157 karma · joined March 12, 2014
- The Way Things Work by David Macaulay and Neil Ardley
This book is like an encyclopedia, starting from simple machines and guiding the reader to more complex technologies. The illustrations and diagrams are amazing.
- One, Two, Three...Infinity by George Gamow
This book talks about many topics in math and science!
This sounds like a pretty cynical take. I know plenty of designers who want to design for tech, not because they "don't have the skills" to "build tech stuff" but because they have different skills, aka design skills (user research methods, applying UX best practices, visual design, the list goes on). Although many design departments may have originally started under engineering, I like to think that designers have much more to contribute than being developer-wannabes that your comment might imply.
That said, I agree with the rest of what you said! There are lots of designers out there who want a chance to practice their skills, and I encourage everyone to at least get your project design critiqued!
- I started coding when I was young, and I still struggled academically. There is a difference between knowing how to code and understanding computer science. For me, I found discrete math and formal proofs extremely difficult.
- It is very, very easy to get caught up in a constant mode of grinding CS hw/projects, especially if you're around a lot of studious people. Work smarter, not harder.
- Grades aren't everything! If your main goal is to get a job, you don't need straight A's. No recruiter or manager has ever asked for my GPA.
- Take classes outside of CS. Have hobbies outside of coding. Make friends who are studying different disciplines. You need outside perspectives to better understand the impact of technology on the world. Be aware of life outside the tech industry. Recognize software engineering as a tool to apply to issues.
- You'll meet people from so many different backgrounds. Some people come from high schools that taught Java and some people come from high schools that are not able offer any technology-related classes. Remember that some people are learning to code for the first time in their life!
For getting an internship (assuming you're interested in a SWE role):
- First of all, it's perfectly fine to not have an internship!! You can take classes, do research, work on side projects, etc.
- If you don't have prior job experience, spend some time on side projects (that are meaningful to you!!) to demonstrate your technical abilities.
- Have someone who is more experienced review your resume.
- You might hear that it's very difficult to get an internship straight out of freshman year. Honestly, at that stage, it's just a numbers game–the more online applications you throw your resume at, the more likely you'll get an interview.
- Don't discount career fairs on campus! I used to think they wouldn't be helpful because they were so crowded, but I got my internship after freshman year by talking to a manager at a career fair.
- Be able to clearly and succinctly describe yourself and your goals. What are your interests, and why? How do your hobbies and/or past experience support those interests?
It's super comprehensive overall, and I particularly like the documentation for the components. For example, even for a basic Checkbox (https://polaris.shopify.com/components/forms/checkbox), they provide sample code, accessibility guidelines, dos and don'ts, and related components. They have clearly put thought into how the system should feel overall; design systems are not just about the CSS of the UI pieces.
It's also cool how they display prop types; if it's a more complex type, then you can click on the prop for details, and click even deeper if needed.
The engagement model should be a bit of both:
- Designers who maintain the design system are like the architects, and advocate for other developers to use the system patterns. They should also partner with developers to ensure that the UI components are opinionated.
- You still need to consider your web app's overall UX flows though, so designers are still needed to mock up new features for the developers to implement. Even with a robust design system, there are many ways to easily create unintuitive or messy designs. A designer should be assigned to each team and be in charge of mocking up the team's work and ensuring that the team is properly using the design system.
This is a crowd-sourced repo of internship statuses for this summer, which might help: https://github.com/gcreddy42/hiring2020
My advice is to just continue building projects and you're already well on your way!
I also really like the quotes about each component! Is there an online copy of this Microsoft Windows User Experience manual somewhere?
As someone who hasn't heard of the Baymard Institute before, I was slightly confused at how their site was marketing their research as a product as opposed to sharing their research for academic and community engagement.
Although less research-based, I am a big fan of the UX Stack Exchange (https://ux.stackexchange.com/) for informing decisions on UI/UX design details; the answers usually provide clear justification and diagrams describing possible solutions.
You can post an anonymous survey on Reddit or specific Facebook groups, and have people leave their email if they are open to a follow-up interview.
If you already have a prototype, there are paid online services like UserTesting (https://www.usertesting.com/) where you can specify tasks for users to complete and get verbal feedback.
I found it to be hilarious, relatable, and some parts sadly true.
