Don’t turn off another prospect

“GAH! I don’t think so!”

You’ve heard it before. That little voice inside of your head when you first hit a web page, or when you first open up an app.

That first impression decides everything. Will you buy here, or look somewhere else? Will you give this app a shot, or delete it right away? Will it be love at first “site,” (yes, that’s a pun) or will you keep searching?

Your prospects have that same voice in their heads. Though you know you build a great product, they aren’t going to give you the benefit of the doubt.

You can trust your gut on this one, or you can go with science. A Stanford University study found that design is the single most important factor in determining whether potential customers trusted a website or not.

You’ve heard the expression “you never get a second chance to get a first impression.” Well, that’s as true online as it is anywhere, and that first impression is right there in the design of your site.

Don’t waste another billable hour

Putting together a design that communicates clearly and converts can take forever. If you let it.

But, as you sit there and agonize, trying to turn that beautiful vision in your head into reality, time is ticking by.

You grab pieces of various designs, wrestle with Bootstrap, and roll on the floor in pain once again.

How does it look so easy for some people? It’s as if there are dark chambers where designers gather and whisper their secrets to each other. They’ve sworn that if anyone asks about it, they’ll just shrug and say “I guess it’s just something you have, or you don’t.”

You start stressing about fonts. You start worrying about colors. You try different effects. You wind up in the same trap that every novice designer does.

Instead of making your design look better, your design ends up looking worse. Why!?

The problem is, you’re concentrating on all of the wrong things. All of those things that you can see so easily in your designs that people worry about so much, those are actually just distractions. The things that really matter are the things that you can’t really see at all. If you knew how to do all of these things, you’d make clean designs that convert faster than ever.

I want you to stop struggling with the wrong things!

I’m David Kadavy, the human person behind this design course. I know how it feels to wrestle with designs that never seem to work right. Back in design school, we would spend hours agonizing over our fonts, colors, and which Photoshop filter was going to look coolest.

Then, one day, everything changed. I was inspired to strip away all of that extra junk, and concentrate only on the “invisible structure” underneath it all.

I spent weeks locked in my dorm room, experimenting only with these things. I experimented with aligment, sizing, and spacing, until I had exhausted all possibilities.

When I re-emerged, I never saw things the same again. I spent the next month completely re-designing everything in my portfolio. It was finally clear to me how wrong everything looked.

Never be the bottleneck

Then, I found myself working in the real world, where I didn’t have weeks to waste trying to get everything just perfect.

Suddenly, project timelines that spanned months, were condensed down to mere hours.

Fortunately, I had done my experimentation. I had my methodology internalized.

[David] did the work of two or three designers. former co-worker

Not only was I able to do great work at breakneck speeds, it was beautiful work.

Don’t take my word for it: I won a super-prestigious, fancy-pants, international design honor on my very first project as a professional.

Become “The Unicorn”

Since then, I’ve used these secrets to be a key early employee of two Silicon Valley startups. Being able to design better, faster, freed me up to contribute to all parts of the startups I was involved with.

Instead of ripping my hair out over trying to find that magical font that was going to save my designs, I was pitching in on engineering, marketing, and product development.

I’d be what people in Silicon Valley call a “Unicorn.” Someone who can design, code (and market, to boot). These people are so hard to find in Silicon Valley, they’re thought of as mythical creatures.

Choose your destiny

I’ve continued to use those skills to build my own six-figure business. By understanding the hidden structure behind clean & clear design, I’m able to create incredible value – the value that companies like Apple, Twitter, and Facebook spend millions on – out of thin air.

Because of this, I’m able to design my lifestyle. I travel the world while I work, and I make money while I sleep.

Doesn’t that sound nice? Even if traveling isn’t your thing, you could choose your job, or you could have extra time to spend with your family.

This week only, I’m making these secrets available to you. I quit a lucrative career as a freelancer, and have dedicated the past four years of my career to communicating this invisible structure in a way that works for your logical, analytical brain.

Your favorite sites, redesigned with white space

The “Mastering White Space” e-book and “White Space” SXSW talk both show great examples of top companies using great white space for success.

But what about companies that could be doing better?

Watch, or work along, as some of your favorite sites are transformed before your eyes, just using white space

An immersive learning experience

If you want to see the world the way a designer does, you need to stimulate every part of your brain as you learn about the invisible structure behind design. You need the kind of learning experience that you can’t get from an e-book.

A SXSW legend

Every March, tens of thousands of the most enthusastic tech professionals gather in Austin, Texas to share their most ground-breaking ideas. For many ideas, SXSW is “make it or break it” time.

When I finally got the opportunity to speak at SXSW, I wanted to make sure that my appearance counted. I wanted to only share my very boldest idea: the idea that beneath all of the fluff there is in design, there is an invisible structure that guides the very cleanest and clearest designs.

Practical, usable and often overlooked. @WeatherleyChris

It was no easy task making an engaging, SXSW-calibre, 45-minute talk that was essentially about “nothing.” While the concepts where clear to me in my head, I had to somehow communicate them in a way that was going to keep a room of the brightest and most motivated people in tech engaged.

