Everyone has to start somewhere, but it’s always nice to get some extra tips when you start something. Here are 5 tips I wish I knew when I first started user interface design.
1. Hierarchy
Make sure to plan the hierarchy of your project. If you have a hierarchy plan before you start designing, you have a good foundation to start with your design. It will give you the clarity to know exactly where to start and which screens and pages to create. This will promote a better user interface because you know which screen to take where. Extra points for the user experience, because your design will flow much better this way.
Therefore, if you’re not already planning the hierarchy of your products, I suggest you spend some time on this. You can sketch it on paper or use a program, personally, I use Adobe XD. It’s about visualizing the hierarchy for yourself before you start wireframing and developing your screens.
2. Accessible navigation
You may have planned an excellent hierarchy that promotes a good user flow, but if you have terrible navigation or your users can’t access it, then it’s all pointless. So for tip number two, make sure you have good navigation. It should be simple and easy to use and, of course, have access to it.
I think we’ve all experienced it when we want to select something in an app or a website, we feel like we’re stuck there, and we don’t know how to get back. So something as simple as adding a back or close icon to the screen can dramatically improve the user experience.
So make sure that your well-designed navigation has good functionality, also accessibility is a good thing to focus on. If users can’t find something, or it doesn’t work properly, these users probably won’t be using the product for long.
3. Clear Dialogue
Make sure that the text and dialogue in the design of your products are not confusing or illegible.
As a designer, we often don’t have full control over what a client wants in a body of text, but our job is to at least advise them on what good practices they should do. Like not using the same word 15 times in 1 paragraph or displaying a book that is unreadable on a website, for example.
The text should not only look great, but it should also be incredibly easy to read. Because that dialogue is part of the design as a whole, so the text must come across well visually, but also substantively.
4. User Feedback
For tip number four, be sure to provide your users with feedback. Applying small elements in your design, such as loading a button or a hover effect on the desktop version, can improve the user experience considerably. That’s because you’re giving users information based on their actions.
There is nothing more annoying than being on a website, and you click on the “buy now” button, but you don’t see anything change or load. So you ask yourself: “Should I click it again?” or “did it work?”. This will cause confusion and panic and will lead to a bad user experience.
So again, adding the little elements like button loading and hover effects can really change the way your design is perceived. So make sure you give the user that crucial feedback.
5. User testing
This is probably the most important tip, make sure you test your product with potential users. Don’t worry if it’s not possible to test on the right audience, testing something is better than not testing.
You want to make sure that you test it yourself first, for example by making a prototype. You often come across some bottlenecks this way. Then you could test your products on friends or family to see how they experience your product. It is always possible to go to online design-related communities to test your designs. It is always good to collect some feedback.
See how others think and how they view your product, because what works well for you may not work for someone else.
