You know it feels wrong and cannot say why
The app annoys you and the reason is invisible.
Courses
See what you would learn
See why some things feel right to use and others do not.
A course on design literacy for people who are not designers. It covers contrast, hierarchy, balance and constraint, through the objects, screens and spaces you already use, so you can see the decisions behind them.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.
Type this when Cadence asks what you want to learn
I want to understand why some everyday designs feel clear and satisfying. Teach me about contrast, hierarchy, balance, and constraints through examples I can observe.
Change any word so it fits your situation. The course is built from what you type and a few setup questions.
- Best for
- Creativity
- Prerequisites
- None. Bring the situation you have.
- Course length
- 7 to 30 lessons, sized to your goal
- Lesson pace
- About 10 minutes a day
- Format
- Read it, or play the audio
- Access
- Available on the App Store, with early features and Android testing access
Before the course is built
Setup asks about your situation first.
Lesson 1 opens on the moment you describe, and the examples use your role. For this request, expect questions like these.
- What makes you curious about design: apps, objects, buildings, graphics, or all of it?
- Do you want to judge design better, communicate with designers, or make things yourself?
- What is something you use daily that feels well or badly designed?
Right for now
If any of this sounds familiar, start here.
You work with designers and lack the vocabulary
Feedback comes out as make it pop.
You want to make better things
Documents, slides, a room, and you would like principles rather than taste.
Course arc
Where the course goes, in order.
Cadence writes the lessons for you, so the exact path follows your answers. This is the ground a course built from this sentence covers.
01 / 06Design is decisions
Every object and screen is a set of choices, and how to start seeing them.
Hierarchy
What the eye sees first, second and third, and how that is controlled.
Contrast and balance
Difference and weight, and what happens when they are wrong.
Affordance and feedback
Why some things tell you how to use them and some do not.
Constraints
How limits produce clarity, and why unconstrained design fails.
Looking around
A practice of noticing, and applying what you notice to your own work.
What changes
What you will be able to do, and what you will stop believing.
You will be able to
Name what you see
Describe hierarchy, contrast, balance and affordance in ordinary things.
Explain why something works
Trace a satisfying design back to the decisions that made it.
Apply the principles
Improve the things you make with a few fundamentals.
Ideas this course corrects
Good design is a matter of taste
Taste varies; principles do not. Most of what feels right can be explained.
Design is decoration
Design is how something works. Decoration is the last and least of it.
Course questions
What to know before you start.
Is this a fixed course?
No. Cadence builds the course when you type the sentence and answer a few setup questions, so the lessons follow your situation. This page describes what a course built from this request covers. You see the whole path before Lesson 1.
Who is this course for?
A course on design literacy for people who are not designers. It covers contrast, hierarchy, balance and constraint, through the objects, screens and spaces you already use, so you can see the decisions behind them. It sits under Creativity in the Ideas & discovery part of the library.
Do I need any prior experience?
No. Setup asks what you already know and where you want to use it, and the course starts from there. Bring a real situation if you have one; the examples are built around it.
How long does it take?
Courses run 7 to 30 lessons of about 10 minutes, sized to what you asked for. One lesson a day is the intended pace, and you can go faster. Lessons can be read or played as audio.
Does this course award a certificate or degree?
No. Cadence is for practical self-learning and does not award accredited degrees or professional certification.
Start today
Type it, answer a few questions, open Lesson 1.
The sentence to type
I want to understand why some everyday designs feel clear and satisfying. Teach me about contrast, hierarchy, balance, and constraints through examples I can observe.
Open Cadence on the App Store, type the sentence when it asks what you want to learn, and answer a few setup questions. Free to start. Android testers can request early access.