Anthony Hobday

I probably think and write about interface design more than anyone else. Email me or find me on X/Twitter.

14 side projects

  1. Visual design rules you can safely follow
  2. Complementary, an interface design podcast I co-host
  3. A YouTube channel where I review website designs
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  1. Quick start guides to interface design topics
  2. A collection of visual design techniques
  3. A list of every visual design concept
  4. A list of every interaction design concept
  5. Interviews about visual design
  6. Anonymous interviews with designers
  7. Background/container colour combinations you can use
  8. Quotes about design
  9. Notes on design books
  10. Breakdowns of well-designed interfaces
  11. Sample copy you can practice visual design with

Paid feedback and advice

Want my advice? I’ve helped 45 clients improve their websites, apps, and ideas.

65 blog posts

  1. Defensible visual design
  2. Universal creative techniques
  3. Bold visual styles are hard to use
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  1. A designer group interview
  2. What I’d put in an interface design museum
  3. A practical career approach for generalist designers
  4. Cynical advice for designers
  5. What defines a visual style
  6. Style choices that make visual design harder
  7. How to choose between design options
  8. When it’s safe to copy something
  9. Factors of good animation
  10. Interface quality of life improvements
  11. How I think about novelty
  12. Levels of complexity in website design
  13. How I think about quality
  14. Non-interface factors that affect interface design
  15. Uncommon but useful design terms
  16. A critique of the Linear website
  17. Short design books I recommend
  18. A list of every interaction design book
  19. How I define “interface design”
  20. How interfaces change with frequency of use
  21. Why designers don’t talk about interface design
  22. The website visual design hall of fame
  23. Evidence that designers don’t talk about visual design
  24. Others’ classification of software design
  25. Ways that software design is different
  26. My definitions of “beauty” and “taste”
  27. The four universal signals of quality
  28. Classical and expressive aesthetics
  29. Foundations of the visual design skillset
  30. Types of elements in visual design
  31. Visual design exercises
  32. The six layers of interaction design
  33. Evidence that quality is impossible at scale
  34. The five purposes of elements in visual design
  35. The ways software competes
  36. Things I learned about visual design
  37. Levels of visual design inspiration
  38. Why quality is impossible at scale
  39. The eleven interaction design spectrums
  40. Where novel visual styles come from
  41. The benefits of software quality
  42. Tensions in interface design
  43. A critique of the Stripe website
  44. Factors of a good interface designer
  45. How to look impressive without impressive projects or past jobs
  46. The seventeen spectrums that define software “type”
  47. The best WWDC videos about interface design
  48. Common problems with design career advice
  49. Signs that an organisation values interface design
  50. Types of pattern in design
  51. The building blocks of visual design
  52. The twelve types of contrast in visual design
  53. The six signals of quality in software
  54. A list of every visual design book
  55. The five purposes of visual design
  56. The thirteen visual design spectrums
  57. The eight purposes of colour in visual design
  58. All possible parts of the design interview process
  59. The five minute design curriculum
  60. My design principles
  61. What outsiders look for in a good designer
  62. The six layers of visual design

6 books

  1. How to improve your visual design
  2. What is good interaction and visual design?
  3. What is simple web design?
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  1. What is good craftspersonship?
  2. Come up with design ideas alone
  3. Design interesting one-column websites

3 case studies

  1. Here are some examples of my visual design practice.
  2. I designed a collaboration feature for the Beauhurst platform (2022).
  3. I designed an app to encourage people to eat in a planet-friendly way (2021).

4 appearances

  1. I was interviewed by Dive Club.
  2. I taught a class on interface design principles for Hyper Island.
  3. I wrote a guest post for the Learn UI Design blog.
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  1. I did a Q&A with UX Talks.