The Importance Of UI And UX Design For Mobile Apps

Many times we come across a new application but we end up closing it. The reasons are varied, either the app doesn’t fit your screen, or doesn’t look that appealing, or is just too complicated to navigate? Or do you remember how you felt when you opened an app – your first impression? Good, boring or amazing?

So what happens when your app doesn’t match the consumer’s expectations and they face any issue related to your application design – of course, they would choose to uninstall and look for better options. This is where an experienced UI and UX designer comes to your rescue. The design and development industry has withstood the test of time and has evolved. While many brands keep on updating their app designs depending upon the consumer behaviour, there are still few brands that are not giving the attention to the app design that it deserves. Such brands or companies will slowly fade away from consumer’s smartphones and app stores.

In this article, let us look at what is the importance of UI and UX design for mobile apps. But before that, let us understand what does UI and UX mean.

You can also read – ‘The Importance of UI and UX Design for Mobile Applications’ to get further insights.

User Interface(UI), is a way through which a user interacts with the application. User Experience(UX), is about creating a system or application which provides the best experience to the users. Consult GoodWorkLabs, the eminent UX design studio in Bangalore, to get applications with world-class designs.

 

Why does your app need an efficient UI and UX design? 

Living in a fast-paced world, the attention span of customers/users is limited to just a few seconds. Therefore it is very important to catch their attention in a short time span so that they hook to your application for a long period of time. A user will spend more time on your application, and if both of you are on the same page he/she may become a loyal user. So, what is it that can grab a user’s attention in no time? Well, it is the UI and UX of the application that helps them to be hooked to an app. A favourable and relevant UI and UX design will help you in keeping your users engaged.

So apart from captivating users, here is what UI and UX do:

Enhances customer satisfaction

A happy user will surely recommend your app to their peers, friends and other close circles. An impressive app with easy to navigate interface, compelling design and insightful content will keep your users satisfied with the services of your application. This will increases your user database, thereby helping you increase downloads of your application.

Understanding user behaviour 

UI and UX design can help you customise your application for different audience segments, thereby keeping all your audiences sets engaged and happy. As the UI and UX of an app are designed by keeping audiences or users in the core, hence it automatically attracts the audience it is built for. UI & UX also gauge the user journey through your app so that helps you analyse the flaws in your application’s UI and UX design and you can take corrective measures to bridge the gaps.

Builds your brand 

An application that impresses the users will automatically become popular among users. UI and UX design play a major role in keeping your audiences engaged, happy, and loyal. People like engaging with applications that provide value and proves useful. It also adds more credibility to your business, which increases your business and brand value.

Consult GoodWorkLabs, the renowned UX design studio in Bangalore

The ideal way to ace your UI and UX design is to understand your audience needs. If you are looking to have a compelling UI and UX design then reach out to us at [email protected] or call +91- 9863077000 and our creative UI and UX design team will build an efficient and effective UI and UX design for your application.

 

How Animations can lead to great UX Designs

Animations for UX Design

Do you think good visuals and an appealing user interface is enough to keep people hooked to your app?

Think again!

With smartphones establishing their existence in the pocket of almost every individual, the number of mobile applications has been steadily increasing. Such a situation has made it very difficult for mobile apps to stand out with something unique on offer.

This is where animations have upped the game for many applications. Without enough animations, even the best interfaces will only lead to confusion among users and instil a feeling where they are choosing things directly without any context. Nicely done animations prove crucial to enhance the user experience of your design and deliver the users a satisfying, smooth and delightful overall experience.

Animations can use and combine the sound and haptic features in mobile applications, enabling the general experience to be much more close to reality with a considerable reduction in the cognitive load as well. The pressure is less because animations make it easier to recognize every connection and context pretty quickly when using an app.

 

Principles of Creating Animated Interfaces

Here are some of the principles which are unavoidable when you create animated interfaces. Regardless of the tools, techniques, and framework you use, these principles will come in handy.

