- Build something. Only building something useful or fun will motivate you enough to withstand the simultaneous feelings of joy and pain that come from learning how to write programs. Don’t count on Codecademy, etc., to learn. Do you have a unique twist on the sempiternal todo list? Did you always dream about creating a Twitter bot? Project-oriented learning will yield far more fruitful result than theoretical learning. The best combination? Read a bit, then work. Rinse, repeat, you’ll get better in no time.
- Don’t copy and paste the code, write it. You will obviously use code that was written by other peeps. You’ll be tempted to copy and paste but this will not help. When you write the code, you feel that you’re actually doing something. This will fuel both motivation and understanding.
- Break your program into small bits with pen and paper. This is not something I read very frequently but it was super useful for me. When you want to write an app, break down the idea in small bits. It’ll help you organise your work and measure progress.
- The Mozilla Developer Network. Forget about W3Schools. Read anything and everything on MDN. They have awesome introductory sections. The reason MDN is good is because it’s a wiki. Anyone with better knowledge can update the page and give better information.
- Eloquent JavaScript. It’s a great introductory book on JavaScript that also lays out some fundamentals of programming. Sometimes, the writing is poetic. Consume it!
- Google + StackOverflow. Here’s a killer combo for you. Never hesitate to google your way out of your problem. Try to use the most precise vocabulary for your request and you will most probably find a relevant StackOverflow thread.
- JSFiddle. Want to quickly write a program and don’t want to upload it to your server? JSFiddle is here for you. Run your program, tidy it up and iterate with this superb service.
- The Chrome Dev Tools. Download Chrome and open the dev tools by pressing CTRL+CMD+J. You’ll have a console and everything you need to inspect your code.
Tips and resources for designers who really want to learn JavaScript
This was made using JavaScript.
Ah programming. You’re a designer who always wanted to start but you never found the courage. Sure, you know how to write a bit of HTML/CSS. But you know deep down this is not the real deal. Fear not my fellow friends. Here I am going to share some resources to help you learn JavaScript—once and for all.
A couple of months back, I started learning CoffeeScript in order to create Framer prototypes. (CoffeeScript is a simpler way to write JavaScript and is thus a little simpler to learn, check it out on their website.) More recently, I realised I needed to learn JavaScript for WUT Design, the design and development shop I cofounded.
A million things will be easier when you know JavaScript. Obviously, you’ll be able to write small programs and you’ll feel great about it. But it’ll also be easier for you to learn node.js (to write server-side code) and Swift (to write iOS apps) and Python (to, you know, take things to another level).
What about design though?
Knowing how to write simple programs makes you a more rounded, better-equipped designer. You will know more precisely what you can do and what you cannot do. You will help developers understand your work. You’ll win time and gratitude.
It is like feeling the wood that is going to be the base material for your next piece of furniture. Nobody is asking you to open a woodworking shop. Yet, to better understand it, you still need to feel it.
Convinced? Good.
Alright, for some tips:
And now, here are a few resources:
If I’m missing something, tell me @usabbag.
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A shorthand for designing UI flows, courtesy of Ryan Singer, designer and cofounder of Basecamp.
It’s very simple, you write above the line what hte user sees, and below what they do. Then draw an arrow and repeat for the next step.
I’ve been doing that for quite some time now, I didn’t know other people did. It’s great advice.
I made it my mission to discover the specific reasons for iOS battery drainage. This article is a product of my years of research and anecdotal evidence I gathered in the hundreds of Genius Bar appointments I took during my time as a Genius and iOS technician, as well as testing on my personal devices and the devices of my friends.
This is the definitive guide to increasing iPhone battery life. Read it and share it.
Take perfect photos every time. According to CJ Chilvers, technique and gear doesn’t matter. All good photographs tell a story, with a compelling subject, for you.
Why you should drink more water
Why you should drink more water
Water aids in digestion, makes your skin look healthier, helps you feel more full so you don’t overeat, keeps your kidneys healthy (so they can properly flush out toxins), and contributes to regular healthy bowel movements. You lose out on those benefits if you don’t stay hydrated.
Also, it helps keeping you alive.
OS X Mavericks: Tips, Tricks, and Details
OS X Mavericks: Tips, Tricks, and Details
A nicely curated list of tips, tricks and details from the one and only Federico Viticci over at Macstories.
Ever wonder why old time writers like Hemingway seem so much better than the 21st century crop? It’s because they were plastered out of their mind and kept sentences short and passionate. Also, no fucking semicolons.
We all know that humans are wired to listen to stories, and metaphors abound for the narrative structures that work best to engage people. When I think about compelling presentations, I think about taking an audience on a journey. A successful talk is a little miracle—people see the world differently afterward.
Tips for writing admission essays
Tips for writing admission essays
Tips for writing college essays, in order not to sound too cliche. By Andrea van Niekerk, former associate director of admission at Brown. I’m sure the advice applies for all types of academic suggestions.
The road less traveled is oddly crowded. The problem with countless essays about courageously traveling off the beaten path and boldly exploring new places is not that admission readers will doubt the students’ sincerity, but rather the fact that teenagers usually lack the perspective to know that notwithstanding their desire to be different, others have already arrived at the same places, explored the same worlds, and wrote essays about it.
Poor but happy peasants. Summer trips and mission tours to exotic locales, both overseas and in the Deep South, have become grist for the college essays of both affluent Americans and their counterparts in countries like France and Singapore, where students still refer to their activities by blunt reference to “charity” work. However good their intentions, or those of the parents footing the big bills, these students’ essays often persuade readers that their experiences have been so sheltered that they return home with no deeper understanding of the impact of their unequal access to resources on those they went to serve.
I have overcome. Many students apply to US colleges having struggled against and having overcome astonishing odds. Such inspirational accounts leave those who have lived happy, secure lives casting around, however, for a hook on which to hang their own stories of growth and change. Admission officers will not doubt the sting a teenager felt on being overlooked for the varsity captaincy or on scoring a poor grade, but they can and do expect bright 17-year-olds to take the relative measure of their suffering.
Take me to your leader. Given their recruitment pitches, admission officers often have only themselves to blame when they are deluged by essays in which students treat leadership not as a process in which they participate and their hard work is reflected in the regard of their peers, but as a trophy to achieve and display on the mantle piece that is a college resume.
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The Writer’s Technique in Thirteen Theses – Walter Benjamin’s timeless advice on writing, 1928.
Interesting.
