UI Design​

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The “UI” in UI design stands for “user interface.” The user interface is the graphical layout of an application. It consists of the buttons users click on, the text they read, the images, sliders, text entry fields, and all the rest of the items the user interacts with. This includes screen layouts, transitions, interface animations and every single micro-interaction. Any sort of visual element, interaction, or animation must all be designed.

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A good interface requires barely any thought from the user. Consider your favorite app: it’s easy on the eye and simple to use, right? When you first installed it, you didn’t spend ages working out how to get from A to B—it was just obvious.

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The UI designer is pivotal to this. We think about the human user and how the mind works. We use things like patterns, spacing and color to guide the user.

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“Intuitive” is the keyword here. Not only is a UI designer a creative creature; we also put ourselves in the user’s shoes, anticipating what they expect at each stage. We then use this empathy to design visual, interactive elements that respond in a way that feels natural to the user.

Let’s say you’re using an app to look for a new apartment. One listing in particular catches your eye, so you click to view the gallery. A full-size image takes over your screen, captioned 1/5. You know there are more pictures, so you use your finger to swipe through the gallery. There were no instructions to do so—somehow, you just knew.

This is the work of the UI designer. We think about what the user will expect and design the app’s interface accordingly.

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