Blog - Standard + Author - Visual Identity

Never Call Yourself a UI Designer: UI is UX aside

UI and UX are two very common design terms; however, these terms often get thrown around in the wrong context. Meanwhile, traditional job titles such as “website designer” and “app designer” are far less common nowadays, despite being perfect descriptions of the design services that a designer might offer. What is this fascination with the word “UI” all about? And why do some designers call themselves “UI designers” or “UX/UI designers”? Isn’t the UI a part of the UX? Why has “UI” become such a buzzword? UX vs. UI We, as designers (and as human beings), are obsessed with how things look. We know that it’s “what’s on the inside that counts,” but we still parade ourselves in front of the mirror every morning, trying to ...

UX Testing for the Masses: Keep It Simple and Cost Effective aside

User experience design (UX design) is the practice of design that focuses on the user and a product’s usability in order to deliver the most satisfying experience. While some aspects of user-centered design can be intuitive or rely on UX best practices, delivering great user experience requires deep insights into the user’s needs, goals, and pain points. Uncovering these insights requires UX testing. User experience testing is one of the most misunderstood yet crucial steps in UX design. Sometimes treated as an afterthought or an unaffordable luxury, user research and UX testing should inform every design decision. In order for UX testing to be effective, it must involve the most important people—your users/customers. For UX designers, running tests with actual users may seem ...

The Comprehensive Guide to Information Architecture aside

As a standard part of the UX process, designers create information architecture when building products. Defining every avenue and path that users can take through an app or website, information architecture is much more than just a sitemap to show what page leads where. Similar to building architects using a blueprint to construct every part of a house, from physical structures to more complex inner workings like electrical and plumbing, information architecture describes the hierarchy, navigation, features, and interactions of a website or application. And just as blueprints are the most valuable document for an architect to use in the construction of a building, information architecture can be the most powerful tool in a designer’s arsenal. However, developing one isn’t ...

Net Promoter Score Isn’t Enough: You Need User Research aside

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a common consumer insight method used to track customer loyalty. Advocates of NPS maintain that if someone is highly likely to recommend a product or service to a friend, they are also highly likely to be a loyal customer and will generate revenue for a company through referrals. It’s a single question that goes something like this: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this product or service to a friend or colleague?” Net Promoter Score (NPS) asks users how likely they are to recommend a product or service. How Net Promoter Score Works Net Promoter Score tracks one thing and one thing only: how likely a customer will be ...

Designing a VUI – Voice User Interface aside

More and more voice-controlled devices, such as the Apple HomePod, Google Home, and Amazon Echo, are storming the market. Voice user interfaces are helping to improve all kinds of different user experiences, and some believe that voice will power 50% of all searches by 2020. Voice-enabled AI can take care of almost anything in an instant. “What’s next in my Calendar?” “Book me a taxi to Oxford Street.” “Play me some Jazz on Spotify!” All five of the “Big Five” tech companies—Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook—have developed (or are currently developing) voice-enabled AI assistants. Siri, the AI assistant for Apple iOS and HomePod devices, is helping more than 40 million users per month, and according to ComScore, one in ten households in the US already own ...

From Concept to Reality – A Guide to Logo Development aside

Designing a Symbol for Modern Brands With more and more companies and products competing for market recognition online and offline, a well-designed logo is a business advantage that captures the attention of consumers and represents the core values of a brand at a glance. A good logo is more than a generic icon; it’s an embodiment of what a company stands for—a visual ambassador for a brand. Modern brand logotypes It’s always refreshing to see a logo that lives up to a company’s ethos, but arriving at the right solution involves ample time, skill, and experience. A thoughtful design process is the key to developing an effective and creative logo, but what does this process look like? How does it ...

The Value of Design Thinking in Business aside

Successful businesses are making billions by recognizing the value of integrating “design thinking” into their process. Great design is simple, beautiful, and easy to use. It creates a sense of purpose and place. It responds to user needs, and it just works. Aside from these characteristics, how can we know whether a design is “good”? Moreover, how can a business know whether the investment of time and money into a design was worth it? The proof is in the numbers. Businesses have slowly come around to recognize that design can be used as a differentiator to respond to changing trends and consumer behaviors. Time and time again, Fortune 500 names such as Apple, Microsoft, Disney, and IBM have demonstrated the ...

5 Clear Signs That You Should Hire a UX Expert aside

If your company’s product is not performing as expected, it may be time to bring in a UX expert. Industry surveys show that every dollar invested in UX brings a return of between $2 and $100 dollars. UX covers all aspects of a system (website, app, product, service, community, etc.) as experienced by users. Great UX design can mean the difference between breaking it or making it as demonstrated by the success of Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Amazon, and Google. User experience design is the discipline of what UX designers do, and user-centered design (UCD) is the UX design process. Design thinking and HCD (human-centered design) are other terms that are widely used. All of them typically include user research, sketching, wireframing, prototyping, interaction design, visual design, user testing, ...

How to Hire a UX Designer aside

If you are looking to hire a UX designer, it means you are about to embark on a life changing journey or are in the throes of saving lives while trying to keep the boat afloat. Either way, when something needs to be built or has to be fixed, the trail of gingerbread crumbs comes back to the cradle of design: UXD (user experience design). This phase can wear many hats and can go from truly enlightening to astronomically daunting. This is where the difference between producing a truly meaningful and viable product that transcends the connections between life and technology itself can also meet complete oversights, where requirements are thrown to the wind and the steady foundation required to ...

How to Hire a Web Designer aside

Hiring a web designer is the defining moment in your product’s journey from prototypes and high-fidelity UI mockups to a living product that is ready for consumer use. However, finding the right talent can be challenging, as a web designer’s specialization can get rather broad—roles often overlap and the technology they build on evolves daily. This guide looks at the key roles a web designer may play in your business, as well as the skillsets required to successfully build your product. The Challenge Having a web designer on your team can be exciting. At this point, your idea is most likely in the process of being integrated from a universe of sketches, prototypes, and intricate back-end code into a live ...

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