Learn design with Hello Web Design

Learn design

Written for programmers and non-designers, this brief but information-packed book and course will help you feel comfortable doing design.

Now being published by No Starch Press
Buy the book


Design fundamentals and shortcuts for non-designers.

Beginner design books assume you want to become an expert designer. What if you want to learn just enough to complement your existing work? Hello Web Design will teach you the basics about design (no history!) and give you shortcuts so you can immediately become a better designer.

Raised over $22,000 on Kickstarter from over 700 backers.

Hello Web Design

Features include

  • 17 videos and screencasts.
  • 164 page eBook.
  • Three eBook formats: PDF, ePub, and .mobi/Kindle.
  • Paperback included.
  • Dozens of real-world examples.
  • Everything you need to start designing today.

What you'll learn

Walkthrough the stages of design

Learn the steps of designing to help you go from idea, to blank paper, to prototypes, to launched project.

Shortcuts on choosing colors

Forget choosing colors randomly on a color wheel — find out the best shortcuts to get you a great color palette fast.

The basics of fonts

Learn the differences between fonts, basic typography, and where to find (and narrow down) great typefaces.

Demystifying white space

You know it's important, but how to use it? We'll go through where white space can help your design the most.

Where to find images and icons

Great imagery can make a design. Learn some easy tips on how to use imagery and great resources on where to find it.

The importance of user experience

Design isn't how it looks   it's how it works. Learn how your visual design ties into the user-experience.

This may have been my favorite talk of the convention. What I loved most was that Tracy didn't waste time talking about meaningless theory. She told me exactly why my website was shite to look at, and even more importantly, how to fix it.

— Mark Knapik at PHP[Tek] in May 2017

Table of Contents

Five chapters, two mega sections, 170 pages, over a hundred examples and shortcuts.

Now being published through No Starch Press

Click here to buy on NoStarch.com

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn?
Hello Web Design teaches visual and user experience fundamentals, specifically focusing on web-based design. The goal is to help developers, in one brief book, feel comfortable jumping in and doing design themselves.
Does this involve code?
Absolutely no code. No HTML, no CSS, no nothin'. Hello Web Design focuses on what you can see (and how to make it pretty) and why user experience is important (because you want what you build to be easy to use.) It's all about how to design and what to know, but not how to actually implement the design. Maybe in an upcoming book?
How does Hello Web Design differ from other design books and courses?
Hello Web Design is deliberately short and the tone is friendly and informal with a bit of silliness mixed in. Theory is touched on, but the focus is on shortcuts and real-world examples. Absolutely no bs or stodgy explanations. In a nutshell, it's small (in a good way), to the point, with lots of examples, and fun to read.