User interface design encompasses everything a person interacts with when using a digital product, from the buttons they push to the way information is presented to them through color, text size, image spacing, and layout. When done effectively, strong UI design can result in a seamless and delightful user experience in which consumers don’t even notice the design elements. However, if the user interface is done incorrectly, it can frustrate and mislead users, leading to product abandonment. So, today, we’ll go through the top seven UI rules. But first, let’s define what a user interface is.
What Is UI Design?
User interface design is the process of creating all of the visual aspects that a user sees and experiences when interacting with a digital product. UI designers are a subgroup of user experience designers who strive to create products that are consistent, accessible, and useful, but with a stronger emphasis on aesthetics and graphic design. Consumers rarely see UI designers’ work, but it can have a substantial impact on how a product is utilized.
Top 7 Rules of UI Design: The following are four guidelines that repeat whenever UI designers discuss suggested practices, and have been aggregated for clarity.
- Consistency and usability: This notion is made up of two overlapping principles from Shneiderman’s list. A web page or app’s design should be consistent throughout, from prompts and menus to the overall aesthetic of the product. Consistent action sequences should be required in all similar situations. Consistent commands are expected, and designs must be accessible and usable by as many users as possible, whether they are beginner or experienced operators.
- Simple Design: UI design should be simple. A designer’s own view should never be at the top of this list. They should think about what the user wants. The most important of all the fundamental UI design principles may simply be to keep in mind who and why you are designing for. Design that is overly formal or self-indulgent only creates extra noise and takes the focus away from the elements that are genuinely crucial to the user. Reduce your design to its basic necessities. It is best to cut back on any extra growth and just keep what is truly necessary.
- Simple interaction: Make sure the website doesn’t contain anything that could lead to a person being confused. Provide meaningful feedback to users when they perform actions so they can determine whether the action was effective. Minor actions might be acknowledged by simply marking off a data entry form or graying out areas that have previously been completed, whereas major actions can be acknowledged by changing the color scheme of a page or responding with animation. The goal of this rule is to provide consumers a sense of relaxation and closure by assuring them that they won’t have to worry about unexpected events.
- Provide clear signposts: The labeling and logical arrangement of information are the topics of our sixth core UI design principle. Utilizing your application shouldn’t be overwhelming or challenging in any way, not even for new users. It should be pleasant to explore the UI, and usage should be practically effortless. Ensure that the page design is simple, logical, and clearly marked. There should never be any confusion among users as to where they are in the software or how to get to any other area they may choose. Give visual signals for navigation whenever it is required.
- Make sure your users aren’t overburdened: Designers should make it easier for users to remember things in the short term. Most people can retain seven bits of information at a time, plus or minus two, hence interfaces that require users to remember information from multiple pages should be avoided. Long data entry sequences are not tolerated by users, therefore avoid repetition and reduce the number of users required.
- Avoid making mistakes: Ensure that the page’s design does not cause serious issues (for example, the “delete” button on an online storage app should not be put in a prominent location where it might be accidentally clicked or touched). Actions should be reversible to the maximum extent possible if a mistake is made. Easy reversibility of activities decreases user fear, fosters new possibilities, and can save users time, especially when the units of reversibility range from a single action to a data input activity to a whole collection of actions.
- Avoid complexity: Use the minimum steps and use overlays to reduce the amount of data. Ensure that the data is structured logically, independently, and entirely on its own. In actuality, one of the guiding principles of UI design is to group tasks and their subtasks together. Always mix this grouping with a simulation experience in addition to a general theme. Avoid hiding subtasks on pages that are expected to be visited all the time. Nobody hopes to find the TV in the bathroom, the yard’s closet, or the kitchen’s shower.
Final Thoughts: UI design is a fun and creative subject that promotes the development of both hard and soft skills. It’s also an important ability that can have a big impact on businesses. So it’s better to learn UI design in your free time. You can always search for free videos on YouTube if you want to learn more about UI. On YouTube, you may find a variety of UI lessons. The only drawback to YouTube is that it is an unorganized medium for learning new things. There is no structure to the videos at all. You can use LearnTube from Career Ninja to overcome that challenge. With the help of the Chrome extension Learn Tube, you can arrange YouTube search results into a course structure. You won’t need to click on each video separately. It also gives you access to online authorities who can respond to your inquiries.