 

1) Attention and Focus:
The most significant objective of any animation in your app is to give a context and also direct the focus of a user to critical elements for a more fluid experience. The screens which seem without any connection can be seamlessly merged to assist the user in navigating while using your website or app.

To get the maximum impact from the animations on your app, you need to learn the art of restraint. Admittedly, it is a tempting prospect to exhibit a lot of animation on every single screen on your app. If you get carried away then the core motive of including animation gets lost in the process.

 

2) Order and Hierarchy with sequences:
If you are pondering to animate every element in your user interface, your thought process may incline in the wrong direction. While the right set of animation will focus the attention of a user inevitably, too much of it on a single page will also divert the attention.

However, if you still want to animate multiple elements on a single screen, you should always use a small delay in between them. Ensure that the ease and duration of animations are consistent. The entire process of this timing and delay in animation is known as the choreography principle of Material Motion.

 

3) The right kind of speed:
The speed of the animation in an app is generally controlled by modifying the duration of the animation. It is the duration of animations which either makes or breaks a great user experience.

Follow the general rule and try to incorporate animations which have a duration of 0.3-1 second. The animations lesser than 0.3 seconds feel as if they don’t even exist because you can easily miss the transition.

Also if a user can notice them, such speed can easily confuse the app user. Even animations that are longer than 1 second do not have too many fans. Animations can feel very slow and prove as a barrier to smooth interaction between the users and the interface.

The most significant advantage of using snappy and quick animations is that your app feels faster and more responsive. If the animations lag a lot, your app will feel slow and broken, which is going to make the overall experience of using the app an unpleasant one.

The speed we are talking about is not just limited to the duration of the animation but also applies to the lag which happens between the first swipe gesture and animation which follows next.

 

Understand the Physics involved:

Nothing in this world starts or stops instantly. It always takes a considerable amount of time for things to speed up or slow down. Forces like friction, remember?

An ideal animation is natural in its behavior, which also helps to ease the cognitive load on a user in understanding and using the application. Other than the duration of animations, you should also familiarize yourself with the different kinds of easing that is used in the design:

 

1) Linear:

This is the animation which is brought to use without any easing. It is also the most unnatural, so limit its use to only when very necessary.

 

2) Ease-in:

Ease-in is an accelerated easing. The animation here begins gradually and ends quickly.

 

3) Ease-out:

Now it is the opposite of easing in. It is decelerated easing. The animation starts very quickly and slows down a bit at the end. This is the best option as the quick start lends a sense of responsiveness in the app and provides a natural slowness in the end.

 

4) Spring:

Spring is an animation which ends on a bouncing note. It is used in a large number of modern mobile applications due to its responsiveness and vibrancy. Once you close on the right kind of animations which are needed in your app, you will be able to extend the natural world into the devices of people, which is always better than a strange and abstract experience.

 

Conclusion:

Based on the above discussion, you would have clearly understood how animations are a crucial part to create a great user experience without too much last-minute thinking.

Keep animation and the interaction in your mind right from the beginning so that the focus on overall experience remains constant during the entire process of product designing.

The principles discussed are timeless. If you are getting familiar with animations or are fully aware of them as well, these are some points which you need to always keep in your mind while creating new designs and applications.

Elevating user experience to new levels should always be your priority as a designer.

Speaking of a designer, are you looking for one? At GoodWorks Design, our creative team is acing the UX with animations. If you have a design idea and need help with execution, talk to us!.

Importance of Conversational UI

Conversational UI – The Future

The mobile era has taken sharp turns in recent times. Remember the times, when you had to click on a certain icon or link in order to perform any task on mobile or computer device? Today, we have upgraded to voice UI or conversational UI where you can just speak your requirements and get things done.

You might be stuck at some point in past when Siri couldn’t catch your instructions right or when Alexa was offering limited functionalities. Wave goodbye to those time as now the Conversational UI has changed the game and has introduced some cool features that you will want to get addicted to.

Conversational UI.png

What is Conversational UI?

Conversational UI is a chatbot experience which processes your commands in a natural and most obvious way.  Commands are processed and responses are designed in a way that the user feels as if he is speaking or texting with another human being.

