Designing Interfaces

Most "ugly" apps are not missing talent, they are missing constraints: twelve font sizes, spacing picked per element, a dozen near-identical greys, and buttons that each grew their own style. Good design here is mostly removing choices. Fix the system first (tokens, scales), then the screens fall into line.

Contents

• Step 1 — Look before you touch anything
• Step 2 — Audit against the six fundamentals
• Step 3 — Tokens first, restyle second
• Step 4 — Components and states
• Step 5 — Verify visually
• Native apps
• Scoping design work into issues
• Anti-patterns

Step 1 — Look before you touch anything