UXDesign Archives - Visual Identity

Exploring the Gestalt Principles of Design aside

Negative space has long been a staple of good design. Leaving white space around elements of a design is the first thing that usually comes to mind. But then there are designs that use that white space to infer an element that isn’t actually there (the arrow hidden between the E and X in the FedEx logo immediately comes to mind as an example). The “E” and “x” in the FedEx logo create an arrow within the negative space between them. The human brain is exceptionally good at filling in the blanks in an image and creating a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s why we see faces in things like tree leaves or sidewalk ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Great Questions Lead to Great Design – A Guide to the Design Thinking Process aside

Great designers help teams and stakeholders make better decisions by using questions to identify opportunities, reveal underlying needs, and understand user context. James Dyson, having been inspired by a centrifuge used to separate paint particles from the air, came up with the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner in 1983 after famously going through 5,127 prototypes—the epitome of design thinking. He must have asked a lot of questions along the way… Designers face tough problems every day—problems that require them to find design solutions that deal with business and technical constraints while also addressing user needs. At the same time, the urge to find solutions quickly shouldn’t preclude designers from thoroughly understanding the heart of the problem, as well as the user context, from ...

TV UI Design: Working with White Space aside

Designing for TV requires a comprehensive, disciplined understanding of UX principles. One of the elements that is a constant concern when designing for TV is the use of white space in design. There are too many TV apps on the market that don’t know how to (or consciously choose not to) properly harness white space. The result is cluttered eyesores that actively undermine business objectives. Here is an explanation of what white space is and how using it in your TV app is best for business. First and Foremost… What is white space? White space is an unoccupied piece of real estate with zero text or graphics layered on top. This is important to note because a background graphic image can be ...

The 10 UX Deliverables Top Designers Use aside

The work of a UX designer happens in many different environments—from lean startups and Agile environments where teams work with little documentation, to consulting engagements for third-parties, or large enterprises and government entities with strict documentation requirements. Regardless of the nature of the engagement or environment (and the one thing that ties it all together), is a need for UX professionals to effectively communicate their design ideas, research findings and the context of projects to a range of audiences. During the UX design process designers will produce a wide variety of “artifacts” and project deliverables as part of their UX design methodology. These may take many forms: deliverables help UX designers communicate with various stakeholders and teams, document work, and ...

13 Podcasts Every Designer Should Listen To aside

Every designer has a different way of “plugging in” when they start working on a new design. Listening to music is probably one of the best options when you go on a design sprint. You might prefer putting on a guilty-pleasure TV show in the background. But once in a while, you might want to switch it up and learn something new while you design your upcoming masterpiece. So I compiled a list of every great design podcast to help you focus, gain inspiration, and stay entertained while you design. We’ve got everything from funny shows related to the industry to the best tech podcasts about design to podcasts that will help you look at your designs in a new ...

30th of May, 2017
In: branding design, layout design, Visual Identity Design
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Design Process: Is it Objective or Subjective? aside

Design is complicated. Some types of design are more subjective, “artful”—some are more utilitarian and follow more rigid rules. What process do we follow to create digital design solutions? Is it an inevitable conclusion of mechanically applying objective principles to a problem (functional design), or is it the organic result of more subjective decision making? The relationship between art and design is often misunderstood, and although a design outcome can be artful, the process behind it is altogether very different. An artist aims to aesthetically express personal ideas or feelings through a particular medium. Art is valued for its originality and ability to explore alternative representations of an appearance, people, or things. With art, you either get it or you ...

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