When designing websites or applications, the focus tends to be directed towards aesthetics. But while visual appearance and presentability do matter big time, it’s only one piece of the puzzle.
If you fail to take other equally important aspects of designing web pages into account, such as responsiveness and accessibility, users may just end up clicking away. Initially amazed by the visuals but ultimately unimpressed with what they experienced on-site.
Here, let’s tackle the core UX and UI principles that can take your design from just ‘okay’ to truly impactful in terms of engagement and conversions.
While they’re closely related, UI and UX designs are not the same thing.
Read on to know what each of these concepts means and how they interact to create a cohesive and engaging digital experience.
User Interface is the space where interactions between humans and machines occur. It deals with the look, feel, and interactivity of a product. UI is the skin and bones of your visual design. It’s what users see and virtually touch.
This includes everything from typography, colour schemes, and images to buttons, icons, and layout. A well-designed UI guides the user through a product’s interface in an intuitive way. It reduces the learning curve and makes the overall experience more enjoyable.
The best UI designers know how to balance consistency and creativity while designing a website. They ensure every visual element serves a purpose while maintaining a unifying look and feel across the entire product.
UI is about the visual and interactive aspects of a product or service. While the principles of UX design deal with the overall experience a user has when interacting with it.
UX is the journey that a user goes through when navigating your product. It’s how users feel during and after that journey.
UX encompasses the user’s first impression and how they feel about using the product over time. It involves research, user personas, journey mapping, wireframing, and usability testing. All aimed at creating a product that satisfies user needs and intent.
UX designers help make a product generally easy to use and inconvenience-free. While UI is what gets the user to the door, UX is what ensures they have a great user experience once inside.
UI and UX are not independent of each other. They are interwoven and work together to create a seamless digital experience.
UI can be interpreted as what the user sees and interacts with. While UX is everything beneath the surface that supports those interactions.
A successful digital product requires both a strong UI and a solid UX. A beautiful interface can catch a user’s eye. But without a smooth and thoughtful experience, users won’t stick around.
On the flip side, a good UX can make a product functional and incredibly easy to utilise. Without an appealing UI, however, it might fail to attract users in the first place.
UX and UI complement each other and are the dynamic duo of digital design, working hand in hand to give users the best possible online experience.
A human-centred design is a UX principle that focuses on the needs, wants, and limitations of end users throughout the entire design process.
Beyond simply what looks good or what’s technically impressive, it’s most concerned about what actually works for your audience.
Begin with understanding who your users are and what they need to achieve.
Naturally, this involves conducting user research, creating audience personas, and mapping out user journeys. Put yourself in the user’s shoes by anticipating their challenges, preferences, and behaviours.
When a design system is user-centred, it’s generally effortless for users to navigate through, even for the non-tech-savvy.
This UX design principle suggests that users shouldn’t have to think too hard about how to use your product. it should just make sense.
It means creating interfaces that are familiar and predictable, reducing the cognitive load on users and making their interaction with your product as seamless as possible.
A product that adheres to UCD principles is not only more likely to satisfy users but also meet business goals. After all, happy users are more likely to convert, engage, and stay loyal to your brand.
Less is often more when it comes to design.
The principle of simplicity and clarity emphasises creating interfaces that are straightforward. They avoid unnecessary complexity that can confuse or overwhelm users.
Simplicity doesn’t mean stripping away functionality though. It’s delivering that functionality in a clear, concise way.
Clarity goes hand in hand with simplicity.
Simplicity in design leads to your users being able to focus on what matters without getting bogged down by unnecessary complications.
When a design is consistent, it establishes a sense of familiarity. It will be much easier for users to learn and use your product. This principle applies to everything from visual elements to interaction patterns and content.
Consistent design consists of using the same fonts, colours, and styles across all parts of your product. It also means maintaining uniformity in how users interact with different parts of the interface.
For example, if a button leads to a particular action in one part of your site, that same button should have the same function elsewhere.
Beyond the visual, it’s also about language and tone. Whether it’s the wording of a call-to-action or the tone of your error messages, maintaining a consistent voice helps build trust and reliability with your users.
When users encounter consistency in design, they feel more in control and confident in navigating your product. They don’t have to second-guess what a button does or why a particular feature is there.
It’s a sense of familiarity that breeds a more comfortable and enjoyable experience, encouraging users to engage more deeply with your product.
When applied correctly, it can make your product and brand identity more trustworthy and memorable.
Visual hierarchy is the principle that guides the way information is structured and presented on a page.
It’s when you create a clear path for the user’s eyes to follow. Or helping them understand what’s most important at a glance. Good visual hierarchy makes certain that users can quickly and easily find the information they need.
This principle relies on manipulating various design elements, namely:
Larger, bolder text or images draw the eye first, indicating higher importance.
Headlines are typically larger and more prominent than body text. With it, you’re telling users the main message or what it’s about before they proceed into the details.
High-contrast elements stand out more, while low-contrast elements recede into the background.
Using a different colour for a call-to-action button, for example, makes it more noticeable, enticing, and likely to be clicked.
Elements placed higher on the page or aligned centrally tend to be viewed as more important.
Strategically placing and styling elements can help ‘escort’ users through the content in the order you intend. It makes sure they focus on the most crucial parts of your site first.
Accessibility is about making your website usable for as many people as possible, including people with disabilities.
It’s a key principle that’s not only ethical but a smart business move.
A website that complies with international regulations, like the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), is one that can be navigated and understood by everyone, regardless of their physical or cognitive abilities.
To design with accessibility in mind, you need to consider various factors:
Feedback and response are yet another crucial principle in UI and user experience design that enable user control and freedom in their interactions.
Whenever a user takes an action—whether it’s clicking a button or submitting a request—they should receive immediate and clear feedback.
This feedback reassures the user that their action has been recognised and provides information on what happens next.
Feedback can come in many forms:
Case in Point: when a user submits a form, a confirmation message or an email notification acknowledges the submission.
Response time also plays a huge role. Users expect instant gratification in our fast-paced digital environment. Delays or unresponsiveness can lead to frustration and cart abandonment at e-commerce checkout.
Even if a process takes time, such as loading a page or processing data, providing a progress indicator keeps the user engaged and reassured that the system is working.
When things go wrong, feedback is also essential. Error messages should be clear, informative, and instructive. They should help users understand what went wrong and how to fix it.
Instead of just saying ‘Error,’ a more helpful message would be ‘Password must be at least 8 characters long.’ It’s a type of feedback that not only improves user experience but also takes the user to a desired outcome.
With the number of mobile device users forecasted to reach a whopping 6 billion by 2027, mobile-first design has become a fundamental principle in modern web design and application.
This is similarly the case for search engines, where mobile-friendly sites are rewarded with higher SEO rankings.
It’s about prioritising mobile experience in your UX design process, making sure your site functions well as it should be on smaller screens before scaling up to larger ones.
But first, you need to understand the limitations and opportunities of mobile devices. Think of smaller screen sizes, touch-based navigation, and varying network speeds.
The objective is to craft a design that is fast, responsive, and easy to use on mobile devices, which can then be enhanced for desktop users.
Given the limited screen space, you need to focus on the most essential content and actions:
By designing chiefly for mobile users in mind, it’s a best practice that ensures your website is accessible and functional for the broadest possible audience. Especially since mobile traffic exceeds desktop traffic.
Mobile users rightfully expect fast and flawless experiences, and your best solution is making mobile-friendliness and responsiveness an absolute necessity.
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