We often see this term used online for websites and programs but what exactly does it mean and why is it important?
To put it simple, UI stands for User Interface and it is how a website, program or even the operating system on your device communicates to you through various visual elements such as text, colour, images, buttons, icons, etc.
Why is User Interface Important?
One of the main factors that can increase the traffic of a website is an attractive UI design. The first thing a client will notice on your website is of course the UI, whether good or bad. If your clients are happy to see it, then they will be happy to use your website and most likely convert into customers.
Characteristics that define good and attractive UI:
- Must be clear and easy to understand.
- Be short and straightforward.
- Website must be responsive and efficient, not loading for too long.
- Be consistent with the design and layout of the UI.
- Attract the user through appearance.
Typography in Design
Typography is one of the most important visual elements you will find in UI design as people often find it hard to balance with other visual elements. Typography is complex as it can be manipulated in various ways which means that you must be precise in choosing the font, type of font, colour, size and width in order to create a good UI design.
Good typography should be easy to read on your website. However, bad typography can make users uncomfortable and even unwilling to use your website.
Optimising typography in UI design is a must in order to increase understanding of text content.
Factors that determine good typography are:
- Sticking to maximum 2 fonts. Using too many fonts will make your website look unprofessional and unorganised.
- Use Sans Serif fonts, they are much easier to read and look more professional online.
- The length of writing per line is limited. Especially for displays on mobile devices, use 30-40 characters per line for easy reading and understanding.
- Nice and clear typeface choices in various sizes.
- Using a typeface that allows you to tell characters apart without effort. (e.g., letters I and L)
- Do not write in full caps as in theory, it can slow reading and disrupt hierarchy.
- Draw a white line. Spacing between lines will improve reading comprehension.
- Stick to a specific colour scheme and make sure the text is balanced with your design and background for readability.
Mock-up designs
Mock-ups are used in graphic and website design as a tool for prototyping. They allow you to see the end predict before the development stage begins.
In a few words, they offer a preview of what your website, app or program will look like before you decide to have it created. This allows you to see, test and further develop what impact the UI has on the viewer and the message or feelings you want to convey.
A good design should be attractive, comfortable to look at and easy to understand after all, it has to represent your business, right? Although understanding what UI means is helpful, you don’t have to worry about these terms, there are professional graphic, web, UI and UX designers that have mastered the field. If you want to find out about UX, check our next blog post “What us UX?”.