Being an HR is one thing but being an HR in a design studio is a different ball game altogether. And, if you are hiring for the stream of UX and UI in India, the most sought-after skill today, well buckle up, it is not going to be an easy ride. But, after reading this article, I am sure you would be well prepared.
Fairly disrupted industry w.r.t. Quality vs. Cost
The first step for every HR is understanding the market space and expectations to chalk out an in-house budget for each role. But, like every other industry, this would not be an easy task. Since the industry is fairly new, you would come across many expectations that are exuberantly high as compared to experience. The best way to go about this is defining budgets based on your company’s standards and later it would just be a matter of finding a suitable candidate.
A readily available portal for hiring designers
We all are extremely used to various hiring portals that provide us with a varied number of services, but, in this industry, you must create your own channel. Use your networks, be more responsive and visible, visit design colleges and make ample use of references. This would definitely save a lot of your time and energy. Basically, keep your antennas switched on always!
Outstanding communication skills
This would come as a surprise but there will be instances where you would fall in love with designer’s creativity & skills but would be in two minds because communication would not be their strength. It’s advisable to chalk out the level of communication required for each role and your new team will be joining in no time because not every role calls for exceptionally good communication.
Designers are always BUSY
This is an amusing trait, you would find thousands of applicants but the ones who are willing to prove it out to the world and ready to go that extra mile is comparatively less. If your selection criteria demand’s some time off their current lifestyle don’t be disappointed if you do not receive a lot of responses. In fact, this would serve as an amazing yardstick in filtering out candidates.
Start-up Culture & Design Studio Culture – It’s Lethal
Most of the dedicated design studio in India are in Start-up phase and we all know that the culture is already laid back with a lot of flexibility. But, design studio goes an extra mile here because designer’s function differently and they are disciplined in their own way. But, sadly rest of the world does not function like this. So, hiring the right attitude and character becomes absolutely critical; next time when you are out on a look for some designer make sure this is always ticked off.
App redesign is no joke. If you run a mobile-powered business then you are virtually on life-support while indulging in a UI UX overhaul. And if you do not realize that already, then there is all the more need for someone to point you in the right direction.
We assume you want a word by word, validated guide on an app redesign process and we wish there were simple answers. But a mobile app redesign is like your first proposal, you expect everything to fall in place, but there is always that big IF.
So as we share some of our partner experience (without violating the NDAs) you can expect it to be a little bit of both, fact-of-the-matter dope garnished with the necessary do-it-yourself stuff.
Define Your Approach (Please!)
Sequence your design thinking to find the answer to the question “what is a good app design practice?”. A UI/UX redesign is preceded by brainstorming sessions held on rendering structural changes in an app. Whatever your reasons, the re-development process must stay malleable. For this reason alone, we’ll repeat ourselves for the umpteenth time, that Agile development is the way forward. It gives everybody a few extra inches to maneuver ideas and ad-hoc requirements that pleasantly come along. We’ll let the imagery do the talking.
Bring Everyone On-board
Collective decision making will make the process easier. Organizational heads should own up the responsibility to communicate clearly the what, why, and how of everything. You will have to sift through opinionated answers and earnest comments to find common ground between expectations and reality. The process will be tiresome, but will also let you discover the pain points of the app, its backlogs, and key development areas to concentrate on. Answers must address questions like:
What are the plus points of your app?
Why is it lagging, if at all?
Where are the functionalities that need the most damage-repair?
Set Out Tasks
Setting S.M.A.R.T goals is an inexorable step for apps that need redesign. Be specific in what you want from the new look. Set a measurable aim, the accomplishment of which can be weighed by numbers. This would keep you motivated. Do not exceed the time you commit to each parallel task for developing new functionalities. It’s for such days (and nights) that the vending machine had stalked up extra cans of caffeine.
Recycle Your App Design
Mobile app design best practices run high on the recycling quotient. Just because you are revisioning the design doesn’t mean it has to begin afresh. The current app was developed with considerable thought and effort. The idea is to preserve the features that offer the most value and disregard the outdated ones.
Base Your Decisions on Analytics
High-level stakeholders won’t approve of anything unless they sense a concrete reason. Your arguments for change should be objectively backed and statistically proven. Some of the metrics that should be on your tips are app downloads, screen tracking, page views, event tracking, user sessions, in-app referrals, the list goes on. Read about the tools you can use to track app analytics for mobile apps that need to be redesigned. Embedded analytics will always be crucial for apps whether you redesign them or not.
Read Competitor Like a Book
This is where most people begin, mistakenly skipping the aforementioned steps. Now that you’ve come here it should be clear why (if at all) your competition is proving your nemesis. This has to do with a feature vs feature account that tabulates similarities and differences between multiple apps. Create a checklist to track and accord points for each feature. The scoring system will give you a realistic impression of your market standing.
Think Outside the Box
There is no affiliated gospel for mobile UI best practices. That said the mobile app industry is generally amuck with creativity. No harm in xeroxing a feature or two you like in an app from another domain.
Diagnose Problematic Areas
Having infiltrated the ranks of your opponents, you can narrowly point to the areas that require more work than others. The nature of the problems could be anything, from a genuinely bad user experience, non up-to-date onboarding practices evident in customer reviews, to hidden bugs and unnecessary pop ups. As you quest forward to redesign your app, begin leveraging this intel and fast track development by prioritizing job lists.
Act on Priority
After identifying the most erring details it is time for remedying. One way to do so would be to pen down what’s going for you in a SWOT, Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat graph. This would enable sequential stacking for development cycles, focusing on the most pressing needs foremost. It is vital you ponder judiciously on this aspect while redesigning apps to avoid painstaking efforts later.
Create Wireframes
Be it your in-house developers or an app design company partnering with you, creating wireframes comes naturally to all developers. Ink the ideas built up in your mind with hand sketches and share with all project collaborators.
Make no mistake, you are sharing the foundation of your renewed app architecture and encouraging improvements. Ideation must be clinical in nature and put the spotlight on newly adopted characteristics while preserving the best ones from the previous version.
Be Open to (Further) Change
There has been a barrage of introductions to the wireframe already, but wait there can be more. Re-engineering a product will have its ups and downs and to be honest, it is your call to decide how much is enough. Mature leaders are thick-skinned which helps them accommodate productive advice from peers.
But be careful, don’t let inaccurate feedback get the better of you emotionally. Whenever in doubt, roll the dice back to the storyboard and self-introspect if the steps being proposed will lead to positive change. If not, put your foot down and move over.
Test Aggressively
At Anteelo, it is our staple schedule to act as an app design agency for one client or the other. Rushing into releasing a spanking new version of the app proves self-destructive. As soon as an MVP is ready we open it to a closed group for user feedback. We do not follow randomization and neither encourage it. Rather, the users are handpicked as per the target audience of the app. As soon as they provide a nod of approval we move forward.
Remarket Your App
Taking a new version of your app to the market is like the launch of a new one. It is all about storytelling and giving users an excuse to look forward to rather than just updating their current versions without advance notice. What if some people liked the previous design? Apple could give any brand food for thought on reinventing the wheel. With minimal feature edits, each year, they throw a keynote event that is the most anticipated globally. No, we’re not asking you to break the bank for a national campaign, but have a look at this promo of iPhone SE. You’ll get the point.
Gather Feedback
If you’ve outsourced the redesigning project for your app, demand that the mobile app design company submit user feedback reports on the new version regularly. Why should you care for user feedback?
Because these very people fuse capital into your business and if they don’t take a liking to the so-called “improvements” you’ll face customer churn. But don’t jump to conclusions. Supervise your app downloads, page traffic, sentiment analysis, app store comments to tap the immediate customer pulse. Sooner or later, they’ll come to terms with the design, so our experience says as a mobile design agency.