This approach to incorporating technology in our lives is more natural and innate. The most popular examples of Conversational UI in actual speech form is Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri. For texting, you can consider Facebook messenger as well.

Why is conversational UI a good idea?

What would you appreciate more? Technology aligning to your ways to communicate or the reverse? The majority of the votes fell in favor of the first option.

Technology is here to ease our lives and hence should adapt to our ways of communication. Communicating with a device should be as easy as communicating with another human being. With this ideology in mind, conversational UI is a right move in the current times. Before we conclude on the importance of conversational UI, let’s browse through some existing conversational UI in the market and why there is a need for more such software.

Facebook Messenger

Not long back, Facebook integrated a chatbot API into the Messenger app which allowed users to interact with businesses through conversational UI.

You might not interact directly with the employees located at the business but you will get the feeling that you are interacting with real humans on the other side.

These days you can easily interact with Tommy Hilfiger, Fynd’s Fify, Spring, Uniqlo, Burberry, 1800-flowers, and even eBay. All these commerce chatbots might not allow browsing and shopping, but can supply you with the relevant information such as tracking an order, FAQs etc.

For tracking your order, all you have to do is ask ‘where is my order’ and you will receive an update. Swift and fascinating! Isn’t it?

Slack

Slack is well known for its chatbots which are more popularly known as Slackbots.

The app is integrated with its own bot with which you can interact. You can integrate several apps with Slack such as Hangouts, Google calendar, Maker, Intro, Giphy, or Chatbot. You can get the necessary information while talking to the Slackbot.

Slack has changed the way the how companies and teams functioned in past. Just by asking slack you can receive information from a multitude of sources in a just a matter of minutes.

Digit, a chatbot based savings app

Other than Slack and Facebook messenger, Digit is a chatbot based savings app. You can pay a bill, withdraw money, save money, check account balances, make recurring transfers and so on.

There are two ways to interact with the bot, first is the main screen of the app. The second way is by texting to its number. You can also opt for a few other account functionalities and setting up custom interactions outside the chatbot.

Why Conversational UI is relevant now

When conventionally automated interfaces didn’t cater to the basic requirement of communicating naturally and with Siri catching the instructions wrong almost all the times, we need this!We need conversational UI to collaborate our needs and push us towards the future. We have outlined a few case-critical reasons to consider:

 

1) The user adoption of texting is huge:

By far messaging has become the top digital activity on the planet. If you are in the customer service business, scaling up by hiring humans may not a smart option. Instead, invest in conversational UI to survive in the long term.

 

2) The Conversational UI is finally functioning seamlessly

As days pass by, technology is advancing  and there is a major transition in using Conversational UI. Today, technology is adapting to the innate way humans communicate. A significant wave of improvement can be seen in interacting with voice UIs (Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant).

Also, the texting interface has been enriched greatly. Now you can add pictures, links, share locations and shop together! This is definitely the extension of our brain, Don’t you think?

 

3) Ecosystems and infrastructure already in place for Conversational UI

At the end of 2017, there were 33 million voice-first devices in US households alone. Needless to say, we are ready for this transition on the infrastructural level.

Previously nascent technologies are holding a strong foot now. The technologies that were used for automated interactions have reached a point where they can add real value.

The days of Siri mishearing your instructions have come to an end. Also, the advancement in the underlying technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP), and Machine Learning (ML), is highly appreciable.

 

Conclusion

When it comes to user interfaces, Conversational UI is not something most people think it is. Conversational UI is about using technology in a way that simplifies the way we communicate with machines. It is not easy to replicate the human interactions but with the available infrastructure, advancement in the underlying technologies, and widespread adoption of conversational interfaces, we are about to enter the world of conversational UI which is carved differently than you would have experienced in the past.

Why Is UI and UX Design for Mobile apps Important? 

How often have you opened an app and closed it because it doesn’t fit your screen, or doesn’t look that appealing, or is just too complicated to navigate? Or do you remember how you felt when you opened an app – excited, bored, or irritated?

