some off of answering as they appear spammy.

Personally, I would have to agree with rproffitt in that if you can get better with practice then practice. If you can't get better with practice then hire in the talent you need as you need it.

You ask what you should focus on in your second post, something you have already answered in your first: look for great websites on the web and see what they are doing, play around with some designs and try to figure out how to do it better.

commented: This is true in almost every skill. What scares me are doctors. They call it their practice. +10

depends upon your practice and handling capacity you can get also you have to refere other designs.

Im going to have to go against popular opinion and say that it's not always the case that practice makes perfect. I tend to only use half my brain. I'm not very artistic or musical. When I was in elementary school, I practiced the violin for hours and hours every single day, and never got the least bit better. Same with drawing. There was a will. But there was no way. Luckily math, science and programming were all my thing.

When it comes to website user experience and usability, I say the best way is just by checking out lots of other layouts and reading up about the reasons behind why elements were used and why things were done a certain way. Find similarities and patterns. When it comes to graphic design, at least in my case, you either got it or you don't.

  • You have to make navigation intuitive
  • Your design must be universal (crossplatform)
    Actually, there is a special article dedicated to the topic

UX design is a thing, which allows the users to orientate within an application in a simple and easy manner. However, sometimes, the beginning developers sometimes do not understand, what is a crucial role of that thing within their extensions and applications. So, in that article https://artjoker.net/blog/what-is-the-role-of-ux-design-in-mobile-and-web-building/ we will try to deal with that mistake and show the readers, how important and influential is the idea of the creation of a good UX design.

Practice is the most thing you need to do. You also research or watch the beautiful arts, catch the trends in worldwide, and learn from videos :)

Designing a website is a very creative and thoughtful task to be done. Everything matters while designing it from the color selection to the layout, from the feel & look to its responsive design.
Now a days people are focusing on putting more and more animations in the websites just to make them more interactive.
From my point of view , if you use certain things like

  1. Cinemagraphy
  2. Line-up icons
  3. Handmade designs
    they would make your designs a little bit more interseting and presentable.
    And yes, making the internet your playground, would also do the trick.
    I hope my suggestions would solve your problems to some extent..

Now I work as web developer and in my work I contacted with UX/UI web designers from different It companies like Effective Soft Corporation But I am also interested in interface design so I need more practise with photoshop. You know I think UI design makes an application or website more attractive.

I would suggest you to try learn from the designs of well known web development firms like Axisbits, GoodCore and others, such big web development firms usually have portfolio section, you can always get inspired from the elements of their design and use it in your work.

Practice a lot. And for example, you should try Skillshare. There are many nice video tutorials tha could maybe help you in many ways ;)

Study design theory. A proper understanding of concepts such as grid theory can transform your work. ...
Learn how to get more from feedback. ...
Start a side project. ...
Experiment. ...
Talk to other designers. ...
Read a book.

Using the right sofware always help.

Have you tried Figma? great for devs and improves workflow when converting designs to html

you need to follow authoritative groups and channels to follow the latest trends and then you will have more ideas when creating your unique design

get treaning and work hard

You should work on color combination and easy to navigation flow of website. Also choose a font which is attractive in looking.

Nice post

Work systematically, break down work into logical steps, and don't make making money your top priority while you're studying. After all, you can only succeed when you truly love what you do.

I would add that you need to have a plan of your development, also when designing your website, navigation is key, also it is critical that you take the time to optimize your site for mobile. Good luck!

Simple Ways to Improve Your Design Skills

1 | Subscribe to design blogs.
2 | Take an online course.
3 | Read books and magazines.
4 | Follow along with other designers/design agencies.
5 | Pay attention to great design to see what they're doing right.
6 | Utilize templates.
7 | Recreate designs for practice.
8 | Experiment.

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