Anthony Hobday

I think and write about interface design more than most. Email or find me on X.

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

Expert feedback for your app or website

Clear, actionable advice to improve your design.

Email support: A full month of tailored guidance for £300.

Video review: Detailed walkthrough with tips for £100.

Find out more.

72 blog posts

  1. How I think about visual design trends
  2. Interesting software companies
  3. Practical in-house career paths
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  1. Design folk wisdom
  2. Things that have changed in software’s history
  3. Practical design resources
  4. Companies with dedicated quality efforts
  5. Beliefs about quality I want to disprove
  6. Defensible visual design
  7. Universal creative techniques
  8. Bold visual styles are hard to use
  9. A designer group interview
  10. What I’d put in an interface design museum
  11. A practical career approach for generalist designers
  12. Cynical advice for designers
  13. What defines a visual style
  14. Style choices that make visual design harder
  15. How to choose between design options
  16. When it’s safe to copy something
  17. Factors of good animation
  18. Interface quality of life improvements
  19. How I think about novelty
  20. Levels of complexity in website design
  21. How I think about quality
  22. Non-interface factors that affect interface design
  23. Uncommon but useful design terms
  24. A critique of the Linear website
  25. Short design books I recommend
  26. A list of every interaction design book
  27. How I define “interface design”
  28. How interfaces change with frequency of use
  29. Why designers don’t talk about interface design
  30. The website visual design hall of fame
  31. Evidence that designers don’t talk about visual design
  32. Others’ classification of software design
  33. Ways that software design is different
  34. My definitions of “beauty” and “taste”
  35. The four universal signals of quality
  36. Classical and expressive aesthetics
  37. Foundations of the visual design skillset
  38. Types of elements in visual design
  39. Visual design exercises
  40. The six layers of interaction design
  41. The five purposes of elements in visual design
  42. The ways software competes
  43. Things I learned about visual design
  44. Levels of visual design inspiration
  45. Quality is impossible at scale
  46. The twelve interaction design spectrums
  47. Where novel visual styles come from
  48. The benefits of software quality
  49. Tensions in interface design
  50. A critique of the Stripe website
  51. Factors of a good interface designer
  52. How to look impressive without impressive projects or past jobs
  53. The seventeen spectrums that define software “type”
  54. The best WWDC videos about interface design
  55. Common problems with design career advice
  56. Signs that an organisation values interface design
  57. Types of pattern in design
  58. The building blocks of visual design
  59. The twelve types of contrast in visual design
  60. The six signals of quality in software
  61. A list of every visual design book
  62. The five purposes of visual design
  63. The thirteen visual design spectrums
  64. The eight purposes of colour in visual design
  65. All possible parts of the design interview process
  66. The five minute design curriculum
  67. My design principles
  68. What outsiders look for in a good designer
  69. 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 Beauhurst (2022)
  3. I designed an app to encourage planet-friendly eating (2021)

5 appearances

  1. I was interviewed by Dive Club
  2. I taught a class on interface design 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
  2. I was interviewed on Design Discipline

2 other interests

  1. I run Before I Play, a video game tip wiki
  2. I design solo tabletop RPGs