There is no PERFECT Design
We don’t intend to sound like a monk, but yes, everything is transient. As time fades, you’d have to repeat this cyclical process all over and do your thing. Never rest on your laurels, even if you receive critical acclaim for your work. We never let success get to our head despite having been acknowledged globally for innovation as a mobile app design agency. You can learn more about us as an app design firm reading over our collaboration with Domino’s. We revamped their UX strategy which led to a 23% increase in lead conversions.
Let’s Catch Up
Ever since our inception as a mobile application design company, we have delivered industry-standard value for our clientele. Our technology stack is the latest you’ll find and for any deals on redesigning your UI/UX, we’d be happy to demonstrate what we can do for you.
Opting for an appropriate web development framework is quite a hefty task. There are a lot of frameworks present in the market designed specifically according to the needs of the project. Every developer looks for three things while choosing a framework which is: the language used, tools present in the framework and the reputation that it has in the market. Django passes all the parameters with flying colors as it is the best in the class. For many businesses and organizations, Django is an easy choice. Django boasts the label of one of the most popular web-development tools today.
Django is a free, python-based, open-source web development framework that facilitates clean and rational designing of websites driven by databases. It reduces a lot of hassles that a developer has to face during the development of a website. It is used to develop minimal yet smart web applications. Simultaneously, Django enables developers to create web applications as required by fluctuating business prerequisites. Since it is developed by professional developers, it takes care of all the hassle involved in web development so that you can focus on making the application rather than digging the basics.
Pros of Using Django Framework for Web Development
Here are a few reasons why Django is the first choice when it comes to web development.
1. Backward compatible
Django offers the provision of working with its older versions and makes use of its older formats and features. Additionally, it has a comprehensible guide that walks you through all the information that you might need to know about the changes and trends of the Django framework, especially when the new changes become incompatible with the former ones.
2. Community Support
Django enjoys the support of a huge and very professional community of developers who have inside out knowledge of Django and are always ready to help. Having a large community has benefits of its own. It makes finding answers to problems much easier as there’s a great probability that the problem faced by you now has occurred to someone else too and now probably has an answer to it on one or the other forums. The community is very quick in answering the issues and fixing the bugs of fellow developers.
3. DevOps Compatible
DevOps is the blend of cultural philosophies, tools, and practices that increases an organization’s ability to deliver services and applications at high speed: evolving and upgrading products at a faster rate than organizations using conventional software development and infrastructure management processes. Incorporating DevOps in Django is great as it fixes issues faster with enhanced operational support. It uses continuous delivery methodology to increase the efficiency of the system.
4. DRY and KISS compliant
Django religiously follows the ‘KISS’ principle which is “Keep It Short and Simple”. In Django, it simply means that the code must be brief, easily understandable, and methods should not exceed more than 50-60 lines. Similarly, ’DRY’ stands for “Don’t Repeat Yourself”, which means that the software patterns that occur quite often can be replaced with abstractions. In this manner, issues related to the code as well as repetition can be avoided. Additionally, reusing the code simplifies the development process thereby decreasing the overall production time.
5. Infrastructure
Django is independent and a complete set in itself. It means that it does not require any other external solution. It is everything, from an ORM to a web server. This enables it to use various databases and switch them accordingly.
6. REST framework
REST stands for Representational State Transfer framework which is a renowned toolkit for creating web APIs. This is an added benefit with Django as it is powerful enough to build a full-fledged API in just two or three lines of code. An additional benefit to it is that REST is immensely flexible. Therefore, data is not bound to any protocol and can return various data formats and manage several types of calls.
7. Secure & up-to-date
Django is constantly kept up to an elevated standard, following the most recent patterns in site development and security. That certainly addresses the inquiry “Is Django useful for web development?” — As security is a ‘number one’ in any to-do list. Django is customarily updated with security fixes, and regardless of whether you’re utilizing an older rendition of the system, its security is as intact as the new one. It’s no big surprise as Django has an LTS (Long-term Support) variant.
8. Simple
Django’s documentation is excellent. It was introduced with excellent documentation, and they are as yet kept intact in the same way, which makes it simple to utilize. Also, one of Django’s principal reasons for existing is to disentangle the development procedure: it covers the fundamentals, so you can concentrate on the details of your project.
9. Suits any kind of project
Unlike C# or Java, Django is no business solution. Still, it is appropriate for all kinds of projects regardless of their size. A Django application can be a social media application with enormous traffic and heavy volumes of data or it could be a simple web application for handling logbooks. It can build anything as it has everything required to build every type of application. Additionally, Django is cross-platform also compatible with the majority of databases making it highly versatile.
10. Time effective
Django is ridiculously fast. It was built to slide the applications from imagination to reality in a blink. Django applications are both economical and efficient. Thus it is the right choice for developers who have major stakes placed on the due dates.
11. Time tested
Django has been in the picture for years and in that tenure, it has emerged as the choice of a lot of businesses for their web applications. This confirms the fact that Django has already made an impression in the market and is here to stay for long. A few examples of applications built on Django are Disqus, Spotify, Instagram, and NASA.
12. Useful additional features
Django comes with everything inbuilt. It has all the features which are required to build a web application from scratch. There’s no need to spend hours on forming a frame since everything is already present in the framework. It also has tools packages to help in going hands-on with pioneering technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Analysis, and Machine Learning.
13. Versatile
Django is the master of all trades. It is capable of doing everything, from content management to managing scientific computing platforms; everything falls under the umbrella of Django.
14. Works on Python
As mentioned earlier, Django is a web framework which is written in Python. As a result, it brings with itself the simplicity of utilizing the syntax structure of Python and enables developers to build meaningful and viable web applications effortlessly. In this way, developers can easily reduce the development time required for building these web applications.
Summary
To summarize, Django aids developers to compose custom web applications in Python by offering several features, modules, and features. Contemporarily, Django is being rehearsed by various high-traffic websites like Google, YouTube, Pinterest, Spotify, and Instagram. However, Django, like other web systems, has its very own pros and cons. Therefore, the developers must recollect the precise requirements of each venture while evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of Django to choose the best Python framework.
According to a recent survey from SuperOffice, customer experience (CX) is the biggest priority of businesses over the next five years, more important than finding better products or selling them at the right price. Why? Because customers are flocking to brands that provide them with better CX and 86% of consumers said they would pay more for it. Whether you just sell online or have both a website and a bricks and mortar store, improving CX could transform your business. Here are some of the things that customers are looking for from brands today.
Personalisation
What makes Amazon the world’s most successful online retailer? The key ingredient in its success is personalisation. Its collection of user data ensures it knows its customers exceptionally well and this means that whenever they sign into the website, use its app or open an email, every product or offer provided for them is tailored around their wants and needs. It knows their shopping and browsing histories, the things on their wish lists, when they shop, what they shop for and how much they are likely to spend.
This level of insight means that Amazon’s product recommendations are much more likely to be a match for what the customer wants. This not only results in higher sales for Amazon; it also makes it highly attractive to customers who want to find the right products quickly and simply. This is why Amazon has become, for millions of shoppers, the default search engine for products.
The success of Amazon has led personalisation to become commonplace on the internet. Businesses everywhere are collecting user data to provide similar customer experiences (CX). For small businesses to remain attractive to modern shoppers, they too will need to start collecting user data to make personalised recommendations to customers. Today, it is easier than ever to implement. There are numerous specialist companies offering recommendation engines as a service and if that is out of your budget, try the AI-enabled, PRZ Recommendation Engine plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce.
