If you’re designing a new application and thinking that embedding all those shortcuts and hover tooltips is a time-waster, you definitely should think again. Now that the competition in the app development market is so tremendous, no user will be willing to waste time figuring out how to navigate your website or how to filter the required items. With this in mind, you should make sure that the interface of your future app is user-friendly. Tabs make things in your app much more accessible, as well as help windows, contact options, and other useful stuff you often come across when visiting a site or using an app for the first time. So, when designing a UI, whether it’s for a mobile application, web apps, business website, or anything else, take care to create a sleek, intuitive, navigable, and functional UI.
- To learn more about the subtleties of UI development process and prerequisites for designing effective UIs, consult the complete guide at https://litslink.com/blog/how-to-design-a-user-friendly-app.
UI Design Principles
Whether you decide to design an app on your own or hire a professional web designer to do this, you should be aware of some helpful design principles that can considerably ease and accelerate the development process. Such principles are crucial for removing a good deal of guesswork and creating a more efficient and predictable end product. Below are some of the most useful principles to take note of.
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#1 Structure
The structure principle goes first on this list, and for good reason. It’s important that you organize your UI purposefully, in a coherent and useful way. Make sure to separate the most meaningful and relevant components from subsidiary or unrelated elements. Make similar things resemble one another and employ consistent models that will be clear and recognizable to your users.
#2 Visibility
Lots of developers make one and the same mistake. They clutter their interface with extraneous and irrelevant information, thus preventing users from locating the required options on your app or website. So, take care to make all the essential material visible to users without overwhelming them with irrelevant information and confusing them with redundant information.
#3 Simplicity
Have you noticed that even the biggest and most successful companies opt for clear-cut and simple UI? Undoubtedly, you should also be mindful of the simplicity principle when it comes to creating your app UI. When designing a UI, ask yourself whether your users will be able to perform such common tasks as locating and sorting list items, contact your support team, add an item to a Favorites list, and much more. The main task of the design is to clearly communicate with your users and help them get the best experience possible when interacting with your app.
#4 Feedback
Make no mistake, your users want to be informed and aware of the changes that take place within your app or website. Without initiating them into the subtleties of the technical aspects, make sure to keep users informed of actions or interpretations, changes in terms and conditions, possible errors or exceptions that are relevant and of interest to your clients in the language that’s plain and easy to understand.
#5 Reusability
When designing your app, consider using reusable pieces that can go a long way towards helping you create a UI with better accessibility, consistency, and control. Reuse behaviors, as well as external and internal components with a certain algorithm in mind so that your users are able to follow a predictable pattern rather than rethink when using your app.
#6 Monotony
As we’ve noted, predictability and ease-of-use are the key components of a successful UI. Make sure that your UI is consistent and doesn’t pose any ‘surprises’ to users. It should be monotonous and thus letting your user set the pace of an interaction.
That being said, it doesn’t mean that there is no room for creativity and individual vision in the UI design. You can experiment with layouts or play with the contrast of backgrounds to provide a better level of readability. You can also spruce up the overall look of your interface with stylish fonts and elegant graphics. When combined with simple interactions and intuitive navigation, your creative endeavors will make your UI design even more visually appealing and attractive to users, which, hopefully, will pave the way for a commercially successful app.
