Every software engineer should learn UI design

Some knowledge is really beneficial but it can be really extensive. A designer friend of mine took a text from me, reformated it a bit, changed spaces here and there and little details about the layout. It changed from a normal text document to something that is really nice to look at.

I have several artistic hobbies like painting or modeling, but there is still a difference to someone who had formal training. There isn't just the artistic side to design, there is a technical one too.

That said, what we currently see in software as modern design is paternalistic trash with completely wrong incentives. Yes, apps for everything do empower users so that they can do more than ever before. But that certainly is not due to modern UIs that feature 1 button to make the magic work.

And yes, even non-IT users can grasp the concept of file, the concept of a menu bar (those are awesome!) or a button panel. They are fully capable to use "classic" applications which had a design that is extremely sensible and successful. They didn't need this UI revolution that made everything look like candy.

So many “every programmer should do/know this” articles. This style of headline must have Unreasonable Effectiveness, or maybe other styles are Considered Harmful?