Simple shopping
While product recommendation engines are beneficial, they can’t predict everything that a shopper wants to buy and they are not much use at all for new visitors for whom you have no historical data. Customers in these situations seek websites that offer simpler ways to shop. They want to be able to find products quickly, have all the essential product data given clearly (description, images, price, specifications, etc.) without ‘information overload’ and they want to be able to pay and leave without a fuss.
This starts with simple site navigation and the ability to search for products. Product search has evolved and customers expect to be able to easily narrow down searches by applying numerous filters: price, customer ratings, size, shape, colour, brand, etc. This can easily be implemented using plugins, indeed many store building platforms come with the functionality built-in.
Providing the right information can be a balancing act. Customers will want to know everything essential about a product, including other purchasers’ ratings, but without being overloaded. They may want to compare products side by side before making a decision, save the product in a wish list if they can’t make up their minds and be shown similar products that they might not yet have come across.
Once a decision is made, they’ll want to buy and go as quickly as possible. This means providing a streamlined checkout process, including guest checkouts for non-members and one-click checkouts for those who have saved payment details with you.
Omnichannel shopping
Though the growth in online shopping has led most bricks and mortar stores to build an online store, many retailers keep those two elements of their business distinct. Technology, however, has blurred the lines between online and on-premises shopping and this has provided yet another experience that customers want – omnichannel shopping.
The modern customer likes the flexibility of click and collect. They want to be able to purchase online and pick the product up from the store. Indeed, this business model stopped many bricks and mortar stores going bust during the pandemic as it enabled them to offer drive-through shopping. While shops were compulsorily closed, customers could order items from their phones in the car park and staff would take them to the car.
For single store businesses that have all their inventory under one roof, putting this system into place is easy to do on your website as it just means linking your store software to your inventory data, a feature available in plugins like WooCommerce. It is more complicated for businesses with multiple stores and separate warehouses as they will need to unify inventory data from across all their stores and warehouses. However, once in place, a customer can remotely buy from a physical store using the website or app.
Omnichannel communications
Modern technology has hugely expanded the number of ways that customers and companies communicate. The difficulty for brands is that consumers have their own preferences for how they like to stay in touch. Indeed, they have different preferences for different purposes. If communication is important, they may want the company to send a printed letter or email, if it’s a special offer they may prefer an SMS or WhatsApp message. When consumers want to get in touch, they usually want a quick response and may use phone, chatbot or, increasingly, a voice assistant or smart speaker.
Providing a great customer experience (CX) means communicating via the channels that consumers prefer. The advantage for businesses is that it enables them to send the right messages at the right time with a greater chance that they will be seen and acted upon.
The challenge here is, again, one of data. Not only does the company need to know which channel each customer prefers but it also needs to unify data to provide a complete overview of the customer journey. This way, whoever is communicating with the customer (human or AI) will have access to all the information needed to send out the right correspondence or deal with enquiries seamlessly when customers move from one channel to another.
This is the level of sophistication that many businesses have managed to achieve and which customers now expect from retailers. If they send a message on social media and phone up later, they’ll expect whoever is answering the call to have access to the social media message. Just as importantly, if they have used a smartphone app to add a product to their shopping cart, they’ll expect to see it still there if they visit your website on a laptop or try to order it using a voice assistant. Everything has to link up.
Conclusion
As you can see, customer experience (CX) is essential to staying relevant in an ever more competitive market and this is forcing brands to adopt new business models and the advanced technologies needed to implement them. For websites, the collection of data needed for personalisation, omnichannel shopping and omnichannel communications often require much more disk space and processing power than shared hosting packages provide. Upgrading to VPS or the cloud provides far more capacity to deploy the new technologies that CX relies on and is your first step to transforming your site.
“The text is too big.” “The words are placed too distantly.” “The words are not going with the image” Such comments have been passed continuously ever since the day user experience established itself as a crucial element of the mobile app design industry. With users spending a major portion of their day on applications, consuming information, and interacting with words, the importance of carefully crafted typography has come to the forefront.
Let’s walk you through the concept that holds the power to lower app abandonment and play a crucial role in increasing the app revenue – Typography.
A Basic Introduction to Typography
Typography, in simple words, is an art of organizing written text, point sizes, line-spacing, and other elements in a way that offer a pleasant and readable user experience. It is a craft that enables designers to transform human interactions into durable visual form.
Now, when talking about what is typography, it is good to have a familiarity with elements it comprises of – something we will discuss in the next section of this article.
6 Typography Elements You Must Know About
1. Typeface
Typeface refers to a set of symbols, numbers, letters, and characters that share similar features. For example, Garamond, Helvetica, and Baskerville is a typeface.
2. Font
Often used as a synonym of typeface, Font is basically a typeface that is set in a particular style, size, and height.
3. Line Length
Another typography design element you should be familiar with is line length. It refers to the area covered by a block of text positioned between the left and right margins.
It is usually calculated as the total number of words or characters in a particular line.
4. Line Spacing
Also termed as Leading, line spacing is the distance between two baselines, i.e, imaginary lines where the text resides.
5. Kerning
Kerning is defined as the spacing between two particular characters or letters.
6. Tracking
Tracking is another typography element used by UI designers for crafting a better experience. It is termed as the spacing between two individual blocks of texts and is also known as letter spacing.
Now as you know the definition and typography elements to consider for user interface design, it’s good to look into why is it necessary to focus on this UI design method.
So, let’s go through the advantages of focusing on Typography in UI design.
Reasons Why It Is Important to Consider Typography
1. It Sets a Mood/Tone
The foremost reason why typography is important in UI design is that it helps in setting the tone of the message. While plain and simple typography shows that content needs to be considered with seriousness, innovative typography adds fun and excitement to the screen.
2. It Helps Deliver Better Visual Experience’
Typography also boosts the visual appearance of a mobile app. When chosen wisely, it infuses positive vibes and helps to deliver a delightful experience to your target audience. Whereas, wrong typography ruins the user experience and compels them to exit the platform soon.
So, it is profitable to consider typography as a key element of your mobile app design process.
3. It Enhances Readability
Another reason why focusing on typography is one of the proven tips to enhance mobile app UI design is that it eases the process of reading content. It simplifies how users comprehend every single detail you mentioned in your app while helping in building better connections.
4. It Shows Professionalism
Typography also adds a tint of professionalism in your mobile app UI design. When you pick a typography which goes with your brand vision, customer behavior, and market standards, it brings a positive impression on the audience. It encourages them to trust in your brand and thus, support you in achieving expected goals in stipulated time and effort.
5. It Boosts Sales Conversion
Typography encourages users to spend more time on your application and understand the context more effectively. This increases the chances of motivating them to perform the desired actions and ultimately, boosts sales.
6. It Creates Brand Recognition
When you use a particular set of typography and use the same pattern throughout your content, users start relating it to your brand. They begin to remember your work via the typography you have used.
With this attended to, it is likely that you would be interested to know how to use typography in UI design, next.
So, let’s look at the list of apps that have over time, amazed users through their mobile design system typography.
5 Mobile Apps to Take Inspiration From
1. Hotel Tonight
Hotel Tonight has used different fonts and styles on both platforms. While the brand implemented various weights of Google’s Roboto for its Android application, it used Gothan for its iOS platform.
2. FIFA
FIFA mobile application has used Miso for typography in UI design, though in different font sizes and weights to bring better emphasis on particular content elements.
3. Fancred
Fancred has also focused on using different typography elements in their app UI design. Besides, they have also experimented with the idea of adding text to pictures and did UX reviews to give a seamless user experience.
4. Citroen Lifestyle
Citroen Lifestyle is another impressive iOS application that has worked with the idea of using font pairing, text-in-picture, and other ways of implementing typography in their app design.
