How to become a better designer: develop an aesthetic sense

or how exposing yourself to all sorts of art helps you create better UIs

Over the years I have noticed that following the basic principles of UI, such as having a color palette, good spacing and so on, just isn’t enough. We see an avalanche of UI/UX courses that promise to make you a better designer. Let’s face it. Completing a bunch of UI/UX courses will not make you a better designer. Their purpose is to provide the foundation of theoretical knowledge.

I have come to the conclusion that designers don’t draw inspiration from the right places. It’s like this picturesque scenario where there’s a princess stuck in this beautiful garden and the charming prince comes to rescue her bringing along the prettiest flower bouquet. This scenario is the equivalent of, for example, Dribbble designs. They represent utopias, merely because they are meant to stay conceptual.

Let’s make things clear: what is aesthetics?

Aesthetics is not an extension of art, but the effort to unveil the intimacy of an artistic act and the analysis of the specific of art as an object of thought (Nicolai Hartmann — Aesthetics, 1953)

Simply put, aesthetics does not mean looking at pretty paintings. It means viewing art as something to contemplate. We need to try to uncover the intention of the artist and try to find meaning. Kant said that the artistic object behaves as it was meant to suit my current state of mind. So no, aesthetics is not the science of pretty, but the science of uncovering art and its intentions, if you will.

Why do you need to develop an aesthetic sense?

First of all, when examining different UIs, you’ll know to distinguish between the designs that just look pretty from the ones that follow aesthetic principles and have an intrinsic logic. Only the latter UIs are good UIs because they stick to what has been proven to work. The rest of them just have pretty colors. Keep in mind:

Good design is invisible (Donald Norman)

You can’t develop an aesthetic sense solely from spending time studying UIs. One should draw inspiration from just about anything, ranging from architecture to theater or music. Even though not all of them represent visual experiences, making yourself observe determines your brain to form new connections. Moreover, forcing yourself to look for meanings where you previously couldn’t find them will make you notice the small details. Those small details are the ones that sustain the picture as a whole.

When it comes to UI, there are certain delicate things you need to do in order to make the design look tidied up. But bear in mind, though: UI designers are not artists. And that’s okay. We shouldn’t aspire to change this status from UI designers to UI artists. That is because, even though we are innovators, innovation stands within the field of problem-solving. And when it comes to experimentation, developing a UI for a company or a start-up is not the place to test your wildest ideas concerning the shape of a button, but to test different solutions to the problems the company is facing. We weren’t hired to reinvent the wheel.

Your role as a designer is, most importantly, finding solutions. Instead of messing it up by trying to impress other people, it’s best to keep it safe. In other words, you should always stick to what’s known to work and choose utility over appearance, matter over form.

The design should make all needed options and materials for a given task visible without distracting the user with extraneous or redundant information. Good designs don’t overwhelm users with alternatives or confuse them with unneeded information. Larry Constantine and Lucy Luckwood (2001)

Now that we’ve talked about the necessity of developing an aesthetic sense, let’s talk about how to do it.

Consume art

By art, I don’t mean for you to visit every museum. Although visiting museums is one certain way to access the art world, it is not the only one. It’s just the most popular one. My definition of art covers a lot more than just paintings. Watch modern dancing, listen to that new album, watch the new blockbuster movie, look up the best skateboarding, watch people prepare food. Try to make sense of what you see or hear, try to understand the artist’s intention. Nowadays, art is more present in everyday life than we think. We are literally surrounded by art, because people put so much effort into every single quality thing they do.

Wander around your city

I know, getting out of your house during a pandemic doesn’t sound that great, but hear me out: you only have to walk through the familiar streets in your town. Maybe you have walked through them a thousand times up until this point, but rest assured this time will be different. Try to go out and just wander, without any destination. Look for bits of artistic expression, be it a unique insertion in a building, a floral arrangement in a flower shop’s window, or a beautiful garden. This exercise will determine your brain to find aesthetics in everything you come across. Everything has its beauty, but you need to train your eyes in order to notice it.

Be open to diversity

Listen to music you don’t necessarily like, watch a movie of a different genre than what you usually enjoy. After this, you may still not like that particular expression of art, but art doesn’t always have to feel good. Sometimes, art makes you feel uncomfortable, it makes you feel sad or anxious. But that’s the beauty of art. In itself, art isn’t beautiful because it portrays beauty, but because it makes you feel a mixture of emotions. So if art makes you feel uncomfortable, you’re probably on the right track.

Embrace minimalism

We are witnessing the rise in popularity of this concept and for some of us, it’s scary. And I get it. Embracing minimalism means embracing the standardization of UI, which could further mean restricting one’s creativity. But this is not the case at all. The way I see it, minimalism represents the age of maturity in design. Looking at other aspects of our life, only when we grow do we realize what suits us best. This includes the colors that we look best in, what kind of people we should keep beside us, which things to keep in our homes, and so forth.

Experience art first-hand

I’ve said it before — UI designers are not artists, and that’s okay. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t make art. No, you don’t have to hang your paintings in the Museum of Modern Arts to call your creation art. Making art for the sake of art lies at the core of aesthetics, and that’s exactly what you should be doing. Pour out whatever you are feeling right now on a canvas. Not only will it be therapeutic, but you’ll get acquainted with the artistic process and you this will help you better understand what happens when art takes place. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t even have to be good, because doing is better than nothing.

To conclude, I want you to keep in mind that I know it may seem overwhelming. For some of us, getting out of our comfort zone can be really difficult. An aesthetic sense is something that you never stop developing and this can be both encouraging and discouraging for a variety of reasons, but listen to this: if it never ends, then there is no rush.

We have to take this just as we take every single new thing we start. One step at a time. You don’t have to take an art class, nor do you have to spend time finding the right museum to visit. If you have watched a good movie, you are already one step further on the path towards an aesthetic sense than you were before. So don’t take this as a burden, do it because you want to, no matter how small the progress is.

Small progress is still progress.