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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-14T00:22:36+00:00

This question is more UI/Design-ish than hard-core programming is. Background: I’ve been coding in

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This question is more UI/Design-ish than hard-core programming is.

Background: I’ve been coding in VIM/C++/OpenGL for a long time.

I’ve come to realize that this (VIM/C++/OpenGL) isn’t the way to learn about programming fancy/cool-looking/futuristic UIs; and that the design of such UIs belongs more so in the artistic/designer world of Flash.

Anyway, I currently have a machine with MacOSX. What software should I install? What book should I read to learn about the artistic/design side of these futuristic UIs? [It’s okay if the tools to design them are mouse clicking + graphical rather than coding based].

Question: what software packages + books to read to learn about creating fancy-looking / futuristic UIs in flash?

Thanks!

EDIT: PS these questions seem to get closed frequently. If you’re going to vote to close for “duplicate question”; atleast provide a link to the question (with an answer).

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    UI design requires combining art and programming so you get a synergetic plus, not just a compromise.

    For theory:
    Probably the classic is The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman. Add to that Jakob Nielsen’s works – though they are mostly web-centric, and he had to correct some of the early truths because user behavior and training changed.

    Cognitive Load Theory. It’s a very functional model of the human brain for UI, and is a good decider between better and worse. Can’t recommend a book, unfortunately.

    Don’t skip art. While I don’t think going to art school is enough (sorry, David…), knowing more than you need for your day-to-day-job is the key to interdisciplinary fields. Art is the source for a deeper, more obscure pleasure in UI.

    The renaissance was the first period that “discovered” the modern human both as object and as receiver. From there to the early 20th century (where the artist started to define what atrt is – and the human as receiver fell out of the equation) there’s a lot to learn: how to create emotions, how abstractions work, what we need to recognize. Study the huge pool of masterpieces that is already out there, classified and analyzed.

    Art, as UI design, is often perceived as one way – mostly presentation, but is really two way – an interaction.

    For practice
    Flash seems a good environment indeed. I can’t make recommendations about flash books or flash software, I’ll let others do that.

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