I don't think I realized til recently how important good user interface design is. Apple is a famous example.. have you noticed how in movies, if anyone is ever using a laptop it's ALWAYS a mac? I asked my brother and he said it's because they just look better.. and it's true. I prefer Windows and I'm a big fan of Unix/Linux but I do appreciate the simplicity and elegance of Apple products.
For a while, as I browsed through various programming blogs, I wondered why some blogs just seemed more legit than others. Some of the material in those blogs I dismissed was probably very good, very thorough, and the authors were probably very knowledgeable. So it's an unfortunate fact for them that I, and probably many other people judge the quality of a blog (or app, program, etc, anything really) by its design. I generally don't like pages that are too busy, I don't like clashing/weird color schemes, I don't like the look of default html tables, I don't like gratuitous pictures/icons that pop up everywhere. Yes I am picky but the look of an application is much more important than many programmers are willing to admit.
I know I'm one to talk. My blog isn't very professional looking and sometimes my thoughts aren't coherent. And, from browsing other sites, I can see it's common to format code a different way, to maybe wrap it in a table, to highlight and bold certain keywords, to have good spacing, and most of these things I don't follow well. But as this is a blog mainly for my own learning purposes, I'm fine with what I have. I like how the orange goes with the blue.
Just some thoughts.. I'm interning with a company that produces some very beautifully designed products. I've been to a few lectures presented by our creative team and their Powerpoints are always very well put together, make full use of color harmonies, and have perfect font sizes and spacing. Before this internship, I never thought I could describe a Powerpoint as "pretty". And whenever tech makes powerpoints, they just throw everything together. It's really kind of amusing to see the differences.
I should note that good design and beautiful design aren't necessarily the same things, and a product that incorporates both is commendable.