Excerpt from the Goodreads page:
> You know those subtle tricks your coworkers are all guilty of? The constant nodding, pretend concentration, useless rhetorical questions? These tricks make them seem like they know what they’re doing when in fact they have no clue. This behavior is so ingrained, so subtle, and so often mistaken for true intelligence that identifying it, calling it out, or compiling it into an exhaustive digest has never been attempted. Until now.
> Complete with illustrated tips, examples, and scenarios, 100 Tricks gives you actionable ways to use words like “actionable,” in order to sound smart. Every type of meeting is covered, from general meetings where you stopped paying attention almost immediately, to one-on-one meetings you zoned out on, to impromptu meetings you were painfully subjected to at the last minute. It’s all here.
One of key advantage is that it has Google-Doc-like collaboration features which will make communication with team members much easier down the line. Other features I like are:
- it lets you define components similar to how you would structure your components when coding the frontend, which will help you develop a cohesive styleguide
- you can create a clickable prototype which can help present your designs or for user testing
If you've used other design software like Sketch or Adobe XD, then Figma is like an online version.
The audience names a color, and the lights change accordingly. I remember attending a talk of his where he briefly mentioned the huge color name mapping he created for this piece!
I still find myself in situations where I need more than Markdown but less than React; as a result I just need to quickly get some HTML on a page. Emmet lets you expand a snippet similar to a CSS selector into full-fledged markup, complete with attributes.
Also, in the last section:
> or UC Berkeley (oh, I’m sorry, “Cal”)
A bit off-topic, but as a Berkeley student, I was a bit amused/confused here, what's the sarcasm in the parenthetical about? According to our official branding guidelines[1] both are acceptable, though Cal is mostly used in athletic contexts.
[1] pg34-35, https://brand.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Berkel...
I feel comfortable enough with my technical skills where I feel like I can pick up a new language or framework with relative ease, so I want to switch gears and improve my drawing and visual communication skills. I believe that any project can benefit from a compelling visual component.
For now, I've been trying to start slow and just have fun; for example, telling myself to do three quick sketches of my dog every day and keep up a habit. Eventually I'd like to follow some more structured exercises and resources, like https://drawabox.com/.
For example, using your basic HTML/CSS skills, you can create a button. Then, create an input field. Then, put those together in a div and use a few lines of flexbox layout css to arrange the two pieces. Maybe you want something below it, which responds to what you input? Create another div below this input/button div, and then put this whole thing in another div to contain it all.
Try thinking of user interfaces in terms of rows and columns. More complex user interfaces are simply rows of columns of rows of columns! Start with small, basic pieces and put them together.
- Learning to make a barebones HTML/CSS webpage would be super relevant (and in conjunction, learn about how web browsers work).
- Someone in this thread mentioned file systems, and this may seem basic to the HN crowd but I agree - right now in college I'm teaching an intro web design course and I was surprised to find that the most common hurdle is probably filepaths!
- For teaching CS/programming related things, definitely do it in a way that makes it applicable to anyone - for example, basic "data science" projects like using Python to read/process spreadsheets of data could be used in nearly any field of study in the future, no matter what the student is interested in.
- Also, if you have the budget, I would even recommend getting a few Arduino kits to show what it's like to blink an LED! It can be a very simple demo for students who have never touched electronics, and more experienced students can try other blinking patterns or electronics components.
Generally projects like these demo something cool and practical to expose basic concepts, while having many possible avenues of enrichment for students who might be more advanced.
Would be cool if you wrapped this in a Chrome extension as a new-tab page.
For specific design questions, I like to search the UX Stack Exchange (https://ux.stackexchange.com/) whenever I'm unsure of a UI design. For example, if I'm designing a pagination component or error messages, there are probably relevant questions and answers related to best practices.
I would also recommend familiarizing yourself with the human-centered design process - nothing beats hands-on user research and prototyping. Identify which parts of your interface are causing the most friction, why, and what users are actually trying to achieve.
A lot of UI can be improved with basic visual design concepts - typography, color, spacing, visual hierarchy, composition.
Also, it's interesting that when Olmsted designed Central Park, he didn't actually intend for it to be used for active recreation. In his vision of the park, you were either walking or riding a carriage, and scenery was only meant to be viewed (don't even think about eating or making out on the grass!).
Tom Scott has a pretty good video explaining exactly why writing code about time is not trivial:
The Problem with Time & Timezones - Computerphile