UI Design: How to Overcome the Blank Artboard
Never get stuck looking at that blank screen again.
Got a new client? Great. You walk to your desk and start working, a billion ideas start to hit you. You think to yourself that this is gonna be fun and easy, so you effortlessly create a new Sketch project. An hour passed and you’re still staring at that white empty artboard.
Did that sound too familiar? This was a real struggle that I had and I believe many people still do too. So in this article, I’ll cover a few tips to hopefully prevent this from happening again. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
1. Don’t start at the computer right away.
Many people just start a design off on their computer and hope to come up with something on the spot. Even though doing this might work sometimes, it’s not a good practice. Instead, what you should do is get a cup of coffee. Ok, maybe not really. But what you should really do is start with paper. Yes, you heard me right, paper! Paper might sound like some thing from the past, but trust me, paper is the key to a strong design. All of Leornado Da Vinci’s were done on paper, and this goes to show that drawing out something on paper is very powerful. Besides that, sketching out wireframes on paper is much faster than fiddling around with some overpriced software.
Wireframing on paper is really useful because it allows us to quickly plan out and see how a screen should look and feel like. If it were to be done on a computer, it would be time consuming because if the design does not look the way you want it to, you’ll have to start again from square one.
2. Don’t always seek perfection.
Don’t get me wrong, you should always seek perfection your designs, but not in the beginning. You see, if you want the design to be perfect right from the start, you’re not gonna go anywhere. This is because you’ll just be stuck on the first screen trying to move things around, but never going to be satisfied. You have to get the basics down first, and then refine it from there. Don’t get too caught up with trying to make one screen perfect, but instead strive to make the overall experience perfect.
Always start your designs off with simple placeholders and fonts. This can help you focus on the layout and placement of elements before worrying about the aesthetics. Also, you should use simple colors, preferably monochromatic, to minimize time wasted on figuring out what colors look best for each individual element.
3. Inspiration. Inspiration. Inspiration.
Inspiration is key to a fluid design. When I say inspiration, I don’t mean going on the ‘popular shots’ section of Dribbble and copy one of the designs. That is straight up plagiarism. Instead, good inspiration is like the key that unlocks your mind to think out of the box and create something unique from what you just saw. You might think that searching up people’s work for inspiration is not going to be helpful because you’re literally just copying someone else’s design. I mean you can do that if you want, but we’re not here for that. Another way to get inspiration is to analyze the apps that you use daily and try to find something that you can improve and redesign it.
What you can do is look at other designers’ designs and analyze them to see what works and what does not. Then take what works and implement it into your own design, with a touch of your own style of course. Something else that you can take away from looking at top designers’ work is the trend. Trends are really crucial in UI design as the reason its a trend is because people like it. Makes sense? Of course. One more thing about getting inspiration from other designers is that you can learn from their mistakes and not repeat that in your own design. Another way is to analyze the apps that you use daily and try to find flaws that you can improve on and redesign it.
4. Listen to a podcast or music.
This might not work for everyone, but its worth giving a shot. I always play music or my favorite podcast whilst designing to boost my mood, and hence my productivity increases. A study showed that music does indeed boost productivity and makes us happier.
Listening to podcasts might not actually make you that much more productive or happy, but it sure does let you learn. Not only are you getting work done, you’re also learning from the podcast. Isn’t this killing two birds with one stone? As I said before, this method might not work for some people as some might be distracted by the music or podcast. But I highly suggest giving it a try and see how it goes.
I usually listen to Matt D'Avella’s podcast — ‘The Ground Up Show’. He puts out high valued podcasts targeted towards creators and startups. A new podcast comes out every Wednesday and they are always worth looking forward to. Be sure to check him out!
5. Just take a break.
This might sound contradicting. This article is about how to start the ball rolling, but now I’m telling you to not start? Yes and no. The reason you want to take a break is so that you’ll have time to think. Rest is crucial and letting your mind rest and wander off is healthy for your creative life. You see, most of the time, we can’t overcome the blank artboard because we are too distracted and can’t focus on the task. So by resting, you give yourself time to clear off your mind. So, hopefully when you get back to work, you’ll have a clear mind to focus on the work that is in front of you.
Now, by rest I mean proper rest, not watching Netflix or your favorite YouTuber. Try your best to keep your gadgets away from you and enjoy the quality of life. Get a cup of coffee and relax. Just give yourself some alone time and think about what you want to achieve.
Conclusion
So after this short article, hopefully you’ve learned something. Let me quickly summarize all that I’ve said. First of all, you should always start by working with paper to quickly sketch out your ideas to see if they work or not. Then after you have those initial sketches down, get on your computer and start refining the designs that you think will work. Be sure to use simple typography and simple colors to not waste extra time. You’ve got the basics down, now what? Go on Dribbble (or anything you prefer) and look at what other designers are doing, and maybe see what you can implement (not copy) into your own design. If you feel a little empty, Spotify will be your best friend. Play some music that you love or listen to a podcast, which can help boost your mood. Last but not least, take a break. Sometimes, all you need is some rest. Just take a 30 minute break to relax your mind.
Just don’t rush the process, its not meant to be rushed. Creativity is something to be enjoyed and not done for the sake of an income. And I wish you all the best on your next project and that you don’t have to face the blank artboard for more than an hour again. Peace!
