Design

I recently tried to explain to a friend why I felt like I struggle to add design to my own apps. It’s not that I can’t draw, and it’s not that I’m not creative — I’ve been an improviser and comedy writer for years. I understand design principles and I have the front end skills I need to carry them out. However, when I try to add design to my own apps, I feel like I spend a long time working without ever actually making a design that looks polished and professional.

Then something very very obvious finally dawned on me. I’m coming up with and keeping my design ideas in my head, while trying to code. Those are very different parts of my mind, and by trying to use both at the same time, they are getting in each other’s way. I need to separate these steps and sketch out an actual design so that I can focus on the creative side, and then try to execute it. In other words, combining these processes is actually less efficient.

Admittedly, I was also looking for an excuse to buy new writing and drawing supplies…