5. UltraVisual
Another mobile application that has inspired users with its typography is UltraVisual. The application, in its iOS version, has used different fonts and added content on photos to deliver better information with minimal space.
Now, as we have seen what Android and iOS applications you can consider for getting an understanding of the rightful implementation of typography UI design, let’s take a look at what UI typography style guide to follow while creating a design strategy for your app.
8 Typography Principles to Focus Upon While Creating Your App
1. Complement Mood to the Message
As per the best mobile design experts, every typeface comes with a unique vibe. While some are fancy and friendly, others are simple and yet professional. In such a scenario, picking the one that goes with your brand message is a must.
So, do not overlook this fact while pondering upon how to improve your UI design through better typography.
2. Pick the Font’s Point Size as per Design Context
Choosing too small or too bigger fonts altogether makes it difficult for users to continue reading with the same flow. It affects the readability of the app content.
In such a scenario, it is important for mobile app designers to select the right font point size for their app’s UI design.
Now when talking about picking the right font point size, it is profitable to invest your time and effort in the general thumb rule-keeping body text between 10 and 12 points for print projects and 15 to 20 pixels for the web.
3. Stick to a Limited Number of Fonts
Adding too many fonts on the same page can be a barrier to readability. So, it is again vital to keep yourself limited to a certain number of fonts – usually those who are not drastically different in look and feel.
4. Build a Hierarchy
Another rule to follow when talking about typography in UI design is to create a good hierarchy. This will help in easier navigation, better organization of every element as well as simplifying the process of finding information.
Now, when focusing on creating a hierarchy, the basic things a UI designer must know are:-
Employing text size to prioritize information by importance.
Adding appropriate spacing to make content scannable.
Arranging related items together.
Introducing headings, subheadings, etc. in the content.
5. Focus on Grammar
Since a wrong spelling can break the flow and make it difficult for the audience to comprehend the whole meaning, it is again imperative to focus on the grammar aspect as well.
6. Don’t Overlook Spacing and Alignment
Spacing and alignment also make a huge difference in the overall app UI experience. When you introduce the right amount of spacing and alignment in your app content, users find it easier and faster to grasp the information and respond effectively.
For example, when you use center or justified alignment, users have to struggle with maintaining a continuous communication flow. Whereas, this is not so in the case of left-aligned content.
Likewise, when the letters in your app content are too tightly hugged or at significant distance, users fail to continue reading with the same pace and often exit the platform. But, this does not happen when you pay attention to proper spacing between all the words and letters.
So, do not forget to focus on this principle when considering how to use typography in UI design.
7. Prevent using Design Fads
Another thing you should focus upon is to prevent employing design fads. This is because the fads do not prevail in the market for longer. They have a shorter time span, implying you might have to change your app’s UI design with some other typography later.
So, do not prefer going with any such design fad.
8. Observe and Practice
Last but not the least, invest your time and effort into practicing different typography and evaluate their success rate. This will help you in receiving better user experience outcomes.
Now while these principles of typography will help you with crafting a perfect UI design plan, it is incredibly important to keep a watch on the typography trends as they were one of the crucial mobile app UI design trends for 2018.
So, taking the same thought into consideration, let’s end this article with a focus upon top typography trends to watch out for in 2019.
Typography Trends You Should Stick to in 2019
1. Hand-Drawn Fonts are Popular
The foremost typography trend to follow in 2019 is using hand-drawn fonts, i.e, the fonts resembling with our handwriting.
Such fonts are highly preferred by brands like Etsy and Fiverr because of the fact that they add a human touch to the app design and encourages users to connect more easily.
2. Glyphs are Gaining a Huge Momentum
Not only text fonts, but designers are also focusing on a varied set of symbols and non-alphanumeric characters like dividers and icons in their app UI design to enhance the user experience.
3. Font Pairing Will Go Trendy
Another answer to what are the typography trends to focus upon in 2019 is font pairing.
As the name depicts, it’s the practice of using a combination of two or more different font types in a particular design in order to add a surprising element in the content.
4. Variable is the New Responsive
Another typography UI design trend for designers to focus upon this year is to introduce variable fonts.
Unlike the traditional fonts that are static, these fonts showcase content in different smooth yet non-discrete transitions. This makes content more appealing and engaging.
5. Variant Sizes Will Create a Perfect Match
UI designers will also experiment with contrasting fonts this year and for some time to come. They will use the same font in varying sizes to create a ‘hierarchy like impression.
And in this way, direct users to focus more on particular texts instead of giving equal attention to all.
6. Photos Will Go Expressive
In 2019, UI designers are taking another route to deliver visual storytelling experience to their audience. They are adding text and other elements to photos. And in this way, delivering more information in minimal space and that too without making it unpleasant to eyes.
7. Geometric Typefaces Will Take a Lead
Last but not the least, Geometric typefaces will also take a lead in the marketplace this year. The typeface, created with the help of straight lines and round forms, will add a futuristic vibe to your content and make it easy to scan and readable.
It will be highly used in the process of creating branding and logo designs, especially in the field of Science, Technology, and Engineering.
Frequently Asked Questions About Typography in UI Design
1. What is good typography?
Good typography is defined as the one that complements the tone of the design while helping spread the desired message. When talking about picking good typography for any design, there can be more than one option available.
2. What are the principles of typography?
While there are various principles related to typography, the prime ones are:-
Pick typography that enhances the tone of the message.
Pick the Font’s point size according to the design’s perspective.
Set up a Hierarchy.
Pay attention to Spacing and Alignment.
Observe, Get Inspired, and Practice.
3. Is typography an element of design?
Yes, typography is a part of the design. The technique enables designers to present their app content in an engaging and knowledgeable manner – resulting in a better user experience.
4. Why is typography important in graphic design?
Typography is important in graphic design because it:-
Often, we hear the terms ‘UI’ and ‘UX’ being used in context of websites and mobile applications. Haven’t we all heard or made statements such as ‘I just couldn’t understand the UI of the application so I didn’t install it’ or ‘the UX of the website is so great I keep going back to it.’ What are UI and UX actually and how do they impact a mobile application’s performance? And more importantly, how can mobile application design be enhanced using UI and UX?
This blog will talk about the vital UI and UX aspects of a mobile application and also provide handy tips that are proven to improve an application’s UI and UX.
User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)
User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI) are commonly used interchangeably, but the fact is that UI and UX are quite different from each other. “Design is not what a thing looks like or feels like; design is all about how anything works.” Steve Jobs’ legendary words sum up the co-dependence between UI and UX. A great product design strategy for your mobile app will keep end users’ needs in mind and meet the bottom line of conversion, every time.
Both UI and UX work hand in hand to make interaction with a mobile application as painless and smooth as possible.
User experience refers to the interactive side of a website or application. It governs the kind of experience a user has while interacting with a product. An application having a great UX will put new users to ease and actually encourage them to explore the application. So, UX developers have to actually anticipate how a user will think when they use a product and then design it in such a way that the interaction becomes seamless and intuitive. When talking about a website’s UX, site map, page load, responsiveness, and content are relevant aspects and for apps, navigation and layout are relevant UX aspects.
User Interface on the other hand refers to the visual elements in a website or app. The typography, color schemes, and layout of various design elements are usually a part of UI design. So, if a call-to-action button has to be placed on a webpage, its color and fonts will be decided by the UI developers but its placement, resolution, and functionality will be determined by a UX expert.
So, while UX professionals make designs centered on user’s needs and research, UI professionals create visual designs based on a client’s needs and requirements. But the end objective of both UI and UX is to please website visitors and app users and encourage them to return to the app or website again and again.
