Nikka Estefani
Category: Design Talks
UI (and UX) are some of the most alien words we have today – they’re either unknown or often misunderstood. If anything, we only have little knowledge about it – sometimes, we even just vaguely understand it.
So, what are the interesting facts to learn about UI? Unlike other “Fun Facts”, which focuses on, well, actual facts about something, we focused on the inner workings of the UI process.
So, we wrote about some do’s-and-don’ts, facts (of course!), tips and just anything that’s interesting!
So, without further ado, here are the 10 interesting facts about UI Design!
1. UI is a blend of visual design and psychology
If you’re new to UI, you might think that it’s just all about visual design – and the complicated processes of coding! But that’s not true.
UI is about design and psychology. It’s not only thinking, “Is this beautiful (design- and visual-wise)?” It’s also about asking questions like, “Will this help our audiences buy our product or click this link?” or “What will make our viewers more comfortable and relaxed in our website?”
UI is a blend of design and psychology. Later, we’ll touch more about this!
But if you’re worried because you failed Psychology 101 or didn’t have a Psychology degree, no worries! You don’t need a psychology degree – you just need to put yourself in your visitor’s shoes; empathy, that is!
2. UX and UI are different
Many people, even UX and UI professionals themselves, often confuse these two words.
UX means User Experience. It’s all about usability and making things easier for the audience or site visitor as he/she browses on your website.
UI means User Interface. It’s actually a branch of User Experience that focuses on the visual aspect of the website.
While both are different, their goal is the same – to make the site browsing experience easy and friendly for the visitor.
3. You are not the user!
While it’s natural to think of how would you like your website to look like, still, you’re not the only user around.
So, instead of thinking about UI based on what you like and don’t like, focus on a bigger audience – that is, the audience of your choice. What could be their general preferences?
Of course, you can’t accommodate to all, but most likely, you’ll get a general sense of what your audience like and don’t like. After all, your audience have similarities!
4. UI is all about making things easy!
If your UI is more complicated than decoding the meaning of the Mona Lisa, then you’re in big trouble!
Your UI, like UX, should aim for one goal, and only one goal – ease of usability and friendliness. And you can’t be friendly or pleasing if your website is hard to use!
One of the most common UI mistakes I see all the time is this hard-to-find menu. Why place the menu somewhere? Place the menu on top, where people can find it easily. Then that’s it; simple and finish!
5. UI is Mindset
To this, there are certain design “rules” that UI and UX designers must follow, and part of this is because users and visitors often have common ways of using a website – such as where the menu is located (on the top). If not on the top, on the side, and make the menu box is clearly visible for the visitor.
Make things simple; it’s way more helpful for you and your visitors.
If you think about this, UI is a mindset, not just a part of the process. This is not just a task that must be completed but must be treated with respect when you work on it.
This means that whenever you work on your website’s UI, you think about the basic UI principles first – such as ease of use for visitors – before thinking of the tasks at hand.
If you treat your UI as some form of a checklist, you’re more likely to create a horrible UI design.
Always think of the UI principles whenever you work on it, and treat it with the utmost respect.
6. If Lorem Ipsum is still hanging around, your UI/UX is in trouble!
Even if it’s just you seeing your website – the site is not yet live – avoid having a Lorem Ipsum or any other text placeholder. Why? Because it’s hard to visualize your website’s end result if you have those placeholders around.
And the worst thing that can happen? You leave the placeholder when you launched the site!
I’ve seen some sites still having that Loren Ipsum hanging around. For other websites, they still have this, “This is your first blog post. Click here to write your first post.”
Be careful not to leave those around!
7. Many websites have poor UX/UI designs
I’ve already mentioned about the menu thing, but that’s not the only UX/UI issues some websites have.
Others have terrible font choice; some have big fonts, so big even a person with poor vision can read the words without his/her eyeglasses!
Some have a poor color choice; some have no “About” or “FAQ” page – which is one of the most basic pages for the most website!
And others have no “Contact” page, making them look suspicious.
We don’t need to change them, though. For you, at least you know what to avoid.
8. Your UI can make or break your conversion
Anyone working in advertising knows this – visual design works hand-in-hand with words (copywriting) to close deals and make sales. In e-commerce and other online business, this means your UI – especially if you intend to sell – should “lead” your visitors from a mere visitor to a paying customer.
You’ll need to learn some basic advertising for this one, but you should know that, again, UI isn’t just a task to be completed, but a mindset you think about as you focus on one goal – whether that be converting leads to sales or simply making the most efficient usability as possible.
9. Be human for your visitor’s sake!
This is actually not a problem of UI/UX itself, but of the entire company or organization.
Many businesses and organizations, in an attempt to look formal, ended up creating copy and website design that are not relatable to their visitors at all.
They look for the latest UI fad design as well as studied color psychology, but never put themselves in their visitor’s shoes (remember #1)?
One element that stands out about UX/UI is the importance of empathy – not just design and other complicated, technical processes.
Be more interesting. Make your site’s environment more relaxed for the visitor. All in all, simply be a human as just you are right now and have a level of connection with your visitors!
10. UI is fun – plain and simple!
Perhaps, the best fun fact of all is that UI is simply fun!
It’s fun when you think about how someone might react to this design or that one. It’s fun when you try figuring out what’s the best way to make things easier for your visitors.
In UI, you don’t just choose a color for design’s sake, but understanding how a certain color affects our mood.
In a way, you can say that UI has something to do with marketing – even if you don’t sell anything!
In the end, all we want anyway is for our visitors to enjoy our website – and for most purposes, to have them stay longer. UI is one deciding factor for that.
Conclusion
Even when UI (and UX) aren’t well-known, and hearing about them for the first might sound intimidating, UI and UX is actually a fun profession.
Once you’ve learned the basic technicalities of the job, and if you’re interesting in learning one’s psychology and, you know, just being empathetic, this can be the job or hobby for you!
If you want to learn more information about UI/UX, just browse our blogs for more educational information on the said topics!
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