It cracks me up when I see post like this: GUI Design Book Recommendations?. I give the poster props for recognizing his own short comings. I think he’s over simplifying the problem.
You can’t read a book on good design, and then be a good designer. Just like you can’t read a book on how to code better, and then become a better coder. A good designer has years, and years of practice. Some go to very high end schools to study design for years before they can even grasp good design. If I was a designer I would be insulted that someone thinks what you do is so petty it can be summed up in one book.
On a side note, I’m a terrible designer. I love working with a designer who can mock out prototypes, pick colors. I have enough eyes for design to recognize that something sucks, but I lack the skill needed to put a professional look on anything. I think I’m great at beautifying code, but I’ll leave beatifying UI up to a real designer. I think good designers are worth their weight in gold times two.
