I can rapidly prototype code but I get tripped up on design | Hacker News Reader

I can rapidly prototype code but I get tripped up on design

5 pointsrcavezza5 comments

Guys,

I'm a big fan of rapid prototyping. Get your startup idea up in a week or two and get a feel for how people like it. I can easily create the code (php/jquery,etc) but I always get tripped up on the design.

I'm not entirely sure what the resource I'm looking for is, but I want to find tools to help me quickly put together CSS spreadhsheets with decent looking designs.

Are there generators with web 2.0 design styles where you can click which features you want and it will generate designs for you?

I'm not looking for a design that will be the design the site will have in two months, just something that people can look at and not think this website is a complete joke.

Maybe something like http://www.web20generator.com that's less of a joke and has more features.

I've been studying at designfromscratch.com to help get some principles, but I'm not a design guy and I'd rather pay for design after my concepts are solid.

I'm not sure if I'll get laughed off the boards for this, but any tips/ideas would be appreciated.

I know exactly how you feel. A few more thoughts.

I wish I knew how much "design" was the threshold for users to accept the site as "professional", basically what I could get away with.

I think I get tripped up because I don't like those 2.0 designs. I call it "frosting" or "cheese". And I prefer the less frosted sites like HN and craigslist, or even google.

I get especially annoyed when my frequent sites get redesigned to look more 2.0. The worst was slashdot. They threw everthing in there, gradient, bars, rounded corners. To me that looks much worse than before, but I wonder how many people find it better.

The word needs a study or focus group on how frosted a site needs to get to be appreciated by its users.

While you struggle with design, I struggle with code since I'm more of a designer. It's even worse because all I can do is stare at a static HTML version and imagine the functionality of my app!

How about starting with an html or Wordpress theme from themeforest (www.themeforest.com). You can get a decent one for $15-$40.

Have some fun and make your own tool. If you know php and jquery you can make a wicked program to show some sample divs and play with the colors using jquery popups with color wheels and whatnot. Cld be a mighty good iphone app too.

Make it functional and ugly, your audience will follow if the idea and code is good. Having it be pretty should be a secondary goal. Once you get real numbers, hire a UI designer.

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