Design for Hackers: Reverse Engineering Beauty - Softcover

Discover the techniques behind beautiful design?by deconstructing designs to understand them The term 'hacker' has been redefined to consist of anyone who has an insatiable curiosity as to how things work and how they can try to make them better. This book is aimed at hackers of all skill levels and explains the classical principles and techniques behind beautiful designs by deconstructing those designs in order to understand what makes them so remarkable. Author and designer David Kadavy provides you with the framework for understanding good design and places a special emphasis on interactive mediums. You'll explore color theory, the role of proportion and geometry in design, and the relationship between medium and form. Packed with unique reverse engineering design examples, this book inspires and encourages you to discover and create new beauty in a variety of formats. * Breaks down and studies the classical principles and techniques behind the creation of beautiful design * Illustrates cultural and contextual considerations in communicating to a specific audience * Discusses why design is important, the purpose of design, the various constraints of design, and how today's fonts are designed with the screen in mind * Dissects the elements of color, size, scale, proportion, medium, and form * Features a unique range of examples, including the graffiti in the ancient city of Pompeii, the lack of the color black in Monet's art, the style and sleekness of the iPhone, and more By the end of this book, you'll be able to apply the featured design principles to your own web designs, mobile apps, or other digital work.

"If you want to learn to create great design yourself...there simply is no way to do so with lists of rules. Instead, I want to provide you with a new set of eyes through which you can see the world anew."---DAVID KADAVY

WHY DID MONET NEVER USE THE COLOR BLACK IN HIS PAINTINGS?

WHY IS THE GOLDEN RATIO NOT ALL IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE?

WHY IS COMIC SANS SUCH A HATED FONT?

It's amazing what you can learn about great web design by asking questions like these. Award-winning designer David Kadavy uses this "reverse-engineering" process in Design for Hackers to deconstruct classical design principles and techniques from web designers. Using an eclectic array of reverse-engineered examples, ranging from Twitter's latest redesign, to Target's red shopping carts, and ancient graffiti from the walls of Pompeii, he explains:

• COLOR THEORY: How can you enliven your designs by understanding how colors interact?
• PROPORTION AND GEOMETRY: How can you establish a grid that is suitable for the device on which your design will be displayed?
• SIZE AND SCALE: How can you create clean design just by choosing the right type sizes?
• WHITE SPACE: How can you use it elegantly to communicate clearly?
• COMPOSITION AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES: How can you use them to make your designs more compelling?
• TYPOGRAPHIC ETIQUETTE: What tiny typographic details can make a huge difference in what you're communicating?