[thelist] Design Help

Whhhaaaaaaasssuuuuupppp?

I just wanted to mention some books that have
been recommended to me by thelist and other
peers- books which I also highly recommend.

Design (Psychology) of Everday Things - Donald Norman
Visual Explainations - Edward Tufte
Inmates are Running the Asylum - Alan Cooper

Also:
http://useit.com/  - Jakob Nielsen (he has a web
design book out, but I can't recommend it)

You should also know the basics of colour theory.

Of course the truest test is to create, let others
rip it apart, reinvent, wash, rinse, and repeat.
This is also the best way to learn good design.
These books will give you a strong foundation in 
UI design fundamentals, but melding that foundation
with an attractive design is a _much_ more difficult
thing.  useit.com is an easy to use site, but
it's freakin' ugly.

Some closing thoughts:
_Imitation_ (not rote copying) is the greatest from of flattery.
"...great artists steal."
Beware the commodization of web(pages)(presences)(apps).
Royal Blue. ;)

Good luck,
Christopher Atkins
Distributed Applications Technologist