If you take a crappy website... and then you draw out a few screens of that visual design... and change some colors and borders... (and it not even a real interface) (just a screenshot of a photoshop document) (and it doesn't work) (and it's basically the same shitty interface) (and it's not real) (and you never tested it with users)

...and you are feeling like you have imposter syndrome, it's because you aren't a UX designer. You need help. You are deeply delusional.

We can help you - but you have to be really honest with yourself...

You're going to have to do some real work, read some books, and accept that *praise* - is not the goal.

I make crappy websites, I'm very much a NOT a UX designer.

I just pick a good CSS library and go from there.

@N00bPancakes well, it sounds like you aren’t delusional. But I’m talking about people who make portfolio websites - with the purpose of presenting themselves as “UX designers” who have no idea what that really means...

Also - how would a CSS framework help anyone ‘design’ anything? Seems like an implementation tool at best.

@sheriffderek because it already has an intrinsic design. It will still require some design on your part but no longer every element. You can heavily borrow from what the framework provides in both elements and UX/concepts.

I didn't really get the second paragraph. Imposter syndrome because they *are imposters* but yet delusional? I would say the ones who think they are the shit are delusional.

@sheriffderek

Yeah by no means do I think I'm some UX, or design guy.

I'll pivot off that and say that as far as most development work.... I suspect most apps, websites, are just done by folks who don't think of them as UX or design person... they're just trying to put something together that works.

Lots of effort / talk about UX, design, is a luxury for most products. Maybe it shouldn't be, but I think that is how it is.

@N00bPancakes Yes. I think you are right. But I also think that it doesn’t have to be. I think that a “UX” team is often just a bottleneck. I think it’s about basic education:

Too many people finish CS uni or a boot camp and then show me their final project:

@sheriffderek so, we’ve got ‘coders’ who claim not to understand “design” and then designers claiming not to understand “code.” - which is not a smart way to live.

Programming is design.

Visual design / UX whatever - is design.

They are just focuses in the same medium of the web. Everyone involved should understand that medium clearly. If you don’t know how HTML works... you should be designing things for the web.

@sheriffderek but —- that’s a side rant.

Originally I’m just saying.. that just because UX is marketed as in demand and “cool” doesn’t mean you can just throw together a pretend portfolio and somehow actually have any real value or experience calling yourself a UX designer.

@sheriffderek

Yeah I agree, heck I'd like to learn some UI / UX basics and etc....

But when I do it's often high level. Like any given resource starts droning on about a button color and man I don't care UI/UX guies! I'm just picking a damn CSS framework for that.

That AND there's a TON of ... minutia discussion surrounding it, and even disagreement.

I recently added a reset button to a form, but Stack Overflow is all full of discussion about how that's a bad thing .... but it's a god damn reset button ... none of the downsides I saw were likely to occur...

I feel like UI / UX needs a better 'introduction' and 'lite practical application' that isn't just super simple weirdly vague rules.

It's a weird space.

@N00bPancakes Agreed!

At the basic level... just being readable - is the thing that people could start with. Devs have sites with text spanning 1400px with 30 words on a line... so, just basic typography is huge.

But further on... it’s about goal-driven design. If you have a goal: then you can measure it. In the case of your button... what I consider “UX” - would be to make a few versions in a CodePen... tell the user the goal of the form - and see if you can measure its success. How it looks - is really just decorating the cake. (But the cake has to taste good)