Derek Knox Releases Free Book For Visual Artists Who Want To Code

Derek Knox, a respected designer of user interfaces, recently completed a book geared towards web designers and visual artists who want to get into the more intricate aspects of coding. In essence, this book is ideal for web designers who wish to improve their development skills.

Coding for Designers is described by the author as a labor of love that took three years to complete. It is free to access online, and it is conveniently split into chapters that you can skip and bookmark for future reference. Knox wrote the book not just with designers in mind; if you are an absolute beginner who is not familiar with coding or web development, reading the entire book from the very first chapter will help you understand the world of programming for online audiences.

Since JavaScript is still the king of interactive website experiences, this book deals with the topic substantially. Knox is a conversationalist type of writer; his introductory chapters do a great job in terms of explaining the underlying philosophy of coding as it applies to user experience. The background of the author goes a long way in justifying his programming advice as well as methodology; he describes coding as more of a skill than an art, and he insists on always approaching projects with user experience in mind.

Web designers who wish to jump right into the topic of coding should begin with the third chapter, which explains how visual design often forgets about presenting information in a way that is congruent with user interfaces.

According to Knox, good design can be either intentional or unintentional; however, it must always be approached as a series of decisions. Coding is very similar in the sense that it is better to think about decisions instead of intentions or instructions. When thinking about coding a JavaScript form, for example, instead of visualizing on a canvas or on a wireframing project, a better approach would be to write down the decisions that users and providers will have to take.

Coding should not be difficult for web designers; they already have the strong foundation of keeping user interface guidelines in mind, thus making it easier to demystify concepts such as JavaScript. For more information click here https://codingfordesignersbook.com/preface/.