At RailsConf this week, I’ll be presenting Enough Design to be Dangerous on Thursday at 1:50pm. I first gave a rough version of this presentation to B’More on Rails in February, and then I did a lightning-talk version for the BmoreJS group in April. The description on the RailsConf site lists a few of the topics I’ll be discussing, but it doesn’t cover the design basics that are so important for the beginner to understand. These include contrast, proximity, typography, and repetition. I want to present a bit of background about what goes into building a pleasing design before I go over specific UI techniques. It’s going to be great fun, and a little bit different from the usual get-your-hands-dirty-in-code session that you’ll find at most tech conferences. It’s the last slot of the conference, so I hope to see you there before you have to run out and catch a plane, drive home, or hit the bar. If you can’t catch this talk, make sure you find me at BohConf or hanging with the B’more on Rails crew and say hi!

UPDATE Thanks to everyone who came out to my session! It was inspiring to hear what everyone thinks of these concepts, and I’m happy to hear a few of you thought it was useful. If you were there, please make sure you rate the session, and I really appreciate the feedback.