So, I left nothing to chance. I worked on my talk for six months, traveling the U.S., trying new examples and anecdotes with each iteration of the talk. I tweaked the animations to maximize retention of the concepts. Sometimes, people were scratching their heads, but when I saw them on the edge of their seats, I made sure to take note.

By far the most informative panel thus far. @DavidStinemetze

Only the very best, most entertaining, most engaging, and most valuable and actionable content made it into the final presentation.

When the final masterpiece was presented, one of SXSW’s largest ballrooms was completely filled with 769 people, and there was another line of people out the door.

(Mind you, these people paid well over $1,000 to come to this conference, and they didn’t even get to see the talk, because the ballroom was packed!)

The authentic SXSW experience

There’s nothing that can match the experience of actually being at SXSW. There is energy, and enthusiasm, and the freshest ideas in the world.

That’s why it was so important to bring you the exact same experience as everyone else in the room had. (Everyone who managed to get in, anyway)

So, I spent thousands of dollars on hiring a film crew, post production, and licensing, to bring this immersive experience to you.

Now, it’s the centerpiece of the first and only learning experience on the hidden structure behind design ever.

Apply what you’ve learned, step-by-step

As mind-expanding and actionable as the “Mastering White Space” e-book, and “White Space” SXSW talk are, ultimately, you want these concepts to be programmed into your work.

You don’t want this knowledge to stack up in a dark corner of your mind with other articles and courses you’ve been taking.

The decisions of a designer, in real-time

How often have you thought to yourself “I wonder what a professional designer would do here?”

With the “White Magic” screencast, you can work right along with me, as I do a blog layout. I explain which concepts I’m integrating into the design as I move along.

The screencast comes along with the same code that I’m using, so you can “pair design” right along with me.

Learn by doing

When you work along with this screencast, you’ll be learning by doing. The exact same concepts that are in the talk and e-book are all being used right there in this design.

In fact, the whole design is done in black-and-white, with one font, and no colors, so there are no extra factors there to distract you.

This is the surest way to get that “invisible structure” integrated into your day-to-day.

Customized for your needs

You’re a busy professional, and every moment counts. While it may make sense for you to take time to learn these concepts and ship faster, while converting more prospects, you don’t necessarily want to figure it all out on your own.

Integrating what you learn into your specific day-to-day can burn up extra time and effort that could be spent building.

Get a screencast customized just for your site, where I’ll explain how all of these concepts of the “invisible structure” of design can be used for your specific application. Your prospects will get a clearer message, and more of them will convert to customers.

I guarantee your satisfaction

Every day, I get up with the mission of blowing your mind with design insights you’ll never see anywhere else. I’ve dedicated the past several years of my life to perfecting the craft of explaining the mysterious world of design in the most engaging, eye-opening, and effective way possible.

I stand by the things I make. If what you pay for just doesn’t do it for you – if you feel the things you learn won’t pay off for you hundreds if not thousands of times over in your lifetime, I can’t accept your money. Let me know at [email protected] within 60 days of purchase, and I’ll send your money back.

David Kadavy
Author/Professor/Janitor
Design for Hackers

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

I’m a beginner. Is this course for me?

Yes. While this course covers some advanced design concepts, they are a great starting point for anyone just learning about design. Learning these concepts will give you a great foundation on which to build.

I’m already a professional designer. Is this course for me?

If you’ve read this far, chances are, yes, this course is still for you. While many of the greatest designers in the world employ the concepts covered in this course, this is the first time they’ve ever been covered with this much structure and depth. I went to design school for 5 years, and didn’t learn these concepts. I had to uncover them myself.

I want something more in-depth. Do you do coaching?

I try to make the most in-depth visual design content out there. But, there’s no substitute for having an expert to help you along through your specific struggles in learning design.

I’ve worked with some students one-on-one over video conferencing with great success. Such coaching sessions are specifically tailored to a student’s needs and goals, and I dig into the psychology of the student’s creative process, working to bust down mental blocks.

So, yes, on a case-by-case basis, I do design coaching. Be forewarned that the cost is many times more the price of a self-guided course, but the breakthroughs made can be very powerful. If you’re interested, email [email protected], and let’s talk.

Are there any skills or programs required? I’m not a programmer!

If you have no programming skills whatsoever (and no interest in learning them), we recommend the “Lite” package. It covers the concepts, with very little mention of programming.

There is more CSS/HTML programming involved with the “Pro” package, but someone could certainly learn a lot from this package as well. Just be prepared that there will be some live-coding in the screencasts.

When will you be selling this course again?

At this time, we don’t know when we’ll be making the course available again. The last time we sold it was more than a year ago.

If the course is made available again, it will likely be at a higher price. If you buy now, you will automatically get any improvements to the product level you buy.

How do I get the product?

The course is embedded in a few HTML files that you can open up in any web browser on desktop or mobile. You’ll get instant access immediately upon payment.

I have a different question.

This course is pretty new, so not that many questions are yet asked “frequently,” but if you have a different question, please email me at [email protected].