Have you ever found yourself spotting shapes in the clouds? If yes then that is because people are hard-wired to recognize patterns, even when there are none.
It’s the same reason that we often think we know where to click when first experiencing a website — and get frustrated if things aren’t where we think they should be
Choosing the right user interface design is crucial to taking advantage of this natural pattern-spotting. Moreover, it makes the device or website look interesting and worthy of scrolling entirely.
UI or User Interface design involves a process of creating interfaces that are used in software or computerized devices. UI design focuses heavily on the looks and style of the applications.
It typically refers to graphical user interfaces but also includes others, such as a voice-controlled interface.
UI Designers aim to create designs that users will find easy to use and pleasurable to navigate.
A key focus is to build interfaces that is highly usable and efficient to the users. Thus, a thorough understanding of the contexts users will find themselves in while making those judgments is crucial.
The key is to create designs where users can attain their goals efficiently.
You may ask why UI is so important. The answer to that lies in another question…
Would you use an app that is difficult to navigate or puts a lot of stress on your eyes when you try to read something?
A good UI design ensures that the visitors stay or use the website or the app for a longer duration of time. This ultimately increases the chances of them turning into a customer.
Everything has rules. And the same goes for UI design, it has three important principles:
Mastering the basics is the first step in learning anything. Developing a firm understanding and building a foundation of UI design is a key first step. You can then move on to subcategories that dive deeper into the subject.
Let us understand the steps you can take to learn UI designing and become familiar with it.
Designing of any sort has a set of fundamentals or guidelines that one can follow. There will be times when you can neglect these fundamentals but as a beginner, you should try following them.
Once you get a grasp on the fundamentals, you can then better understand when and when not to follow them.
It’s hard to start creating at first especially on a blank page. So, we suggest starting by copying existing designs for practice.
For example, if you are learning to design the UI of a mobile app then you can take a look at your favorite mobile app and start replicating it.
Replicating these designs will help you get familiar with the tools and also give an amazing practical experience. Trust us when we say that thinking of a design and actually designing your idea are two very separate things.
So, make a list of UI designs you love and simply start creating them from scratch. You may even find yourself making tweaks and giving it your own touch.
Generally speaking, there are three UI design processes:
UI designing is an iterative and never-ending process. The UI of a product will always be in need of a change or an upgrade. That is the final phase of designing a product - maintaining and improving it.
To learn UI design, you must also learn some basic UI design tools. There are many tools today to help you produce digital products and you can choose to master one or all of them.
Sketch: A vector-based tool that helps you create intuitive design interfaces very quickly.
Figma: A relatively new tool that is often compared with Sketch due to its interface. It allows collaboration in real-time, making it an innovative tool.
InVision Studio: Claims about being the only tool that can conquer all product design processes.
Mockplus iDoc: A powerful product design collaboration tool that facilitates handoff by extracting designs from Sketch, PS, and Adobe XD. Moreover, exporting them into a format capable of generating specs, code snippets, and assets.
Adobe XD: Consists of Design and Prototype tabs. The first features simple vectors and a bunch of text tools that can be used for creating your design. The Prototype tab is used for sharing and previewing your design. It is also the most preferred tool among UI designers.
To become a UI designer you don’t need a degree in designing nor does your educational background matter. The most important thing is that you have strong design fundamentals and are constantly learning and improving your skills.
Apart from practicing daily, there are various ways you can become a better designer but we recommend these two ways:
This book has been published in several editions. It is considered by many as the bible of the design industry.
The book is about how to improve the usability of a website through design. It also dives into user psychology research.
This book does not focus on theory; instead, it focuses on providing you with the practical tools you need to solve real-life UI design problems. The author shows how UI design isn’t just about aesthetics but about an objective way of communicating with users.
As a UI designer, it’s important to understand what’s going on in the mind of the user so that we can create the most effective interface for them to use. The book delves into perceptual and cognitive psychology, and how we can use it to create better interface designs.
The author covers human choice and decision-making, hand-eye coordination, color and vision, and attention span and memory. A worthy read indeed
There are so many online UI design courses for both beginner and intermediate-level designers. Here are some free and paid online UI design courses:
Hackdesign: All it requires is an email address and you will have access to this easy to follow online course. Each week, a lesson will be delivered to your email inbox. The mail will contain links to articles, tutorials, and cheat sheets, as well as task lists to get you thinking about good design and working towards improving your skills.
Coursera: Take some of the world’s best courses online. It’s the largest and most eclectic catalog for online higher education. Ranging from 4-12 weeks, you can choose between self-paced of timed classes. Verified certificates and specializations provide proof of participation, which can be shared on LinkedIn.
My.path: Thousands of courses, articles, meet-ups, and videos are all in one place. They’re 100% content-ready so learners can stop wasting time on searching and focus on learning.
SKILLSHARE: Learn a new skill each day. Learn creative skills in just 15 minutes a day with bite-sized lessons you can fit in anywhere, anytime.
GYMNASIUM: Gymnasium offers free online courses designed to teach creative professionals in-demand skills, as indicated by client feedback.
MyCaptain: MyCaptain is an online educational platform that connects students with mentors that are young achievers in their field. You will learn how to design with practical projects and LIVE workshop sessions.
Moreover, you will have the opportunity to network with other UI designers that are taking up the course along with you.