Tips to Improve Your Mobile App’s UI
Designing the perfect UX and UI is an art and a science. Your mobile application’s design can make or break its fate. While style certainly can’t beat substance, it’s a definite deal breaker for app users. All users love apps with familiar layouts, quick load times, and seamless experience across devices and screens, cohesive visual elements and strong branding. So, for your app to be a hit, it needs to be appealing inside and out.
Have a Unique app icon
A killer app icon will make your app stand out among the dozens crowding a user’s screen. Facebook, Google and WhatsApp icons are recognizable by people across the globe. Ensure that your app icon reflects your brand’s colors and style. Use the icon consistently across screens and pages and on all marketing collateral. The aim is to forge a strong bond between your brand’s message and its icons so that people make the connection instantly.
Keep in mind the following when designing your app logo:
Either use a unique image or your brand name’s initials in the icon. Your company’s logo is also a good choice as it might already have established repute and visibility in the market.
Avoid incorporating long words in the icon as it affects readability adversely and crowds the screen.
Submit several iterations of the icon while publishing your app.
Prioritize interaction design
Interaction design is an essential aspect of mobile app design. Apps with great interaction design are simple to use and seem like second nature. Users are able to figure out how to use these apps without reading lengthy tutorials or seeing complex demos. Each element of the app just fits together perfectly such that design becomes secondary and functionality gains priority.
The three pillars of interaction design that can enhance your app’s UI are:
Goal-driven design: User research and use case scenarios should be made for numerous situations so that you understand how a user will behave in a particular situation. Your app should not lose users at any point. Since it’s relatively easy to acquire an app from play stores, users don’t hesitate to abandon an app that isn’t meeting their needs instantly and opt for a competitor app. So your UI developers have to only attract visitors but also retain and convert them efficiently through brilliant design and interactivity. Customized workflows have to be designed for different use cases. Familiar navigation and simple layouts are best to guide users to the next steps. Uncluttered typography and contextual content are absolutely essential to maintain attention.
Usability: Usability testing is arguable the most important phase of app development. It allows real users to interact with an app under construction. Careful observation should be made to identify breakpoints and incoherence in the app’s UI. Usability testing should be repeated a number of times with different users and in different environments. This will probably give the most authentic feedback to your developers even before the app hits the market.
Feedback: Users need to be validated after they complete an action, especially new users unfamiliar with an app’s functioning. So, provide timely feedback in the form of visual cues, sounds or prompts as a user performs an action. It’s also a great strategy to include a prompt about the next step they should perform to guide them towards conversion stage.
Reduce, Reduce, Reduce
While mobile applications are becoming the go-to source for every kind of transaction, it’s a harsh truth that people’s attention spans are reducing by the second. Web users have no patience to read walls of text or go through lengthy how-to guides.
Keep your app copy clean and engaging. Also adhere to the context of the content. The aim is not to wow audiences with long, technical terms but to endear them with simple easy to understand content.
Use pictures and icons lavishly. They not only make your app attractive but also occupy less space and are more effective that textual cues. Keep in mind that pictures used should not be generic stock images. They should be customized to platform and screen size and have a comfortable resolution.
Mobile apps have trouble with multitasking. So focus on limited features. Don’t try to accomplish everything with a single app. Remove all extraneous elements and features and make your app screen uncluttered. This will appeal to users and also up your app’s performance.
Concentrate on Responsiveness
Finger-friendly design is a must for mobile applications. Your app should run flawlessly in different devices and screen sizes. Whether this requires tweaking media queries or JavaScript, no stone should be left unturned to keep users engaged when they switch between laptops, smartphones and tablets.
Use images in suitable format that fit the platform on which your app runs. Stretchable graphics are a great choice for Android app design.
Follow platform rules and design for best utilization of the particular platform. Don’t try to reinvent the wheel and create unfamiliar screen controls an interface elements. Take cues from the platform about the look and feel of your app. This will not only reduce redundancy of efforts but also delight users.
Adhere to the UI guidelines prescribed for mobile applications. There are norms for buttons, menus, widgets and every mobile element. All applications are scrutinized for these guidelines by play stores before they are published there.
Know Your Visual Elements
Visual elements such as fonts and colors although a part of UI, contribute substantially to the holistic user experience with an application.
When choosing typography for your app copy, focus on readability rather than attractiveness. The aim is not to distract users from your app’s features by using large, whacky fonts. Too small fonts become miniscule on smaller screen sizes. So, keep font size above 12 pt. at least.
Understand colors thoroughly and use them smartly to enhance visuals and show screen transitions. Fade out between screens will soften screen transitions. Highlighting a button can prompt a user to perform an action. Changing a button’s color after it’s been clicked will show a goal-driven action has been completed.
Use popular icons to show typical actions. For instance, a heart can be used to signify favorites and a tick mark to show completed action. Replacing text with representative icons will help your app’s international users who may not understand your app’s copy.
Keep an eye on app design trends as they keep changing rapidly. Material design, flat design, minimalistic design- choose wisely to give your mobile app a contemporary look.
Designing a mobile app with a great UI is a tough task. It requires years of patience and an in-depth understanding of user psychology. But practice makes perfect. So, keep iterating and testing to get the perfect mobile app design. Anteelo’s skilled UI and UX team has created more than 350 Android apps and iOS apps. We even provide comprehensive design consultancy to audit your app’s design elements and enhance its performance and usability.
Mobile Apps Designs continue to change with the changing demand of the industry’s million users. In the race of catching and keeping the attention of the crowd of impatient users, the UI design market keeps coming with new ideas and keeps revolutionizing the old ways to make the experience innovative and value offering.
2017 bid adieu to a number of UI elements that were making the product design old and boring – hamburger menu, content with less to no images, safe colors. While 2018 will be all about on the face, no nonsense designs.
There has been a new found demand for mobile app design agencies that can understand and help keep the brands in trend, when it comes to offering uniquely innovative experience to the users.
There are a number of UI elements that have together made a list of Mobile App Design Trends 2018.
Let’s get on them to keep you on trend this year.
1.Vibrant Colors
In 2016, UI designers reinvented flat designs in mobile apps and shifted their focus to offering greater personalization with their design elements.
Instagram was one of the first apps to modify their logo, move on from the flat, dull-muted tones to multi-colors. The trend was then trailed by a range of famous companies. Moving in the same direction, 2018 is going to be the time of vibrant colors, shooting up warmth, energy, and subtleties to your home screen.
It’s time for designers to be valiant and try out newer colors, but select and apply them wisely. Make sure the colors allow you to create unique, powerful, and eye-friendly experience.
2.Borderless Display
When Apple declared the launch of iPhone X with a borderless display, the major buzz was made around the effect of the design on UI design. They introduced the trend of transforming the usage of strict flat design ideas in mobile apps, boosting fluent storytelling. While it was still a lot restricted in 2017, Borderless Display specific designs have found themselves in the list of UI Design Trends of 2018. We will soon start seeing designs that cover the whole mobile from edge to edge.
3.Videos
2017 witnessed a rise in the fame of video content format. Hubspot stated that 78% of people watch online videos per week, and over 55% see online videos every single day.
In the context of the mobile apps, designers will be adapting the video formats in their apps in 2018.
The human attention period has reduced from 12 to eight seconds. Video-based UI is a result of this change in span.
2018 will see more of video-based content and more platforms coming up with live video options to convey information and feelings.
4.Cards
It was in 2015 that mobile devices overtook PCs as most used tools for surfing the web and doing the regular online activities. To cover the gap between desktop and mobile app usage, there had to be an element that would work well on both.
One of them is cards.
Although not an innovative addition in Mobile App UI Trends 2018, they play a crucial role in curating an effective UI design. Having all – video, photo, text, and link to a specific subject, cards are one of the most brilliant ways to display and organize large amounts of content on screen. Above all, they are aesthetic, easy to digestible, and properly-optimized for clicks and taps. This is why they have found themselves as the prime UI design mode on Pinterest, Netflix, and Newsfeed.
