Brian Dys

Tag: Quora

  • How do I determine if a UI can be made more simple?

    Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.

    An aphorism attributed to Albert Einstein.

    But how could you determine if the UI you designed could (and should) be made optimally simpler — meaning can still be made more simple than the current without losing anything of value to the users (and while adding more value as well)?

    First, market data

    Given that the product is in the market already, gather insights on the usage of the product and the UI’s role in it.

    Are there complaints pertaining to a particular screen / page? Look deeper into those.

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  • Do you consider a “cancel” button secondary or tertiary in UX? Can you think of reasons not to use it in a form? What are the best use cases for/against it?

    One thing’s for sure about the Cancel action in a form: it is a negative within the context of Proceed as the positive.

    Then again, in the context of what the user’s goal is, the positive and negative may be one or the other.

    For example, in a 5-step interaction to fully complete the user’s profile, of course, as the designer, the positive action for you is the Proceed until the 5 steps are completed.

    However, this depends on the user. Say user reached step 5 and a personal information is being asked and it’s not agreeable, then what could be a positive interaction for him/her?

    A Cancel or a Skip & Save?

    To keep it simple, design with the user’s best interest in mind.

    Originally published in Quora

  • Why do so many web pages require scrolling when the info could easily be displayed all at once? There are a number of pages I access daily that only need a click but I must scroll down to do it.

    There are many different kinds of interaction in an information environment like web pages.

    Clicking and scrolling are just two of them. And both have different mental models when accessing information.

    One limitation of any information environment is that there’s only a limited number of information that can be displayed all at once, at the same time. Besides, a user could focus only on a limited number of information at once.

    Clicking and scrolling could be combined, though, to optimize the interaction—meaning, the easier for the user to perceive and get to the information, the better.

    Originally published in Quora

  • Is good UX design like mind control?

    Good UX design is more of influencing the users’ moods and behaviors than controlling or manipulating their minds.

    Originally published in Quora

  • What’s a good practice to completely redesign an existent CSS?

    Styling in CSS is always dependent on the structure of HTML. If you have control over the structure of HTML, plan to redesign it also.

    A good rule of thumb is to first, set up a system.

    1. Usability and Accessibility (e.g., making a link’s target area large enough for touch or pointing device, making the structure of HTML accessible to screen readers)
    2. Visual Design
      1. Nature (style of the element as a standalone)
      2. Layout (style of the element in relation to other elements)
      3. Colors (with nature and layout alone, the design should be able to work even in black and white colors)
      4. Graphics (border, border-radius, box-shadow)
      5. Typography (style of text)
      6. Transitions and Animations

    You could notice that this system is designed to build on top of the previous one. Meaning usability and accessibility come first before visual design. The same goes for the considerations under visual design.

    Originally published in Quora

  • Is web design dying? Is custom design gone? How do we convince people that custom design is better than the 10 buck template deal online?

    Do you see web design laying down the curb, breathing its last breath?

    It’s true that the term “web design” is rarely heard in job postings and in the industry simply because every thing connected to it has moved on.

    Primarily the technology in which we access the web. It has gone from the big bulky desktop computer to mobile phones to other things that are connected to the internet.

    Along with the capabilities of these technologies are the enablement of people to accomplish tasks using our mobile and wearable devices.

    The designers aren’t designing solely for websites anymore but in a bigger picture, for experiences.

    In this regard that business owners could lean more towards getting their presence online using a “10-dollar template” than being heavy on their brand using a custom design. Hey, they could even do it themselves through Wix or Squarespace.

    As a designer, don’t go convincing people that a custom design is better than templated design. Go with the flow of progress. Think “UX design”.

    Originally published in Quora

  • Are there professional Web designers who don’t know to use Photoshop?

    What are other web design tools available out there other than Photoshop?

    Web design has evolved from being focused on graphics down to being focused on content and experience. Even imagine the time when web design was done using Flash.

    This is one of the reasons why in the past, that a photo-editing application like Photoshop was a perfect tool for web designers-we can create elaborate graphics and at the same time export HTML and CSS.

    Web designers can still choose to do it that way, only that there are already a wide variety of applications that specifically cater to web and mobile design – and up to a certain point – development. Even Adobe has XD to contend with Sketch and InVision DSM.

    So, yes, there might be web designers who didn’t find a need for Photoshop in any of their web projects. And that’s ok.

    Originally published in Quora

  • Is it required to follow a design guide when designing a product? Isn’t it more important to give the user a better experience than sticking to the design guide?

    Ideally, design guides, brand guidelines, style guides, etc. are based on research.

    They did not appear in a vacuum.

    Collaborate with the people who made the guides and find out if you are aligned with the same objectives.

    The user and business objectives are the guidelines for the team, whether in UI design or frontend development.

    Originally published in Quora

  • What’s the difference between UI design and UX design?

    These are the Elements of UX according to Jesse James Garrett:

    1. Strategy – user and business objectives
    2. Scope – content and functional requirements
    3. Structure – Information Architecture and Interaction Design
    4. Skeleton – Information Design, UI Design, Navigation Design
    5. Surface – Sensory Design (e.g., Visual Design, Audial Design)

    UI Design practically comes after having objectives and requirements. It constitutes the design of the interface based on Information Architecture and Interaction Design.

    The Elements of UX shows the abstraction of what constitutes UX Design. It involves the whole process of research and testing at different planes and at different stages of the process.

    Now, must a UI designer dive right into UI design without referring to any previous work done such as objectives and requirements, information architecture and interaction designs?

    Originally published in Quora

  • Should buttons become lighter or darker when hovered over?

    What is the mental model of the user interface—or at least the UI buttons?

    The Feedback Aspect

    Just like with most physical buttons, if a user wants to press it, he or she touches it. The feedback comes from its look and feel (it looks like a button; it feels like it can be pressed by actually pressing it).

    With UI buttons, a user could get feedback from the following:

    • Visual Design
      • It looks like a button
      • It feels like it is clickable
    • Accessibility
      • It says that it is a button

    It Feels Like it Is Clickable

    With some techniques in Visual Design, a designer could reinforce the feeling that the button functions as expected.

    The Light Source

    Does the button budge up when hovered? Or does it budge down?

    If up, then the shade becomes lighter as it moves closer to the light source—which is naturally above us (in the real world). If down, then darker.

    The LED Light

    Does the button light up when hovered?

    If yes, then the shade becomes lighter—whether the light comes from the body of the button or simply around the button.

    You may combine those different techniques—but basically, those are the considerations why the shade of a button would be darker or lighter when hovered.

    Please note that for devices with pointing device, the mouse changing to a pointer is enough feedback for the button to feel like it is clickable.

    However, for touch devices, to feel like it is clickable, a user will actually press it.

    Originally published in Quora