So what happens when your app doesn’t match the consumer’s expectations and they face any issue related to your application design – of course, they would choose to uninstall and look for better options. This is where an experienced UI and UX designer comes to your rescue. The design and development industry has withstood the test of time and has evolved to become experiential, innovative, and immersive.

While there are many brands like Swiggy, Airbnb, Uber, Instagram, etc that are actively updating their app designs depending upon the consumer behaviour, there are still few brands that are not giving the attention to the app design that it deserves. Such brands or companies will slowly fade away from consumer’s smartphones and app stores.

In this article, let us look at what is the importance of UI and UX design for mobile apps. But before that, let us understand what does UI and UX mean. User Interface(UI), is a way through which a user interacts with the application. The developers usually aim at providing easy, and effective interactions through UI. User Experience(UX), is about creating a system or application which provides the best experience to the users. UX design aims to keep users engaged by enabling a positive journey on the application.

Importance of UI UX

 

Why does your app need an efficient UI and UX design? 

Living in a fast-paced world, the attention span of customers/users is limited to just a few seconds. It is in these 10-15 seconds that you have to sell them your application and keep them hooked to it. A hooked user will spend more time on your application, and if both of you are on the same page he/she may become a loyal user. So, what is it that can grab a user’s attention in no time? Is it the content or service offering or visuals? Well, it is the UI and UX of the application that helps them to be hooked to an app. A favorable and relevant UI and UX design will help you in keeping your users engaged.

 

So apart from captivating users, here is what UI and UX do:

 

Enhances customer satisfaction and improves ROI

An impressive app with easy to navigate design and compelling content will keep your users satisfied with the services of your application. A happy user is likely to recommend your app to their peers, folks, and friends. This will increases your user database, thereby helping you increase ROI.

 

Understanding audiences and user behaviour 

UI and UX of an app are designed by keeping audiences or users in the core. Once you design your application keeping that in mind, your app will automatically attract the audience it is built for. Furthermore, UI and UX design can help you customise your application for different audience segments, thereby keeping all your audiences sets engaged and happy. Therefore, this is what helps you to convent your prospects to your loyal customers.

Also, the user journey through your app will help you analyse the flaws in your application’s UI and UX design and you can take corrective measures to bridge the gaps.

 

Builds your brand 

A great UI and UX design will keep your audiences engaged, happy, and loyal. People like sticking to applications that make them feel happy and will be the best ambassadors for your band. They add more credibility to your business, which increases your business and brand value.

 

Now you know how crucial the role of UI and UX design is in the success of your application. The only way to ace at your UI and UX design is to understand the pulse of your audience. If you are looking to have a compelling UI and UX design then reach out to us at [email protected] or call +91- 9863077000 and our creative UI and UX design team will you build an efficient and effective UI and UX design for you application.

 

UX design for Enterprise Applications

An introduction to Enterprise Application

Beyond streamlining business processes and functionalities, enterprise applications are now featured with remote mobility and real-time knowledge transfers. They are the oil in the corporate system keeping functions intact and are saving a lot of money, time, and effort. No doubt the dependence on enterprise applications is increasing and they have become indispensable in the contemporary world. As the enterprise apps have a very crucial role to play in the overall operations of any organization, special attention is paid to every aspect of the UX design for enterprise applications. 

These apps can be categorized across several platforms like across intranets, internet, or corporate networks. Usually, enterprise apps are customized to meet the requirements of multi-layer organizations. 

To create one full-fledged dynamic enterprise app, hundreds of separate requirements are knitted together to design a flawless app that delivers assistive, functional, and delightful user experience. As easy and cheesy as it may sound, the designing process of an enterprise app is tiresome and requires patience, commitment, and endless hours of designing. 

 Design-for-effeciency

Why put serious thoughts into designing enterprise apps?

Do you ever buy a piece of clothing that misfits your body? No right?

Precisely why some serious thought process is required while designing enterprise apps! It has to perfectly solve the issues faced by real users. The UX is designed after full comprehension of user requirements, user behavior, user preferences, and pain points that were not addressed by the existing software. Intelligent design will extend the benefits of utility to users, employees, and organizations at large.