5. Sounds
The newest element in 2018 UI Design Trends is sound layers. This trend are with respect to the sounds which users listen when they open a website, send comments, select emojis, etc. The sound element of UI design adds features like enjoyment and pleasure in user experience. 2018 has come with an expansion to this trend and is set to take user experience to new levels.
6.Big Typography
Typography is another feature for the UI designers to experiment when designing uber personalized app designs. When added with images, colors, video, animations, and innovative layouts, the element brings about exceptional user experience.
Solely because of the reason, Typography has become crucial piece of UI design world in 2018, helping designers transform from the traditional font styles to a more experimental, creative space. What you should expect this year, is fancy and bold fonts in place of done till death system fonts, which have been applied since forever.
7.Overlapping
Overlapping of graphics, fonts, and colors not only makes UI design distinctive and eye-catching, but also add a false sense of white space. Creating an illusion of open space in the crowded real estate of a device, is the number one reason why designers are adding overlapping feature in their mobile apps.
Furthermore, in most cases, the overlapping of the same elements, combined with shadows, makes the mobile app interface designs impressive and fantasy like. All these reasons combined, make overlapping an important part of Mobile Application User Interface Design Trends 2018.
8.Gradients
In 2018, one can expect to see bright vivid colors and much greater use of the gradients.
In the last some years, we have been seeing a rise in the number of app designers who are adopting color gradients in design when designing buttons, logos, and backgrounds.
The reason behind this adoption is when you chose a specific color, you can show a hierarchy while drawing a picture and combining it with different graphics and color gradients.
This sense of hierarchy will continue to make Gradients famous in 2018 as they did in 2017.
9.Opacity
Same components tend to have diverse effects once you adjust or play around with their transparency level. When designing mobile app interfaces, adding opacity in components can be an excellent design work. Furthermore, the opacity settings for various graphics or colors can also help create colorful glass like texture to the app elements.
Overall, irrespective of how you add opacity to your UI design in mobile apps, they will see a concrete rise in demand in 2018.
10.Animation
Introducing motion design or animations in fonts, icons, buttons, and photos always have an optimistic impact on app users giving them more enjoyable experiences. The trend will continue in 2018.
11.Responsive Logos
The idea of modifying logos to fit in with the n number of devices, has been a very recent doing of the app design world. Brands have now started refreshing the logos in simplified, modern versions since last some years and making them responsive is the only logical next phase when it comes to meeting the today’s demands.
12.Real Life Photography
It’s very energizing to see authentic, real-life images return to the mainstream again.
The demand for real photos rose greatly in 2017 and is set to grow massively in 2018, with brands seeking to bond with users, and designers looking to get rid of tawdry stock photos.
13.Highly-Detailed Vintage
Vintage is nothing new, but its usage will grow stronger in 2018. Although it contradicts the mainstream need for minimalism, finely crafted images are timeless. This year, brands will be looking to attain top-shelf expression that shouts sophistication and distinction.
While not everyone’s cup of tea, food and beverage domain—specifically those involved with organic food and wine—will be leveraging the style in 2018.
14.Voice Enabled
Voice-activated elements of apps helps simplify users’ operations. In 2017, apps with voice dependent services finally found their fair share of demand from the industry. The popularity of voice-activated mobile apps will only grow in 2018.Other than the voice-activated elements, fingerprint-activated ones will also play a very crucial part in defining mobile app interface designs for 2018.
15.Emoticons
In 2018 we can expect to see emotional intelligence getting integrated in mobile experience to a much greater level. It is no more about animated effects that are shown when users complete any specific action. EI has now become a mainstream way to make users experience delightful and engaging.
In the year of mobile apps, we will see more emoticons in the list. They will see an integration with Face recognition elements that will be used for providing an array of reactions. One such technology that have been doing this perfectly is Animoji — the animated emoji that responds to iPhone X camera’s facial expressions.
UI design has proven to play a crucial role in mobile app success. It has positioned itself as a ladder to reach the hearts and minds of the users and customers by displaying engaging visual content and more.
But, is everyone able to relish its benefits? Do all the designers and entrepreneurs know about the best mobile app UI design tips that work in the customer-centric world?
Sadly, no.
So, with the intention to simplify their journey of figuring out what the UI of future apps look like, we have prepared a list of tips and trends that will be popular in the mobile world in 2021.
But first, let’s take a recap of the benefits of UI design.
Now that we have taken a visual walkthrough of the importance of good user interface design during app development, let’s peep into a few mobile apps that are giving serious UI designing goals to others in the industry.
Best Apps That You Can Get Inspiration From
1. Netflix
Netflix app – the one that has changed the landscape of the movie streaming industry – tops the list with its breathtaking UI design.
The application introduced incredible layout and color options to the mobile domain. It has not just worked on simplifying the navigation process but also ensured that all the reported bugs are solved in real-time. In this way, it has increased the chances of offering a positive experience to their audience.
2. Splitwise
The UI design of the application is simple, sophisticated, and pleasant. The color scheme is chosen in a way that it complements app elements as well as employs the center of the device effectively.
3. Spring
Spring, the popular shopping app, is also a good option to consider while looking for design tips for mobile apps.
The mobile application offers a simple and interactive experience – using icons to give a hint of the functionality of each element. The app uses different font styles and sizes along with a card layout to deliver an enhanced UI experience.
4. Trello
Trello is yet another application you can consider for deciding the type of UI design to create.
This productivity app is easy to use and gives the facility of creating boards for managing their tasks. It comes with a clean and sophisticated look and feels along with its tactics of arranging all the pins in a ‘pipeline’ manner. Also, it offers tons of cool backgrounds and labels colors to amp users’ experience.
5. Shine
Another application that has enhanced its customer experience via the user interface is Shine.
The mobile app uses custom and abstract aesthetics to match the mood of users. It also relies on soft shapes and calm colors to make them experience some peaceful moments.
6. Coursera
Coursera is yet another mobile application whose User interface offers some real goals in the design world.
The app design is simple and smooth, offering the ease to navigate from a well-organized syllabus. It uses different font styles and colors to give users an idea of what they have covered, what they are interacting with, and what’s next.
Now that we have taken inspiration from different mobile applications, let’s turn towards the main part of the article, i.e, best mobile app UI design tips to follow in 2021.
Mobile app UI Design Tips To Follow While Designing Your App
Keep It Simple
The foremost tip for designing a better mobile app is to keep the UI simple.
When you restrict the number of app UI elements, users do not get drifted by unnecessary details. They find it easier to focus on the prime elements of the application, which eventually improves the user retention rate.
Make it Responsive
Concentrating on responsiveness is also one of the proven tips to enhance mobile app design by improving its UI.
This is because when you design elements that fit the screens, regardless of the device users are using, they find ease in performing actions. This, in turn, encourages them to spend more time on your platform and add higher value.
Use Popular Icons
Users, when interacting with various mobile apps on a daily basis, become familiar with certain icons. They can easily relate those icons to particular functionalities without even reading the label.
In such a scenario, using those icons can cut down the hassle of making users understand what an app element is for. This eventually enhances customer engagement and delivers higher ROI. So, introduce popular and similar icons in your UI designing strategy.
Maintain Consistency
Another best practice for app designing that UI mobility experts follow is showing consistency. That implies using the same font style, color, design, and icons throughout the app screens – and that too in the same order.
This simplifies the user journey and helps them make an action without getting a feel of being on some other platform. So, keep it into consideration while planning the app UI design.
