Category: User Interface Design
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How do I determine if a UI can be made more simple?
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. An aphorism attributed to Albert Einstein. But how could you determine if the UI you designed could (and should) be made optimally simpler — meaning can still be made more simple than the current without losing anything of value to the users (and while adding more…
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Do you consider a “cancel” button secondary or tertiary in UX? Can you think of reasons not to use it in a form? What are the best use cases for/against it?
One thing’s for sure about the Cancel action in a form: it is a negative within the context of Proceed as the positive. Then again, in the context of what the user’s goal is, the positive and negative may be one or the other. For example, in a 5-step interaction to fully complete the user’s…
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Why do so many web pages require scrolling when the info could easily be displayed all at once? There are a number of pages I access daily that only need a click but I must scroll down to do it.
There are many different kinds of interaction in an information environment like web pages. Clicking and scrolling are just two of them. And both have different mental models when accessing information. One limitation of any information environment is that there’s only a limited number of information that can be displayed all at once, at the…
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Should buttons become lighter or darker when hovered over?
What is the mental model of the user interface—or at least the UI buttons? The Feedback Aspect Just like with most physical buttons, if a user wants to press it, he or she touches it. The feedback comes from its look and feel (it looks like a button; it feels like it can be pressed…
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Learnings and Reminders
The minimum size of an Active Area (AA) Ideally, it is 48 x 48 pixels. However, there are elements that needs to be smaller in relation to other elements with it—with this consideration, we could go down until 32 x 32 pixels. The cohesion between two UI elements In order to show cohesion and relation…
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When should I use a single-column and multi-column timeline feed?
What kind of content are you presenting? Take a look at Facebook feed and Pinterest feed. Facebook feed presents a variety of content—text, images, videos whose purpose are to update the users of current events and happenings in their friends’ lives. Pinterest feed, on the other hand, presents content heavy on images—eye candy if you…
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Are tabs as a pattern good for mobile design? How do they affect an app’s usability?
What kind of app are you working on? Let’s set two facets in this answer: Trend – are tabs being used in Android and iOS mobile apps? Yes, as evidenced in popular mobile apps (Quora, for example). Nature – can tabs function well in limited spaces? Yes, it is implemented in a single row which…
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In UI design, where is the line between copying someone and getting inspiration?
I could see this question in two aspects: the designer’s POV and the audience’s POV The designer’s personal POV about replicating and modifying depends on her philosophy. Is it OK to copy just to get it done? Is it OK to spend time to reinvent the wheel? What will the designer learn from it? What…
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What topics (except the HTML, CSS & JS part) should I learn in order to become a skilled front-end web designer and a UI designer?
Since you’ve already mastered the basic languages of web development (HTML, CSS, JS), you are now basically skilled as a Front-end Designer. Now, how to be a skilled UI Designer? Learn how to interpret the Product Requirement Document Learn how to translate the Task Flow Diagram into individual Wireframes and eventually into an Interaction Diagram…
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What would be the best plan for changing a career path from a UI designer to a UI developer?
Dive deep into front-end web development (HTML, CSS, and JS) and take it from there. Start by taking on personal projects wherein you will be the one to implement the front-end development aspect. Practice via personal projects. Originally published in Quora