If your enterprise app is updated and agile to adapt to changing user requirements, you are already ahead of your competitors who are still using legacy apps. A well-integrated enterprise app that is designed to fulfill the requirements of all business departments is a high-grade tool to boost your business revenues.

Find out how UX design can help increase the performance of enterprise applications:

1. Improves Efficiency: Usually, the enterprise apps are not user-friendly as they are designed based on how the top management wants employees to work. A more productive enterprise app will be the one that assists employees in their work and improves their productivity. 

A user-centric approach is required to bridge the gap between the existing enterprise apps and the actual requirements of the users. A customized UX design will drive better and faster workflows that are easy on the users and will improve the efficiency of the tasks at hand.

2. Data Optimization & Forecasting: Enterprise apps backed by big data capabilities helps in unlocking business insights and actionable opportunities with a single click.

Contrary, corporates of all magnitudes are leveraging big data analytics to drive better comprehension of customer’s needs and behavior. Based on these insights, companies are building products and services around user needs.

3. Less cognitive load: It is often seen that enterprise apps have a cluttered home screen. This inflicts users to deal with confusing options to accomplish a rather simple task. With a cautious effort put in designing, such confusing interfaces can be simplified to minimal and most relevant choices.

It is essential to simplify the home screen. Human abilities to perceive and process data are limited and access to unnecessary information diminishes efficiency at work. With a well-designed interface, the possibility of errors reduces and information can be accessed at a very fast pace.

4. Cost-effective Solutions: The cost benefits of good design are indisputable. With an intuitive interface, little or no training is required for the user to learn how to operate the app. Also, scalability issues and technology redundancy that can lead to ad hoc investments in the future can be optimized by an agile design. This, in turn, will also help to optimize maintenance and set up costs to a major extent.

5. Greater Employee Satisfaction: A digital tool should assist users rather than burdening them with the requirement of understanding complex functions. Hence, simplified interfaces are the most essential elements of user interaction. An intelligent UX design directly relates to lowering the stress levels of the users. Lesser efforts, in turn, result in better productivity.

Roadblocks while designing an Enterprise application

There are sizeable roadblocks in creating a UX driven enterprise app and these require the immediate attention of a UX designer. Also, a proper UX driven app requires investment in terms of time, efforts, and funds. 

Below, we have listed a few roadblocks that you might face while designing an enterprise app.

  1. Cross-platform Integration: The purpose of an enterprise app is that it has to be a single point platform for all organizational needs. It is supposed to be integrated with different types of software, processes, and frameworks, and remain user-friendly across different verticals. This purpose is defeated when the organization proceeds to buy different software at the time of development without considering the integration challenges that can arise at the later stage. At this point, cross-platform integration is a big challenge for UX designers.
  2. Training Sessions: An enterprise application is built to suit the needs of employees from different departments and across different verticals. Separate training sessions will be required to demonstrate the functionalities of the enterprise app. These sessions will also require additional resources.
  3. Iterative Process: As the enterprise app serves multiple purposes at the same time, it is bound to undergo several iterations to achieve a near-to-perfection operative stage. Hence, when you design an enterprise app, be prepared for a long-term association with the project.

With the correct UX design strategy, enterprise applications can do wonders for your organization. Want to build a custom enterprise application for your business? Let’s talk!

How to choose the best UI UX Design studio – The Best Approach & Methodology

A best UI UX design studio that offers comprehensive aspects of design and quality can help you attain an edge over your competitors. It might take you a while to figure out the studio that best caters to your needs, but waiting for the right one is worth it as every company needs a strategic UI UX design partner to ensure its brand and products achieve quality exposure and growth.

If your business needs a design partner, but you confused about how to choose the right one, this piece of information can help. Let’s dive into an overview of UI UX design, and a few factors to consider finding the best design studio for your business.