Follow Platform-Based Rules
Both Apple and Google have set guidelines for mobile app design for iOS and Android platforms
. Following those guidelines improves the look and feel of your application on the respective platform.
So, do not overlook these Google and Apple UI design guidelines while crafting your app design.
Do not Forget about Loading Speed
Focusing on speed is also one of the best design tips for enhancing user interaction. This is because when UI elements take too much time to load, users get frustrated. They decide to exit the platform soon, because of which all of your efforts could go in vain.
So, think about optimizing your app speed frequently.
Invest in Testing
Many times, the elements you introduce in your app UI design do not work effectively. In such cases, they ruin the user experience instead of adding value to it.
So, it is good to invest your efforts into mobile app UI testing. For when you test your app icons and other elements for different conditions, it ultimately helps bring a positive impact on the users.
When talking about app testing, one thing that UI/UX designers must consider is the depth to which they should test their UI screens.
While educational and commercial apps require thorough UI testing across all the devices and OS versions, business apps can skip investing in extensive testing. This is because their audience, in most cases, is trained to employ the application.
In a nutshell, the depth of UI testing depends on the app’s purpose and the market it will target. However, it is a must to test your app UI on at least three different OS versions.
Iterate Regularly
Since user behavior and market trends keep on changing with time, it is again effective to upgrade your app UI design timely. And eventually, gain higher conversions.
As previously mentioned when talking about the latest mobile UI design trends 2021, changing market trends also influence the success of the user interface you design. So, let’s uncover what are the future mobile design trends 2021 to pay attention to.
The State of UI in 2021: Technologies and Trends That Will Dominate the Industry
1. Conversational Interface
Conversational Interface is one of the leading UI design trends for the future.
Just like Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, various startups, and established brands will invest in Chatbot development to deliver the next level of conversational experience to their user base.
2. The Overlapping Effect
In 2021, UI/UX designers for a mobile app will embrace the idea of overlapping different elements, like text, image, and colors in a single screen.
The concept will help in creating a well-organized interface and create an illusion of space. This will eventually enhance the user experience to a great extent.
3. Typography
Just like last year, considering typography in-app UI design will be one of the best mobile app design trends in 2021.
While brands have been applying bold San-Serif fonts and strong typography for some time now, they will now focus more on typography that reflects motion-based and three-dimensional effects.
4. Voice-Powered Interfaces
By 2021, 50% of the search engine queries will be performed via voice. Because of this, voice-governed interfaces will also become one of the popular mobile application design techniques which are poised to deliver higher output.
5. Simple Curves and Geometry
Another UI design trend that will transform our future is the use of simple curves and geometry.
These curves and geometry will lower down confusion that might arise when multiple illustrations, pictures, catches, and animations are present in the design
6. Custom Illustration Interfaces
Illustrations will also be one of the popular mobile application design techniques to follow in the future.
Both brands and designers will turn towards introducing custom illustrations into their application – just like how Uber did.
7. White space
White space will also continue to be one of the core elements of mobile app design strategies.
With white space, designers will be able to deliver an uncomplicated experience to their target user base. They will find ease in making them focus upon the main part of the application over others. And ultimately, add value to their business.
8. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Another technology that will bring a major impact in the field of UI design is Artificial Intelligence.
AI will not just help designers with creating multiple versions of any particular landing page or screen, but would also introduce personalized elements backed by thousands of studies and visual analysis. This, as a whole, will encourage them to look into how to use AI for better user interface design.
9. Contrasting Font Color/Shapes
Using contrasting font colors/shapes for mobile UI design will increase its popularity in 2021.
Mobility experts will infuse contrasting colors and shapes into their design to break the regular flow and add a tint of surprise into user interactions.
10. Animation
Animation, which was one of the key app UI design trends for 2018 and 2021, will also continue to enjoy the same momentum in the future.
Brands will embrace the technique to introduce micro-interactions in their design process. And, in this way, prompts users to spend more time on their platforms.
11. Opacity
Setting the opacity of different UI elements will be considered among the top key app design trends 2021. The technique will be used to bring more emphasis on certain elements while maintaining smoothness and seamlessness.
12. Augmented Reality (AR)
In 2021, UI/UX design experts will turn towards Augmented Reality (AR) for creating real-world interactions. They will embrace the technology to add immersion effects to their apps and products and help users comprehend the information more efficiently.
Besides, the technology will also be considered for building 3D brand impressions in the coming years.
13. Storytelling
Storytelling, i.e. the art of engaging users by narrating a story, will also be seen as one of the best UI/UX mobile design trends in 2021.
Mobile app designers will put more effort into crafting a story that highlights the purpose of the app and make users feel like a part of it. They will turn towards the best visual storytelling guides, tools, and techniques to make a story that keeps their audience hooked to their platform.
14. 3D Graphics
3D graphics will also land on the list of top UI/UX trends to consider in 2021.
Mobile app designers will incorporate sophisticated textures and 3D images into their designs to add a realistic feel. Also, users will demand more 3D designs and marketing content to enjoy a vivid, fresh, and engaging experience.
15. Placement of Navigational Elements
Another trend that will change the future of the mobile app design world is the placement of navigational elements.
As we have already seen in our blog upon the impact of Phone X’s new design on mobile apps, the absence of a home screen button will influence the navigation process. This will urge mobility UI experts to discover new ways to deliver a seamless navigational experience to their users.
16. Virtual Reality (VR)
Last but not least, the incorporation of Virtual Reality (VR) in UI design will also be in trend in the coming years.
The technology, after redefining the healthcare, marketing, and gaming industry, is expected to boost interaction levels in-app UI design. It is expected to emerge out as the ‘Internet of experiences’ by spilling out the app elements in the real world and prompting users to feel them.
While these were some of the mobile app design tips and trends that are predicted to revolutionize user interface in 2021, many more are hoping
Effective design is the best sales pitch! Design is good when it serves a purpose and turns a few heads, but it becomes phenomenal when it can twirl your client by the pixel. And this is where most designers face a roadblock. The only problem is, they somehow fail to associate “selling” with designing. And for those who don’t fall into that category, are most probably doing it wrong.We, designers come across a wide variety of clients to appease. Some of them turn out to be quite friendly and supportive, who hands over the liberty to the project in a barrel with other important stuff you might need to know. But some are more specific about their requirements and prefer to keep the freedom under a leash. Whoever we work with, the bottom-line remains the same: ideas don’t sell themselves. The key is to adapt to the ‘sales strategy’ to suit the customer. These are soft skills every designer must have!
Playing the role of an effective virtual tour guide isn’t a cakewalk, but I have for you, a few valuable and time-tested skills to help you add muscle to your selling.
Here are some pointers that you can mobilize to sell the design to your clients.
1. Know your Client : Get Talking
The number one rule of sales is getting to know your customer. This is where all the magic happens. It always starts with a string of conversations. The trick is to not let the thread go cold. At the start of a project, gather as much information about the client as possible. This will serve you well in the future in navigating through what actually matters to your client. You can ask about their city, (a classic conversation starter), the weather may be, or about their likes and so on. And if you hit the right buttons, you would be amazed at what a simple conversation can uncork about your client’s design preferences, unless of course, you are Sherlock Holmes. Here’s what happens when you get talking:
You would get a clearer picture of what your client would prefer in your design.
A friendly conversation establishes trust. And once your client begins to trust you, the restrictions fall apart giving way for a fair amount of liberty on the projects you’re handling.
Once clients feel comfortable working with you, 80% of your pitching is done. They would start taking your designs more seriously and who knows, their next string of projects might have your name on them.
Establishing a relationship with the client is a fundamental precursor to pitching design ideas to them. It always gets them listening and responding more positively to your ideas.
