Buzzwords in UI/UX Designing
Moving into a new field is challenging and sometimes half the battle in learning a new field is getting your head around the jargon.
UI/UX is no exception, while one starts exploring UI/UX Designing, they easily get to know about what UI and UX are all about, but when you go deep and explore more about the UI/UX Designing, you’ll get to know some terminology which may be quite confusing for the newcomers.
Knowing your way around UI/UX and tech terms and jargon can really help release some of the pressure. It’ll not only make more of your knowledge but also give you the confidence to engage in design talks, ask questions, and network with ease. Here are some UI/UX Designing and tech terms I would have loved to know as a young UI/UX designer.
Before digging deep into the jargons related to UI/UX Designing, one must have an overview of the following subject. If you are a pure newbie for this field, you can have a run-through of a blog on the same i.e The acronyms unveiled- UI/UX Design.
“We must design for the people the way they are, not the way we wish them to be.”
| UI DESIGNING
(1). Design Fidelity :
It refers to the level of details and functionality built into a prototype of the project. They are basically of three types :
- Low Fidelity: Pen and paper are used to draw the basic skeleton of the application after a huge amount of brainstorming and research.
- Mid Fidelity: Different software tools are used to make the final structure of the product and positioning of elements in the app.
- High Fidelity: It is the final User Interface of the product along with the final color scheme and visual interface.
(2). Wireframing :
Primarily, It is the middle fidelity of any UI Design Process, which is Graphic representation of any Mobile application or Website containing most essential elements and the content. Various characteristics are:
- Shows the main chunk of content.
- Draws the outline and layout structure.
- Depicts the most basic UI.
(3). Prototyping :
The most basic definition of a prototype is, “ A simulation or sample version of a final product, which is used for testing before launch”. The goal is to test products before sinking lots of time and money into the final product as it provides the flow and the blueprint beforehand.
(4). Design Specifications :
It is the art and technique of arranging the elements and contents of the product to provide a better interface. It helps us decide the color scheme, contrast, font and typography of the content, etc.
(5). Interaction Design :
It is the design of interactive products and services in which a designer’s focus goes beyond the item in development to include the way users will interact with it. It deals with animations, mouse interaction, timing, etc in UI.
(6). Visual Hierarchy :
It is one of the core techniques in the design process as it is used for powerful UI Organization: Size, Proximity, contrast, Negative Space and other stuff to structure UI elements effectively. It organizes UI so that the brain could distinguish the objects on the basis of their physical appearance.
(7). Aesthetics :
It is the philosophical study of beauty and taste. In design, it refers to the visual attractiveness of a product. Studies have proven that creating good aesthetics in a product leads to better usability and user experience.
(8). Information Architecture :
It is a science of organizing and structuring the content of the websites, web and mobile application and social media software so that users would easily adjust to the functionality of the product and could find everything they need, without big efforts.
| UX DESIGNING
(1). User flows:
It is a visualization or flowcharts of steps (interactions) a user needs to complete a specific task on a website or mobile application. It is also known as Taskflow.
(2). Mindmap :
It allows you to present UX in a visual, hierarchical and understandable way before you go forward with any visual design. If you work with developers, closely, create and share and review your mindmap.
(3). Persona :
It is that one or several fictional characters that can represent the majority of the potential users of the product with conventional user demand and are created through a great amount of qualitative and quantitative research.
(4). User Scenario :
It is the fictitious story of a user’s accomplishing an action or goal via product. It focuses on a user’s motivation and documents the process by which the user might use a design. It is therefore common for user scenarios to be based on user personas.
(5). Empathy :
It is a core value if designers want to make something that is good for the people who are going to use it. Personas help designers to create understanding and empathy with the end-user.
(6). A/B testing :
It is a controlled experiment where you compare two or more versions of a page or a flow in order to optimize a certain result or metric.
(7). F- shape Rule :
The F-shape pattern describes the most common user eye-scanning patterns when a user has a loot at the block of content on the application. User first read in a horizontal movement, usually across the upper part of the content area the inial element forms the f’s top bar.
(8). 3 Click Rule :
It is an unofficial web design rule concerning the design of website navigation. It suggests that a user of a website should be able to find any information with no more than 3 mouse clicks.
(9). 80/20 Rule :
It states that 80% of the effects in any large system are caused by 20% of the variables in the system. What this essentially implies is that 20% is what causes 80%. Look at 80 as the effect produced and the 20 as the cause of the effect. For example, 80% of the users rely on 20% of the features of the app.
| Summing Up
Those are just a few common terms used during a designers’ work process. Now you have a bit more muscle to flex. Key in each item into Google and read up on it. Cementing your understanding of each key term will boost your confidence and knowledge.
“Design to communicate, not just decorate”
