UI design
UI design is the creation of the visual representation of an interface. It focuses on the styling and interactions of a digital product or service.
User interface design is a crucial part of the design process; it creates the visual touchpoint through which a user interacts with a product, and it is essential to ensure users have a seamless user experience.
Introduction to UI design
UI design is essentially the creation of the look and feel of a product. It covers both visual and interactive elements, this includes core elements such as colour, typography, and graphic elements, as well as navigational and informational components, buttons, icons, and more. It defines not only what these components and elements look like but also how they communicate key interactions to the user throughout their engagement with the interface.
Why is User interface design so important?
UI design helps to provide the necessary context to enable users to interact with a digital product intuitively. Without UI design you can have the best product in the world, but if a user is unable to successfully interact with its interface, it is useless.
The role of UI in UX design
UX and UI go hand in hand. UX design focuses on understanding and improving the overall user experience, while UI design focuses on creating visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces. Simply put, UX is the beginning of the product design lifecycle and focuses on answering the users’ wants, needs, and frustrations. While UI design concerns the aesthetics and overall feel of an interface. Both disciplines are essential for creating exceptional user experiences.
Benefits of UI
The primary goal of UI design is to enhance the usability and aesthetics of a digital interface. Good UI design will enhance user experience and confidence in your product, increase customer retention and, as a result, improve product reputation and attract new users.
Supporting your users' needs
Excite and engage users
Enhance usability
Improve customer retention
The core elements of UI design:
- Visual components and elements
Visual design involves creating and designing elements and components such as buttons, colour palettes, imagery, iconography and typography. These elements must reflect and capture the brand DNA.
- Layout
Layouts must be organised and created clearly and logically, allowing users to easily find what they are looking for and navigate through the interface. These are to be informed by the information architecture and industry consistency and standards.
- Animation and interaction design
Creating moving and dynamic visual design elements can help create fun and engaging user experiences. Motion is most often appropriate as a form of subtle feedback for micro-interactions. This can include how buttons respond to clicks, how menus expand, and how transitions and animations guide users through the experience.
- Consistency
Maintaining consistency throughout the interface ensures that users can quickly learn and understand how to use the product, as elements and interactions behave predictably across different screens.
What’s included
We develop UI designs, interactive principles and style guides based on the wireframes and user insights we have gathered in the initial part of the design process, and we base the UI designs on your brand guidelines. If these are not yet developed or ready for a refresh, we can complement our UI work with our digital product branding package to develop a robust brand identity.
Why choose Make it Clear
At Make it Clear, we take an evidence-based approach to everything we do. Understanding your organisation, audiences, and the context in which they interact is paramount to the way we work and deliver a best-in-class user experience.