UI-UX-Design

UI UX Design: An Overview

User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience of a user while using a website or an application. This experience plays a vital role in determining several aspects, such as engagement, conversions, and retention rates. If the experience is clunky, confusing, or frustrating, the user is likely to discontinue using it, whereas, if the experience is pleasant and simple, the consumer will love using it recurrently. The UX design of a product includes several aspects, such as branding, usability, technical side, and of course, the design. A lot depends on the user’s requirements and preferences as well; therefore, make sure to create an accurate buyer persona before commencing the UI UX design process.

 

Before Choosing a Best UI UX Design Studio

Create a base for your design project before contacting a design agency. Here are a few points to include in the short brief you compile.

  •         Your new project end goal
  •         What is your budget
  •         Expected timeline
  •         Exact features list
  •         Target audience and buyer persona

That being said, let’s dive into a few factors to consider to choose the best UI UX design agency for your business.

 

Past Experiences

The primary thing to consider while choosing a design studio is the portfolio of the agency. Having a glance at the past work helps you determine the work style, skillset, and the approach of a company, and it can be a major factor in determining whether the studio suits your requirements or not. A few points to take note of while analyzing the portfolio of an agency are:

  •  Number of projects completed: Be sure the experience the studio claims to have is recorded and is not merely a concept.
  •  Uniqueness: Does all the projects of the agency follow a similar pattern or design trend? It is always better to choose an agency that takes a unique approach to every process.
  •  The Quality of Design: Quality of work is one of the significant aspects to consider while looking at the past work of a studio. Be sure to analyze the spacings, sizes, and navigations used by the agency in its previous designs.
  •  Genuinity of the case study: The ultimate motive of UI UX design is to improve the user metrics apart from enhancing the experience. Check whether the case study includes data like retention, engagement, and conversion metrics.
  •  Explanation of the process and end design goals: The studio should always describe the design process precisely, and if they don’t, they might lack knowledge of their previous work, which is negative. Look for agencies that are connected with their past projects and know their processes along with stats and facts. You can emphasize asking concrete examples of how did they manage to reach specific ends design goals like increased engagement or conversions.
  •  Criticism and Feedback: Hit the web to get a clear idea of what do people talk about the studio, and how does it react to feedback and criticism.

 

The Quality of Communication

The way a studio communicates with you provides an evident idea of the professionalism of the studio. Ideally, an agency should demonstrate enthusiasm and determination to work with you, and if you cannot spot that kind of excitement, maybe you should look for other design partners.

Also, ask them the frequency with which they contact their clients. Transparency and involvement of clients are necessary to ensure project success. A studio should always update you concerning each day’s process and plans for the upcoming days.

 

Design Task Understanding

If a company wants to know the ins and outs of your projects, it is a good sign. A company showing interest in detailed questions and research indicates its involvement and enthusiasm to work with you. Thus, if a studio wants to have a full understanding of your business objectives and requirements before they start, stick to them, and if the agency is willing, to begin with, mockups, look for better options.

 

Project Management

A company’s project managing skills determine how well they can manage a project. A few questions you need to get answered by the studio are:

  •         Will the agency deliver the final design as per the schedule?
  •         How frequently will they update you regarding the progress of the project?
  •         Does the company has some prerequisites or is there anything the company needs?

Having answers to these questions helps you determine how the agency will deliver results. You can also get a vague idea of a studio’s management skills by seeing if they sent the proposal on time, and how often do they communicate.

UI-UX-Studio

Testimonials

Client reviews are one of the best indicators of a studio’s performance. If you know someone who has worked with a design studio, talk to them to gather evidence about how did the agency perform. You can also approach a recent client to get feedback and information. Most importantly, ask if they are willing to work with the company again and the reason for them to do so. Lastly, you can refer to the web and refer some review websites such as Clutch and LinkedIn to get individual ratings and feedbacks.

 

The Team of the Studio

You should always ask for detailed information regarding an agency’s team, product managers, project managers, and creative directors that will be responsible for handling your project’s deliverables, end quality, and communication. The team of the studio might be located in an office or may work remotely; both cases have their set of advantages and disadvantages.

