Try Design Lab
Learning and science
online design education
SHOW HN2012
122points
89comments
#163of 1,677 in 2012
Top 10%of 2012 by points
How HN took it
RoastedHalf or more of the comments are critical
5 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 6 mixed, 46 critical, out of 65 comments about the project. Thread score -0.59.
Execution: 0 for, 21 againstDesign: 1 for, 19 againstIdea: 4 for, 3 againstPricing: 0 for, 3 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Weekly design challenges with feedback from peers and experts
From 1 comment
I'm excited about this. I've been reading design books for a while looking to become a more well-rounded developer but have struggled turning reading a book into actual design…
miles_matthias on HN
Project-based challenge approach over tutorials
From 2 comments
I like the idea of setting challenges, it's certainly more useful to me than the tutorial route.
helipad on HNThis is a cool idea. Initially I wondered how you would be able to 'teach' such an amorphous skill set but your use of experts/peers seems smart. I'd like to be more involved…
jason_shah on HN
Objections
Sign-up returns a 500 error or does nothing
From 3 comments
Request URL: http://www.trydesignlab.com/ Request Method: POST Status Code: 500 Internal Server Error It's broken
citricsquid on HNTried signing up through your Sign Up text box on the website, but when I click the "Sign Up" button to submit my email, nothing happens.
floppydisk on HNUh, clicking "Sign Up" appears to do nothing on Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera. Worse: it looks terrible in IE (where finally, it yields a 500)
jerrya on HN
Site renders badly: fonts, blurry icons, poor cross-browser support
From 3 comments
Not to be mean but the site's fonts look absolutely horrible on Chrome 20 in Windows 7. The top ones look messy and thick and the bottom one looks much too thin:…
simonsarris on HNThe site is functionally and visually broken: - Not cross-browser compatible, completely broken in IE - UI lacks instant feedback for submitting forms - Not pixel perfect (icons…
dreamdu5t on HNMy lord, someone look at it in IE9. This is just laughable.
pcopley on HN
Unclear pricing and reasons for collecting email
From 2 comments
As others have pointed out, the signup is broken/down. But also: how much does it cost? "Get started for free." is interpreted by my cynical self to include the closing phrase…
jellicle on HNIf it's free, don't ask people to sign up. My email address has value to me. I'll give it to you if you earn it.
tomelders on HN
Celebrity quotes look like endorsements
From 2 comments
If you're going to design an online course to teach design, you actually have to know something about teaching design. The foundation of a solid design education is actually the…
michaelpinto on HN(Big fat notice: This is not a criticism!) I love how the row of quotes about design from Jobs, Graham, and Maeda look and feel like testimonials due to their format and placing,…
petercooper on HN
Course content questioned; fine arts foundation needed
From 2 comments
If you're going to design an online course to teach design, you actually have to know something about teaching design. The foundation of a solid design education is actually the…
michaelpinto on HNNot to be an ass, but the first thing I questioned when I came to the site was "If this is the best design they could come up with, what does that mean for the education?" Sign…
mnicole on HN
Requests
Fix the sign-up form and show a success indicator
From 2 comments
Hey guys - cool idea. I tried entering my email, and there's no success indicator. Click the button, and nothing. Not sure if I just signed up 10 times, or failed to sign up at…
AVTizzle on HNI would expect a site like this to provide a good user experience, e.g. confirmation that my email address was accepted. Signed up all the same because it sounds like a great…
mdoyle on HN
Let users complete lessons before signing up
From 1 comment
I want to describe this as the "Codecademy for Design" but Codecademy lets you complete lessons before pushing you to sign up. I would've never signed up otherwise -- because I…
danso on HN
Questions
Is the curriculum delivered by email?
From 1 comment
I wasn't really sure what to do after I got on the website..I just gave you my email but is the curriculum supposed to come via email?
kibaekr on HN
Traffic figures and server spec
From 1 comment
Can you reveal the traffic figures and your server spec?
huma on HN
Alternatives named
Bootstrapping Design book
From 1 comment
There was that book called Bootstrapping Design (http://bootstrappingdesign.com/) http://blog.studiofellow.com/2011/11/01/bootstrapping-design/
alpb on HN
Method.ac
From 1 comment
I must confess my heart sunk for a split second as we're working on the exact same problem with a very similar approach at http://method.ac, but as they say: if there's no…
duopixel on HN
Codecademy-style free lessons
From 1 comment
I want to describe this as the "Codecademy for Design" but Codecademy lets you complete lessons before pushing you to sign up. I would've never signed up otherwise -- because I…
danso on HN