“Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” - Paul Rand, American art director and graphic designer
But how can we simplify the design process? No matter the purpose, creating a web design or an app design can be easy. And, following the principles of UI UX design or using a design system can be what we need when creating a better user experience and usability.
When we say the word design, our first reaction is to think about visual aspects. However, digital design goes deeper and is directly related to creating an experience for people. In a way, digital design acts as a bridge between UI and UX, as it directly shapes both of them.
In the early 90s, the term usability emerged as a replacement for the label user-friendly because the latter was becoming outdated and had lost meaning. Until reaching the meaning it has today, usability has fluctuated between different things. Nowadays it refers to the quality of a website design or an app design that makes them accessible and easy to navigate for its users. This appeared along with Apple and its design strategy. One of the main principles of design after which it functions is by following user-centric design processes that are applied to increase user experience.
Even if we came up with the most beautiful, eye-catching design, it would have no real value unless our users can navigate through it without putting in effort. Digital design has similar elements to other art forms, but they significantly differ in purpose. While a painting can solely serve an aesthetic value, the design of a web element that is purely visually powerful will fail if it lacks a clear meaning.
“Usability is about human behavior. It recognizes that humans are lazy, gets emotional, is not interested in putting a lot of effort into, says, getting a credit card, and generally prefer things that are easy to do vs. those that are hard to do.”— David McQuillen, swiss banker and founder of Sufferfest cycling workout resources
Usability is such a crucial aspect of digital design, that is often neglected. Similar to accessibility, if the first step of creating a website or app is to find out how you can address users’ questions and issues, the following one would be to figure out how to implement usability. We have to know how to best advertise and craft our websites and apps to attract more users. Keeping usability in mind, there are multiple ways to amp up this element. And some of them are only small adjustments that can seriously make a difference!
- Make Navigation Easy
Einstein famously said, “The only real valuable thing is intuition”. As UI UX designers, one of our primary duties is to anticipate what a user is looking for and how they can achieve it in the fewest steps, and give our users the answers before they even ask. Based on the data we have gathered about our visitors, we can organize and prioritize our content in a helpful manner.
For example, an online retailer like Barnes & Noble is mostly known for selling books. However, some users may enter the e-commerce website to browse for toys or to read their blogs. Because their main purpose is to commercialize books, they have placed the book section first. Know your main goals and arrange them in a hierarchical way.
Here are a few ways to make your page more navigable:
- Include a search bar at the top of the page
- Avoid overcrowding the page with too many navigation options
- Use simple and intuitive labels in your menus
- Include helpful links that lead to clear sources
- Build User Personas
We’ve already expressed that gathering user data is crucial. User personas go beyond base-level information and provide more nuanced insights. With the help of these, we can have a clear image in mind of what our visitors look and behave like. It is easier to come up with a successful design when you can link your users with a face, a name, a hobby, and so on.
A common mistake is that app and website design tend to offer solutions to problems without filtering them through their users’ lenses, In a way, they lack empathy. To avoid this, choose to build user personas that lead to human-centric designs.
A typical user persona will include details about a person such as their age, gender, marital status, occupation, interests and hobbies, favorite brands, as well as other details that could potentially help us improve the user experience.
- Mimic the Real World
Familiarity is a positive feeling that most of us seek. When we mix meeting user needs with a layout and overall experience that feels familiar to them, we create trust. One of the ways to achieve this is to follow common principles of design and conventions:
- Place your logo at the top left or middle of the page
- Make buttons, links, and different elements change color when clicked
- Assign icons to labels so users can quickly figure out what they refer to
- Use icons that your audience knows. For example, a heart for the Favourites section, or an envelope for the Messages one
Another aspect UI UX designers should pay attention to is how well-accustomed our users are to various processes. This will help us decide how many details we should provide and what needs to be described.
- Speak your Users’ Language
Let’s say you are building a gaming app designed for children. There would be no logical value in using pretentious or highly academic language because your target audience will not understand your message. Design is a form of dialogue with the user, so it has to speak their language.
The first thing we should consider is to write labels that are as straightforward as possible. Most users are already accustomed to some standard labels so it would be a good idea to implement them. Using brief and clear headings can also help with a visually pleasing layout. Unless you are writing stories on a blog, avoid using eccentric and alembicated vocabulary.
- Conduct Usability Tests
We all know the saying repetition is the mother of learning. A well-designed website or app has to go through a process of trial and error. It is quite rare that we get something right on the first try. We usually need to navigate through different options in order to reach a refined result.
The main benefit testing should bring is that it eliminates frustration on the user’s end. This is achieved by analyzing the results that will indicate the preferences and needs of the visitors. There are 5 main steps that any usability test should include:
- Design a prototype for your product
- Choose a target audience to test on
- Prepare a list of useful questions and scenarios
- Conduct the test
- Analyze the results and come up with conclusions
- Be Consistent
Good design should support a balance between the brand identity, tone of voice, and the overall aesthetic of a page. That means you have to decide on a theme and work your way up from there.
Let’s take the example of a platform that offers medical services. The visual components should be simple, minimalistic and help users navigate it easily. A visitor most likely landed there because they need to solve a health-related problem, so the focus should be on the written content. We would most definitely avoid the usage of bright colors, overlapping elements, and humorous vocabulary.
Our pages should be unique, while also supporting an overarching theme that gets our message across. To avoid creating a boring website or app, we can add a few disruptive elements. These also have to make sense with the rest of the page!
A good example of this is the recent trend of beauty websites including a “test it now” option for their products. Commonly used for lipsticks and similar cosmetic products, they allow users to upload photos of their faces on which the website inserts the makeup product.
We at uinkits understand the importance of great user experiences and creating amazing UI designs. That’s why we’ve developed a Figma UI Kit with design components that include these essential UI elements that enable you to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces effortlessly.
“You press the button, we do the rest,” – Kodak.
Inspired by this iconic tagline from Kodak, we believe in simplifying the design process for you. Our Figma UI Kit, uinkits, is a complete design system with UI components that allows you, as a UI UX designer, to create your products as quickly as pressing a button.
Our design system includes components, icons, variables, cards, buttons, and everything you need for your design process. All you have to do is take your UI design component needed, and you’re ready to use it in your designs!
