Best UI/UX Practices
Hello fellow readers! We are back and with a brand new topic to share and exchange thoughts with you guys. Although the title reads Best UI/UX practices but before we get into that we should probably discuss a little about what is UI?UX? If you have read our previous blog you would have an idea about UI (User interface). But what about UX (user experience) ? What is it actually?
If you are looking for a list of 10–15 things that every designer follows or should follow, the I am sorry my friend this is not the blog you are looking for. You can google that and get more than enough results. But not here! We are Pixians and we don’t do mainstream. Today we’ll talk about the instances of user experience that we see in our everyday lives since birth and don’t even realise! The best of the lies are the ones that run parallel to the truth. UX is just a term given to our experiences and has been used so effortlessly that nobody now notices it.
30 / 5 + 4 * 2 + 14 = ? This is a simple equation, of whose sort, we all have solved at some point in elementary school. But there was always a rule applied to solving it, Yep the BODMAS! Bracket Orders Division Multiplication Addition Subtraction. The order of solving this equation was modified to BODMAS to improve your experience of the dreaded mathematics. These subtle shortcuts and acronyms were created to reduce your work and make your time sun. they enhance your experience. There is one UX example for you. More are coming!
It’s always about establishing a connection with the things around us and finding inspiration in the most mundane of things that leads to great ui/ux designs. For many of you metro/subway is probably your daily river. What according you is the most thought aspect of metro? Some say the floor, train itself, AC and what not. However the map is the most thought piece of work at stations. You need to chart a whole city, identify key connecting points and then make sure that it is accessible to all. That takes some serious work to build a good experience for the passengers! Similarly, creating a UI for website is somewhat identical to mapping a city. You try to map the space available and then place the most important elements of the website in locations that make perfect sense.
Another and probably the most important example of a UX Architect is someone very close to you. Your MOM. Everything in your life (till the time you live with your parents), your room, your house, your wardrobe and whatnot has been arranged by your mother to achieve optimum aesthetics and sense of ease; The sense of being home. Every item goes where it should be. A great UX designer will make you feel like home with their work.
When you hear a motivational speaker, you get pumped up! But so does the random guy sitting next to you. Now both of you may be poles apart but the speaker has said something that is relatable to each and every person sitting in the session. How is that? A UX designer is like the motivational speaker of the design world. He has to fit the pieces together in a way that every user can understand and relate to.
Cool aren’t they? All these examples of UX and UX architects sitting in front of you and yet they went unnoticed. It’s all about perspective. And I know that I’ll appear very shady if I don’t throw in some best UI/UX practices after mentioning them in the title. So here you go, read your heart out!!
- Understand requirements
Ask as many questions you want but in one go only. Just like coding, think twice and design once (meaning in one go). It’s good to ask questions but not every time. - Think it through but practically
Yes it may seem difficult but try to map out your project mentally; At least a rough draft in your mind is better than you put one on canvas. - Read as much as possible
Reading is like gym to your brain. And all your creation come from there only. Read as much as you can. It’ll not provide knowledge but make you wise. - Think out of the box
But you are a designer, so rather build a palm size box and solve your purpose. Sometimes to think outside the box you need to break the box. Stop following trends and styles. Make your own. - Recycle
Try to make elements that can be used again and again with some minor changes. It’ll save your time from the regular mundane design and let you focus on your million dollar idea.
