User Interface (ui) Design

What is UI design?

UI design is the design of user interface for machines and software such as mobile devices, electrical appliances etc to maximise usability and the user's experience. It is the look, feel presentation and interactivity of a product. User Interface design is a strictly digital term. Although UI design is usually confused with UX (user experience) design, they are not the same. UI design is the point of interaction between the user and a digital device or product - like the touch screen on your smartphone or the touchpad you use to get in and out of an elevator, while the latter i.e UX design is a human-first way of designing products. Although UX design goes hand in hand with UI design; one does not necessarily have to gain the knowledge of the former before learning the latter and vice versa. UI design is like a snippet of UX design.

Specialization

Specialization is very possible in UI design because although the areas which they are all applied to require the same basic human interactions, some require unique skills and knowledge. Areas in which you can specialise are software design, user research, web design and industrial design.

Aim of UI Design

UI design is all about making sure the user interface of a product is visual and graphical enough with ease of use by the potential user. The purpose of any interface is to help the user accomplish their goals. Therefore, a good UI design aids finishing the task at hand but without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. Although user interface design deals with the visuals and aesthetics part of a product, the focus of the design should not be on those alone. The ease of using the design by the user to perform tasks should also be put into consideration. In this case, a UI designer has to think like the user to build a user-friendly interface. User interface design should be enjoyable and without complications for the user.

Few tips on making a good UI Design

. Although the concept -UI design- is graphical on the surface, it is deeply rooted in tech. With the advent of new apps, software, hardware devices almost every day, one has to research regularly and learn to be up-to-date with new and current designs.

. As a UI designer, you can check out interfaces already designed by another UI designer in relation to the one you want to create. Pick up some tips from other designs, create new ideas and finally design your interface with the target users in my mind.

. Ease of usability should also be of paramount importance when designing an interface. Important icons like the 'next' or 'previous' buttons should be easily discoverable. Simple labelling of icons and buttons also helps easy usability.

. Make use of fun, but matching colour schemes. They will help to keep your users hooked on your design. Know your audience (e.g people with colourblindness, teenagers, senior citizens) it helps in knowing the right colour scheme to use.

. Minimize the number of icons on an interface; it makes your design look less clustered and classic. Overall, keep your design simple but engaging. Remember, there is beauty in simplicity.

. Put your designs up for evaluation and testing.

. Software maintenance also goes a long way. You can just fix a bug or two as time goes on or change some features or you just generally upgrade the entire interface.

Note that no matter how superb an application, site or device is, if it has an unattractive and complicated interface; nobody would want to use it.

Written by: Olawumi.