I am a front end web developer. I tend to mostly deal with code but do, from time to time, have the opportunity to create graphics. I notice the designers I work with are able to talk in great detail about the images/designs they create. They can give meaning to why a button looks a certain way or the feeling behind their design decisions. What I am wondering is, as I have done some searching with no luck, are there any books on how to talk/describe this way? I am finding it hard to describe my question but I am looking for info on how to better ‘sell’ a design or justify a design decision.
Backing up layout decisions from studies/stats is fine, justifying those things can be backed up with numbers. But, it is more the whys and whats of color decisions and the purely visual side of things.
Update: Any links to good books would be a great help – typography, color theory, etc.
Answer
This was going to be a comment turned out to be quite long, so here it goes:
I don’t want to sound rude, really. But how do you expect people to believe in something YOU don’t believe in? You are going to be designing, how are you going to make the design decisions about something looking this or that way? There is a theory behind our options when creating graphic/web products, and it’s not only about making things look pretty.
Instead of a book on how to talk like a designer, I would get one on what design is…
EDIT:
After reading your answer I think I can say some more things.
One thing I always find inspiring is looking at logo creation processes. For example: http://creativenerds.co.uk/articles/30-professional-logo-design-processes-revealed/
When you see how these guys went from a very simple idea to a whole concept, you really understand what this is all about. At the end, you spend days thinking about the why, and really a few hours on the how. After something like this, I can imagine it’s not difficult at all to explain the client why you did what you did, because you followed an idea, you developed it and the final result is the product of this personal work.
And if your strength is code, then your words can go for functionality, simplicity and user experience: “This is good because this is the best way to do it, because it’s the shortest path to your aim”. Programming is all about that, right? Finding the best simplest solution? Designers are all different, some are great with art and lousy with coding, some create strong structural websites that look ok. And some have it all, but I guess that requires either talent or lots of work.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : DBUK , Answer Author : Yisela