December 2017 - Visual Identity

Better UX Through Microinteractions aside

When designing a product, there are many ways to improve the user experience, including defining personas, well-structured information architecture, and thoughtfully written content. But after this high-level structure is set, creating delight for a user comes in the smaller interaction design details. These details, known as microinteractions, are individual moments in the product designed to accomplish a single task while enhancing the natural product flow. Swiping up to refresh data, liking content, or changing a setting are all microinteractions. They can also include simple UI animations—for example, the way a menu slides in when tapped, or a card glides off the screen when swiped. Often microinteractions aren’t even consciously noticed by the user, but their subtle details make the product ...

Customer Journey Maps – What They Are and How to Build One aside

When a customer uses a company’s products and services to achieve a goal or need, they are going on a journey from point A to point Z. A customer journey map charts the path a user takes from the beginning of this journey to the satisfaction of that need. “Mapping out the customer journey is an effective way to understand what turns a viewer into a long-term, loyal customer.” – Kofi Senaya, Director of Product at Clearbridge Mobile Understanding a user’s needs is the bedrock of great design. User experience and product designers draw upon a range of tools and methods for uncovering the needs of their users and designing a product that meets those needs. The customer journey map is one such ...

How to Design an Effective Landing Page aside

Landing pages can be described as one-page websites that push the visitor toward a single action. This focus on a single purpose is the primary feature that makes landing pages different from other websites. Their primary goal is to generate leads which are often linked with email and social media campaigns and to convert those leads into buyers and subscribers. The process of converting visitors into leads and buyers is usually accomplished by call-to-action buttons and lead generation forms. “A landing page is any webpage on which an Internet visitor first arrives on their way to an important action that you want them to take on your site” – Tim Ash, Landing Page Optimization Landing pages originated in response to the ...

How to Build an Effective Design Framework aside

If you’ve been in the design world for a while, you’ve probably heard these terms: design framework, UI framework, UI kit, or pattern library. They all refer to the same thing—a system of design standards, templates, UI patterns, and components that are used throughout a product and serve its design language. If you haven’t created a design framework before, starting one can feel overwhelming and seem time-consuming, but it will speed up your design work and make it more efficient overall. Let’s outline the main issues a design framework solves, why you need one, and the components you will need to create when building one. You will find a free downloadable Sketch UI framework later in the article that allows you to create ...

Monthly ArchivesDecember 2017