UI/UX Design2021 has been a roller coaster ride. So many things happened that year and happened fast. With the rise of virtual and remote working culture, UX/UI trends have seen a drastic change throughout the year. And 2022 is no different. As a UX/UI practitioner, it is essential to stay informed about these forever-changing trends.
read more2021 has been a roller coaster ride. So many things happened that year and happened fast. With the rise of virtual and remote working culture, UX/UI trends have seen a drastic change throughout the year. And 2022 is no different. As a UX/UI practitioner, it is essential to stay informed about these forever-changing trends.
Search “UI designer” in Google and you may find yourself even more confused than before. It doesn’t help that UI and UX are often lumped together, making it difficult to see where one ends and the other begins. Whilst the two are inextricably linked, it’s important to know that User Interface Design is a field in its own right. Sure, there’s some overlap, but ultimately, UI design comes with its own set of tasks, and therefore calls upon an entirely different skillset.
Perhaps you’re considering a career in UI and want to know what awaits you. Maybe you’re already in the industry and just need some clarity on the matter. In this article, we’ll set the record straight once and for all. Here’s what we’ll cover.
User Interface Design is a crucial subset of UX. They both share the same end goal—to provide a positive experience for the user—but UI Design comprises an entirely separate leg of the journey. Put simply, UI is what you use to interact with a product, while UX is concerned with how this overall interaction feels.
UI design focuses on the user’s visual experience. It determines how a user interacts with an interface—be it an app, a video game or a website. It’s all about how the user navigates from A to B via different visual touch points. Think tapping a button or swiping through pictures. The job of a UI designer is to design all the screens.
A good interface requires barely any thought from the user. Consider your favorite app: it’s easy on the eye and simple to use, right? When you first installed it, you didn’t spend ages working out how to get from A to B—it was just obvious. The UI designer is pivotal to this. They think about the human user and how the mind works.
Also a 2021 brand design trend, dark mode is set to be a UI/UX design trend next year. The look is elegant, modern, and stylish. While that is enough to make you want to change from black on white to white on black, that’s not all. The dark mode has the following plus points too. When you want the user to focus with full attention, fill forms, or if your brand requires a wider color pallet, you can give the dark mode a pass.Communication is key in UI design.
Even entry-level UI design positions expect proficiency in at least one of the industry-standard design and prototyping tools such as Sketch, Adobe XD, and prototyping tools like InVision. Once you’ve learned your way around one, getting to grips with the others is a lot easier. For the full list of popular UI design tools, check out our take on the 7 essential tools every budding UI designer should know about.
Collaboration is an unavoidable aspect of UI design. At the start of the process especially, you can expect to work closely with both the client and the UX designer. UI is all about humans, after all, so you’ll need to spend some time getting to know the brand and its target user. User research and personas tend to fall under UX, but it’s the UI designer’s job to take this information and run with it.
Of course, a role in UI will require you to get very hands-on with design. This includes designing screens and creating visual touch points, as well as the interactivity behind them. UI designers are also responsible for ensuring consistency, so creating a style guide, or visual language, to be used across the board. So what might a UI designer expect to see on their to-do list? Let’s drill down to some specifics.
>Designing each individual screen with which the user will interact, including the layout: what should go where? How much space should be left between each element? What visual patterns and hierarchies make for an intuitive user experience? Considering how the app will display on various screen sizes—think responsive design. Designing UI elements such as buttons, icons, sliders and scrollbars. Using their comprehensive understanding of color theory to create an awesome, unique color palette that injects some personality into the website or app. Choosing the correct fonts and typesetting. Designing the interactivity of each UI element: what does a button do when the user clicks on it, for example.
As a UI designer, it’s also important to repeatedly test your designs – and this is where prototyping comes in. Prototypes enable you to showcase your visual designs in action, helping you to quickly identify flaws and smooth over any rough edges. Prototyping and testing is a crucial part of the UI design workflow, as it will allow you to ensure that the final product ticks all the boxes.
UI designers often use a combination of tools to create their prototypes. For example, programs like InVision are great for designing basic interactions for lower fidelity prototypes, whereas tools like Principle are useful when it comes to refining specific transitions and animations. Other popular prototyping tools include Proto.io, Adobe XD, and Figma.
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