When you switch on/off a light switch, that warning message you get, a message on Webflow about a recent update, when you long press on Pinterest or Instagram — all of these are examples of micro-interactions.
Every one of these tiny moments forms a micro-interaction. We often don’t focus on them, but we can feel their presence. These tiny experiences add up to enhance the user’s experience by making the interface less machine, and more human.
Dan Saffer, author of the book Microinteractions and VP of Product for Mayfield Robotics, defines micro-interactions as “contained product moments that revolve around a…
Now that Cross-project copy/paste is here, Webflow designers across the world are crying tears of joy. Second, modularity … to the max! Now, in addition to eliciting tears of joy, this feature also places a new importance on naming elements so they can be accessed and reused without much trouble.
There are only two hard problems in Computer Science: cache invalidation and naming things
— Phil Karlton
Why does naming matter? Well, elements named without any structure or naming convention lead to unmaintainable CSS.
Unmaintainable CSS?
Noooooo.
–me, you, all of us.
Web designers have a difficult time. An amazingly awesome career filled with unbounded creativity, but difficult nonetheless. Something a little less difficult? Taking a wireframe from Sketch to Webflow.
What app — out of the hundreds in existence — is the best choice to present your web design ideas? I’ve asked this question far too many times, and finally found the answers in Sketch and Webflow. Sketch allows me to present ideas and Webflow allows me to bring these ideas to life. …
Recently, I saw this question on Quora and I thought it was pretty interesting that someone would ask about hosting services. Interesting because we are in an age where digital professionals are being told to specialize. Either you’re front-end, or back-end. Specialize to be the best with the skills that you have, and let others be the best with the skills that they have.
As I’ve grown as a web designer - hosting was one of the services that I provided. When I started out, providing hosting services was part of the package. It was part of what I did…
Spoiler alert: this is article will make you rethink your web design process
As I look through some of my previous designs — I see a trend. It’s a positive trend of improvement, but it’s a trend that tends to follow the current of the popular design layouts. Seeing this wasn’t necessarily odd as that’s what positive progress is about, looking at the prolific professionals and emulating their work, but it did get me thinking - “What are the professionals actually doing, and thinking, that makes me emulate them?”
Modularity
The difference between my thinking, and the thinking of industry leaders…
Spoiler alert: this article is especially for me. A reminder to continue to push to be better.
Michael Jordan is my favorite basketball player of all time. Allen Iverson is a close second. But, both players exemplify a competitive desire that is surpassed by very few. A desire to be good. Rather, to be great.
The thing is — we all want to be great, but we don’t want the pain that comes with it. The pain of consistency and self-discipline.
What I want more than being great — it’s being helpful. A web designer that is a valuable asset…
I love microinteractions. They are the little, cute changes to elements that a user doesn’t expect, but love. The name “micro” makes it sound as if it is an easy thing to think up and implement, but microinteractions take a lot of empathy.
How to Get It Done
As a user-experience designer — I’ve got to place myself in the shoes of the user as they try to reach their goals on the site I created. And after I know their route to their goal, I’ve got to place some magic along the way that not only helps them reach their goals, but is also…
Warning: the first couple of paragraphs are all about feelings. Feel free to skip
Recently, I had a conversation with a friend who reminded me about my growth as a designer. The growth that came from hours of watching YouTube tutorials, and being mentored by active professionals. The growth that lead to a web design career without a computer science degree. All of this growth came with the help of the design community.
And that’s what I’m writing for: to share the bit that I know in hopes of helping someone else as I’ve been helped.
Earn from Your Mistakes — Five Years a Failure
In order to grow…
I have a designer super power: I manage all of my projects with Trello.
You see, like most designers, I can get ahead of myself when receiving projects. I get all excited about the layouts, bubbly about what the color palette could be, and just plain giddy about how the typography will integrate with the layout. But, getting that far ahead can leave the tedium of project management undone. And that is very costly.
Costly on all fronts: timelines get extended, due dates are passed, payments are missed. That’s all bad. All bad for you, and especially for your client.
Designers aren’t at the whim of our clients, because we’re on the same team
…
Designing user interfaces is my passion. Especially interfaces that make a positive change in the lives of those who use the design. And that is one of the reasons I was excited to team up with The Rainwater Charitable Foundation and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram to create a site that would provide “a new scholarship program created to provide Tarrant County students who have overcome adversity with resources and experience to continue to excel in college and beyond.”
Where it all started
Six months ago, a friend of mine suggested I place a bid for a web design job for the Star-Telegram in Fort-Worth…
Micah Ryan Johnson
Micah Johnson Web/UI Designer Freelance inquires: micah@createsomething.ltd // http://createsomething.ltd