2. DO YOUR HOMEWORK: GAIN CREDIBILITY
Decision making in design can be a bit challenging. It is not like throwing in variables in a formula to get to the right answer. Therefore, there’s always room for error. And this is why you need to have an answer for everything you do because rest assured there will be questions!
The business of design dictates that there exists logical reasoning for every UI/ UX move you make. There needs to be a reason for your chosen palette of colors or, your one-page layout preference. Backing your ideas up with concrete statistics is the way to go. A little bit of research goes a long way. It is always advisable to have complete knowledge of the amazing solution you are about to present since this dramatically reduces the chances of skewing up the thought process. This way, you can let the data talk for itself. And clients seldom argue with data.
However, where data falls short, big players come in handy. Another way to gain credibility is by making examples out of well-recognized names in the market. Think of this as a simple hack to the path of least resistance. If your idea coincides with Google’s, to some extent, then that should definitely be a part of your pitching strategy. This little information can open up doors you never thought existed. The bottom line is, clients will have a lot of queries, and you need to have all the answers ready to make for a smooth design selling work-day!
3. KNOW THE TRENDS: DESIGN FOR THE FUTURE
Don’t just be a great designer, be a smart one. We happen to live in a world where nothing is constant, except change. And when it comes to design, change is what pulls the wagon.
The next time you have a design intervention, do quick trend research. Make yourself aware of the big trends in the market and find out the ones that will stick. You can incorporate those in your designs and make it work. Thinking out of the box is a gift, but thinking smart is an acquired taste. Whatever you do, keep in mind that there’s a difference between an unprecedented risk and well-thought-out-and-researched one. You would definitely need to avoid the former.
If you look closely, you would find that there exist two broad kinds of designers, the trend-setters and the trend-followers. Who do you want to be?
4. PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION, PRESENTATION
Even the best, path-breaking, award-winning ideas need a good presentation to get them out of the shed. Which is why, in order to sell your design ideas effectively, you will need more than a few sketches or words.
Consider making a pitch desk that communicates your ideas in a way that catches the client’s imagination. Make sure that they get the bigger picture. While addressing the client, make sure that you put everything in context. Use mockup templates, distribute design samples, go the extra mile. This will help the client visualize what the final design will emulate. The closer your working prototype comes to the real-life design functionality, the closer you will be to sealing the deal.
5. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE YOUR CLIENT: ACCEPT CRITICISM
In a profession without absolutes, criticism comes in bountiful. Your work might be your territory, but you need to keep in mind that you have been hired to solve a problem. And how effectively you do it, measures the conversion rate. Your clients may not have all the design know-hows, but they know exactly what they want and how they want it. So it’s best to always stay on top of your game and pitch your design ideas without getting too defensive.
Your clients need to know that you are distilling their design ideas and steering them to the best possible fruition and not taking it as a challenge. So treading with a touch of finesse would be a great idea. Instead of responding “I don’t think this change is required”, you could tone it down to a “While the changes you have suggested are completely do-able, you might find that it already satisfies these requirements, if you re-examine the one I have submitted.”
The manner of accepting the feedback on the design is critical to its final acceptance. You will find yourself in situations, where a positive attitude, attention to detail and an inane ability to address all the pain-points will ensure that the client is more receptive to your version of the final design that otherwise.
Quick Tip: You are on the same side as your client, stop taking it as a challenge.
Summary
With design, you need to keep two things in mind:
Less is more
It is always better to show than to tell
Even though the thought of “selling” might make you cringe, it is a milestone to achieve to make your designs see the light of the day. Having said that, you need to believe in your pixels and your instincts to see you through the worst because at the end of the day, you are what you present. Figuring out the art of presenting your design ideas, pitching them articulating them proficiently and ‘closing’ the design sale are important skills that will come in handy rather regularly over the course of your career.
Starting up with a website designing business is relatively easier, but keeping the game up for security becomes the major concern. The primary motive of your web design business should be to get those clients who are willing to pay for the services you are going to provide them. Security is one such aspect of this business that gets generally neglected and is not given that due attendance, which it deserves. Many startups offering web design services think that their business is too small to practice any serious security measure, or they find it useless to invest in cybersecurity plans at such a small level. By the time their business starts rising to the mid-level, they realize that it is now too late to implement security measures.
One breach in the security policies of your company can harm it to the level you might not have imagined. If we look into the survey reports from the National Cyber Security Alliance, we get to know that more than 70 percent of hacking attempts are done on small businesses. On average, a data breach of a small web designing company can cost Rs 35000 to Rs 50 lacs. Approx 60 percent of small businesses shut down in less than 6 months after a security breach as it becomes difficult for them to recover from the loss in business both financially and emotionally.
Security Mistakes to avoid with your web design business
To protect your web design business, and to maintain its security, ensure that you are not committing any of these mistakes.
1. Making use of personal devices for business purposes
When starting with any new business, there are many challenges that come in your way. The first one is the budget constraint, which often tempts people to use the technology or devices which they already have without spending more money on these products. It is all fine if you are using that device dedicatedly to meet your business goals and have stopped using them completely for your personal use after deleting all the personal data from that device.
It is of utmost necessity to set up a line between your personal and professional data, especially when there is an involvement of customer information. Mixing up these data can pose a real threat to the security policies of your organization. It is a tendency to ignore security measures when it comes to personal devices as compared to professional ones. Employees should also be refrained from using their devices for business purposes as it is really difficult for you to control your business then and can breach your security policies by exposing customer’s data. When an employee resigns from a company, the information on their devices also goes with them, that is why it is always better not to use personal devices for business purposes.
2. Overlooking the importance of data backup
Everything related to your business should be backed up, even the things that you think don’t contribute to the growth of your web design business. The data should be protected with a multi-tiered backup system involving data available both online as well as offline. A significant amount of time goes in to recover the lost data, and being a part of the web designing business; you cannot afford to lose significant data or spend time recreating data because of poor backup systems.
3. Overlooking basic security protocols
A very simple but often overlooked element in web designing business is cybersecurity. By adhering to the basic protocols related to security, one can safeguard their business from being hacked. According to a survey, approx 75 percent of employees do not secure their computer, approx 73 percent of employees use weak passwords in both their professional as well as a personal account. To safeguard the data, a web designing company should create internal mechanisms asking employees to change their passwords often and to disable logins of the employees who leave the company immediately. Passwords should be handled carefully and should reach only to authorize personals. Setting up security protocols like firewalls, anti-virus software, and malware protection is equally important to protect the company’s data.
4. Not using a virtual private network (VPN)
Being a web designing company, you need to develop websites for multiple clients, which means you are given an ample amount of sensitive information. To safeguard the data which your clients have entrusted to you, you should use a virtual private network to reduce the potential of any breach. A VPN encrypts all the data that is being sent over a network, making it virtually invisible to potential hackers.
5. Designing it all by my mindset
While setting up a company, it is viable to get involved in multiple roles to learn things and to save some extra bucks. As web design is an internet-based occupation, you might think that there is no need to hire a network designer, and you can do this task all by yourself. But hiring a network professional not only saves time but also you get to know things from a professional perspective, which guides you towards the best security protocols to safeguard the company’s significant data and hence save you from expensive problems in the future.
6. Not creating a proactive shield
When clients trust you with the development of their websites that forms an important part of their business, they expect you to include all possible security elements in that project. In many cases, website developers or web designing companies are held responsible for the security breach on a client website because of the irresponsible attitude of the developer in creating appropriate security protocols on the website.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity may not seem important at first, especially for small businesses, but it plays a very important role in determining the success of any company. By avoiding some security mistakes, you can ensure the safety of your company’s data as well as the client’s data. By following simple security protocols, you can grow your business exponentially without worrying about the theft of significant data.
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