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🤌 UX Design vs. UI Design – An Introduction
UX and UI Design combine a focus on positive user experiences with the aesthetics of designing digital products.
A digital product can be anything from a mobile app to a website, or even what you see on a car’s dashboard. It’s not just about looks, but also functionality. The UX Designer ensures that user needs are met.
UI Designers focus on designing mobile apps and other interface elements. They are responsible for the graphic elements—page structure, menu appearance, content hierarchy, visual design, and even animations. Designing UI requires knowledge from multiple fields.
A UI Designer has a deep understanding of typography, a strong sense of aesthetics, and designs according to the latest standards. The workflow of such work is often referred to as a design system.
A good designer is a versatile designer!
They should be aware of basic interface usability principles, have a unique sense of aesthetics, pay attention to details, stay up-to-date with UI trends, and even know some programming languages.
Now that you know this, it’s time to dive into the pro tips!
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1. Choose the right software 🤖
The first step for a UI Designer is mastering the right tools for the job. UI Design should be quick and efficient, and the final product must be responsive.
To design websites, you need a tool that handles both vector (icons, shapes) and raster (photos, illustrations) formats smoothly.
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đź“· Photoshop, Sketch, and UI Design
Photoshop is a versatile product, suitable for creating various animations or editing photos. However, it lacks specialization for UI Design.
Although it has art boards, it’s not a major advantage. Once a file contains more than 10 art boards, its size becomes unwieldy. It’s primarily used for raster graphics, like photo editing.
Importantly for UI, it’s not well-suited for displaying multiple screens at once, a key aspect of web design which relies on a sequence of images. This is crucial for maintaining clarity and smooth transitions between different screens.
In 2010, Sketch was introduced, addressing the needs of UX and UI Designers. It was one of the first tools optimized for user interface design and is intuitive to use.
Sketch was supported by InVision, making prototyping efficient. While Sketch evolved, adding new features, InVision fell behind and eventually became less useful.‍
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🌎 Global leaders – Figma and AdobeXD
Today, UI designers worldwide are divided into two camps—Figma fans or Adobe XD users.
Adobe XD is a product from a large company, and such corporate responses to market needs are often not perfect. Its major drawback, especially for beginners, is the cost.
Figma, on the other hand, seems like the ideal solution for designers. It’s easy to use, supports designing on numerous screens, handles vector graphics, and documents load easily.
It allows for prototyping by setting up screen sequences and animations. You can work through the browser or a desktop app. The free version allows participation in up to three projects per team.
It’s used not only for web interfaces but also for 2D graphics or even presentations. It’s the only application that offers the know-how and collaboration possibilities with international projects and companies.
For more advanced prototyping, other programs are recommended—Principle (Mac-only), Framer (requires basic coding, cross-platform), and Protopie (complex to use).
The perfect setup for a UI Designer is Figma + Principle.
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2. Learn coding languages đź‘…
Every website is built with code. The UI Designer creates only a sketch. The whole process requires flawless communication between developers and designers.
This is why knowing coding languages is crucial—you’ll be able to understand how what you design translates into the final product.
Communication with developers will become much easier.
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Which languages should a UI designer know? đź‘Ś
Programming is divided into two main categories—frontend and backend.
Backend refers to the technical backbone of a website, the part that remains invisible to the user. If you want to become a UI Designer, focus on the frontend—it’s what the user sees. Keep two main languages in mind—HTML and CSS.
HTML and CSS define the basic data layer of how the Internet looks and functions. They have a low entry threshold, and by knowing their basics, designers gain the most benefit.
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3. Master Teamwork 🤼
A good designer knows how to work in a team. To learn this, you need to overcome two things:
- Fear of criticism
- Reluctance to present unfinished work
Companies consist of various teams—design, UX, marketing, and development—so being able to collaborate is essential.
Each person in the design process has different expectations and motivations. The final outcome depends on the quality of cooperation within the team.
During the product design process, there are frequent meetings and presentations of work progress.
These are moments when you need to keep your perfectionism and ego in check. Remember, working on a digital product is a blend of the needs and motivations of many company departments.
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🤝 Compromise in design
Keep in mind that aesthetics are not a priority for everyone in the team.
Be ready for criticism and compromises. Don’t be afraid to suggest improvements to the project and processes—taking the initiative could give you a chance for promotion!
Wondering which apps are great for online collaboration? There are quite a few nowadays, but our favourites are Slack, Discord, Figma, FigJam i Notion.
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4. Think in terms of animation and interaction đź’
A website is a series of interactions that the user can perform.
Everything digital involves interaction, and interaction involves animation. Designing a website without considering motion design is extremely difficult.
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🗝️ What’s the role of animation?
Animations provide users with hints on how to use a particular module and support their seamless experience.
They make interacting with the product smooth and enjoyable.
Animations can enhance the aesthetic side of the product and present the hierarchy on the page.
They should be both aesthetic and enhance the semantics (understanding) of the project. Moreover, they are part of the identity system. The entire visual language of a product can focus on animations.
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5. Design even when you’re not paid for it 💰
Your development really depends on the cool stuff you create. Unfortunately, this isn’t always what clients commission you to design. If you’re wondering how to move from designing for small businesses to designing for global brands — work on your portfolio.
You must ensure that it includes visuals of the highest quality. If no one is commissioning you interesting projects — no problem. Commission them yourself.
Work for the biggest, global brands.
Use fair use and explore — in your portfolio, you can include visualizations (concepts) for international companies. This is the only way to level up in the projects you take on.
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