UI design tactics for 2013!

Because the Web design industry is now flooded with a lot of raw talent, and because virtually anyone can create a “beautiful” website, recognizing a truly beautiful website experience is becoming increasingly difficult. What appears beautiful to the eye might in fact be more of a hindrance. Good UI design is, in many ways, similar to good web design. Principles of color theory, negative space, and layout all still apply. But UI design requires a bit more thought in many cases due to the interactivity it requires. Visitors won’t just be looking at your site; they’ll be interacting with it, sometimes in ways you didn’t expect. It’s vital that you take the time to really explore UI design prior to embarking on a web app design.

Sometimes design agencies are brought in to fill the usability void. And, while not all agencies are evil, a great many follow a business model that depends on getting their teams to bill as many hours as they can and as soon as possible. Diagnostics can slow the work down so, many agencies move to make a quick, tangible impression (and make their clients happy) by delivering redesigns that are mostly cosmetic. Let’s take a look on current trends in user interface design-

Going back to the basics

User interface design is going back to basics, at least according to some big name companies! Glossy icons are replaced by simpler one-color versions or text-based buttons, rich gradients with simple solid colour combinations. The ‘going back to basics’ strategy is a great way to design a web application which focuses on user generated content – if done right, users will rarely complain about it. However, keep in mind that many clients will find this approach too simplistic for their taste, so you might want to check their preferences before starting your project.

 

Real Life Appeal

Basically, this design approach relies on imitating the look and functionality of traditional and familiar objects to make the interface more intuitive. For example, a popular app on Google, OmniNote uses bookshelf racking system kind of UI to depict the ‘real life aspect’ that many people relate with, and find extremely ‘life like’.

 

Speaking out of context- A big NO!

Context sensitive navigation can be used in almost any project. Carefully target buttons and gadgets that can be hidden until the user performs a certain action, such as hovering a link, selecting an entry and so on. For example, Gmail shows message action buttons only when you select the message. This way, these applications visually appear much simpler than they really are. Similarly, when you hover over an image in Facebook, the ‘like’ button becomes visible.

 

Easily Digestible Content

Using a technique of presenting a large amount of content in smaller visual chunks, so it’s easier for people to read and mentally digest is of great importance. For example, articles can be written in smaller chunks of data, with bold heading and catchy phrases accompanied with visually appealing pictures to make it look more readable and digestible!

 

Keep it LONG, silly!

It may be hard to digest but long pages which require a lot of scrolling are now all over the web. One explanation is that users are so accustomed to vertical scrolling (assisted by mouse wheel) that it’s actually worse to split the content on separate pages – it requires more effort from users to find it and reach it.

 

Remember one thing; the best interface designs are invisible. They do not contain UI-bling or unnecessary elements. Instead, the necessary elements are succinct and make sense. Whenever you are thinking about adding a new feature or element to your interface, ask the question, “Does the user really need this?” or “Why does the user want this very clever animated gif?” Are you adding things because you like or want them? Never let your UI ego steal the show!

ColorCuboid as a leading web design & mobile app development company offers complete mobile web design and development solution to clients across the globe. Contact us today!

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.