Guest Lecture

Camille Murphy
Assistant Professor of Art; Head of the Graphic and Interactive Design Track

The important elements on the page should look important.

UX/UI Design

How Did They Make That?

Every day, we shop online, share updates with friends, and use apps that help us with everything from banking to hailing a cab on our phones, iPads, and computers. User experience (UX) design and user interface (UI) design are two important steps in the process of creating these digital products and experiences.

The UX team focuses on the quality of interactions between users and the digital products they use. Designers envision and plan what happens each time we click on something. The UI team then brings the plan to life by focusing on how the product is laid out.

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UX Checklist

  1. Ensure that the frequent actions users make feel effortless.

  2. Plan for different types of users so that they can all navigate easily through the same product. This requires conducting research, including surveys, in-depth interviews, and focus groups.

  3. Check that your users can easily recover from mistakes such as clicking on the wrong button, and make it easy for them to get customer support.
  4. Make certain that alerts, forms, and navigation are treated consistently throughout the user experience.

UI Checklist

  1. Establish a clear visual hierarchy—the important elements on the page should look important.
  2. Confirm that the design uses no more than three colors. Most people don’t tend to remember more than a few colors when associated with a product or service.
  3. Ideally, use no more than two fonts—too many can make the design feel cluttered and confusing.

It can be helpful to think of clicking through a digital product as similar to following a marked trail through the woods. We need enough markers to continue forward and not get lost, but not so many that the markers disrupt the experience of the hike. We’re there for the hike, not to see the trail markers! With a well-executed digital experience made by talented UX and UI designers, all that we take away is the experience of a great hike.