When getting started in the interactive design field you can find yourself a bit intimidated by the breadth of knowledge required to succeed. Design, programming, and user science are each multi-facited with much to learn and explore in each sub-discipline under the umbrella of interactive design. Here are a few great articles that can give you a head start on fundamentals free of charge! Don’t you just love this internet thing?
Design
- Principles of Design
- A Web Design Review
- How C.R.A.P is Your Design?
- Design Psychology
- Typography for the Web (A collection of articles and utilities)
- Keeping a Sketchbook
- Web Design Mockups with Photoshop
- Critiquing Design
Programming
- Rules for Writing XHTML
- CSS Crib Sheet
- Introduction to PHP
- Ten CSS Tricks You May Not Already Know
- CSS 101
- Writing Semantic Markup
- The Dollars and Sense of Building with Web Standards
User Science
- The Grey Box Method
- User Interface Design Patterns
- Find the Epicenter of Your Interface
- The Psychology of Navigation
[...] A List Apart has posted a really wonderful list of essential resources for web desgin newbies, a task that I have been trying to tackle here to help guide my students. This list is really top quality and addresses many of the same topics I was discussing recently. [...]