There are actually two stack exchange sites for design:
- http://ux.stackexchange.com/
- http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com
I've used both and found them very useful.
> It doesn't work the same way as programming. You're not going to become a good designer by visiting websites.
No one becomes a solid programmer by visiting websites either. It's about practice with a focused effort on improving, just like any other skill. I would be amazed if design were any different.
Programming problems are much easier to solve with a Google search. In programming, the state of the art is the most important state. Nobody really reads or studies historical code from obsolete technology. Sure, there are things you won't learn without a good mentor or teacher.
My intention wasn't to claim you can become a good programmer by visiting websites, I was just trying to express that learning design is a much more offline experience, and OP was asking for websites he should visit.
You do need to combine this broadening and growing education of taste with a technical understanding of simplicity and communication. Understand that design is essentially just communication. Realise that you may have to start doing extra, even "wasteful" work, in order to prioritise ease and pleasure of use. This seems to be an upsetting idea to many developers, but I adore it. What's better feedback of your interface/design/object than someone saying "of course that's how it works"?
On Stack Overflow: I understand that design is a different ballgame than code. However, a Q&A site geared towards helping with the tools of the trade (photoshop, illustrator) might be useful, right?
Nothing wrong with gouache though, in fact you can learn a lot about color just messing around with some paint for a while. A lot more than you'll learn from pixels.
My advice in a nutshell: play with a lot of different mediums and look at a lot of different work if you really care about being a designer.
The most important thing is not to focus too much on current trends. They're mostly bullshit that will be forgotten fast. The reason I say study the past is because everything old that has been documented is actually worth studying. It's "stood the test of time," if you will.
I think a lot of designers today focus too much on what's happening NOW, reading today's blogs and knowing the trends and whatever. So they go make things with an extremely narrow perspective and think they're designing when really they're retracing the only thing they know.
People don't know nearly enough on say, 50's modernism. Or the Bauhaus aesthetic. Watch the Eameses' films. Know the greats. Respect them. Broaden your awareness. Graphic design was huge before computers.
Then apply the broad ideas you absorb from that to the medium you're working in. That's my advice. There's no Stack Overflow for design. It doesn't work the same way as programming. You're not going to become a good designer by visiting websites.