As developers, we often think of design as something separate from our work — something for „the design team“ to worry about. But the truth is, the way our projects look can have just as much impact as how they function.
Whether it’s a personal website, internal dashboard, or side project, consistent design helps build trust, improve usability, and make things feel more polished.
Here are a few things I’ve learned (and overlooked in the past) that can make a big difference, without requiring a design degree.
1. Stick to a Color Palette
This seems obvious, but I’ve been guilty of pulling random colors from memory or whatever “looked okay” at the time. The result? A Frankenstein UI.
Now I stick to a palette — 2-3 main colors, plus one accent. It simplifies decisions and makes everything look intentional.
💡 Pro tip: Want to make your hero images or UI elements pop? Try standardizing them with a blue background — it’s clean, readable, and works well across light and dark modes. I’ve even used this tool to auto-remove and replace backgrounds without touching a design app.
2. Reuse Components (Visually, Too)
We all love DRY code. The same principle applies to design. If you’ve got a card layout, button style, or image shape, reuse it across the project. It keeps the interface predictable and saves time when building new pages.
Frameworks like Tailwind CSS make this super easy. I now keep a design “cheat sheet” of commonly used classes to stay consistent across pages.
3. Typography: Pick Once and Stick With It
Using five different font sizes and three fonts? Been there. Now I just choose one font for headings, one for body, and set clear sizes in rems or Tailwind presets. It makes styling faster and more cohesive.
4. Simplify, Then Simplify Again
If a layout looks weird, I don’t add more stuff. I remove things. A cluttered interface often needs less, not more.
Whenever in doubt, I try to make it look like something Apple would be okay shipping. Clean, centered, a bit of breathing room. It’s amazing how much that helps, even in dev-heavy tools or dashboards.
Final Thoughts
You don’t have to be a designer to make things look good. With just a few consistent choices — a color palette, reusable components, readable typography — your projects will instantly feel more professional.
And the bonus? Users won’t think about the design at all. They’ll just use it. Which, honestly, is the best kind of compliment.