Most importantly, when looking for an agency, talk to the agency lead designer and not just the salesperson or project manager before finalizing.

 

Look for Specialization

Branding solution providers can also provide UI UX design services, but they might not be able to provide best-in-class services like a dedicated UI UX design studio. If you want your product design to have a significant impact on your audience, don’t get lured for one-for-all services and stick to an expert design studio. Even if you are looking for a multi-service agency, make sure its primary skill set is UI UX design. Lastly, the quality and ability of the studio to deal with the desired range of fields or subjects are also essential.

 

Assurance of Quality

The management of quality assurance plays a significant role in UI UX design by ensuring that the delivered products meet the specifications of design and interaction. The studio should plan, direct, and coordinate design quality assurance programs to make sure the final project meets the expectations of the end-users.

 

User Research, Audit, Testing, and Benchmarks

Before hiring a design studio, ensure it has exhaustive experience with the following skills.

  •         User testing and user research
  •         Usability testing and usability studies
  •         UX audit
  •         Usability benchmarking
  •         Wireframe and interaction prototype design
  •         Personas reports
  •         Mockup design
  •         Sitemap, experience Maps, and Information Architecture
  •         User Flows
  •         User Journeys
  •         Final visual design

These skills are essential because the majority of UX UI design is based on user research, testing, personas, and flow designs.

How-to-choose-UI-UX-studio-Methodology

Wrapping It Up

Design is one of the most critical factors in branding your business and determines how your brand is presented in front of its target audience. It also plays a vital role in attracting, engaging, and converting customers, which makes design the topmost priorities for brands and enterprises. Therefore, it is essential to wisely choose a UI UX design studio to ensure your business gets the performance you desire.

To know more about UI UX, visit us today at GoodWorkLabs, and get a free consultation.

UI versus UX: Difference between UI and UX

We all have heard people chatting and walking around the streets of tech cities, talking about the great UX service, about the bad websites, or experts talking about UI and UX Design. UI makes interfaces excellent whereas UX makes them helpful and useful. In this article, we will share the major and primary difference between UX and UI design.

‘Are you never going to be privy to a secret language? Or these people are using slang to look cool!! Let us see what UI vs. UX is in detail.

The User Interface (UI) is at the most basic level a set of screens, pages, and visual items such as buttons and icons which allow a person to interact with a product or service. 

User experience(UX), is a person’s own internal perception when communicating with every component of the products and services of an undertaking.

 

UX is not UI

The process through which a pain point or user need is identified is UX design or user experience design. A raw prototype is drawn from there that is subsequently validated (or invalidated) by testing.

The product is produced when both the business model and the value offer are validated.

User Interface Design = Interaction Design + Visual Design

Visual design is the look and feel of the website. 

Visual Design provides look and feel to your site. The way people communicate with your page is interaction design.

Designers of both UX and UI can still consider UX designers as architects of macro-interactions while UI designers can look after specifics, as developers of micro-interactions. 

A UX developer would typically model the interface experiences, such as steps to register for your newsletter. Which actions are they going to take, and how are they going to know if they succeed?

The model is passed to the user interface programmer. In the newsletter registration process, the UI developer will enhance these experiences with color and focus on the original design. It is a crucial point to consider when it comes to UI vs. UX.

 

User Interface makes the interfaces beautiful whereas UX makes them useful

A valuable service meets the need which is not already being met in the market. A UX designer’s research process includes a competitive analysis, the recruitment of working individuals, and then the production of a minimal, viable, product, or more appropriate, suitable, valuable product. It is confirmed by trials throughout the product’s life cycle.

Upon prototyping and checking the user flow and wireframes, it is the duty of the developer to make them appealing esthetically. It involves choosing an appealing and easy to use color scheme and typography. 

Color choices, typography, and interactions, however, are not based on the personal preference of the designer but on clearly expressed reasons for the people created by the UX developer. 

UI developers create a graphical hierarchy. It directs users to know what to do and when to do so to achieve their goals.

One main goal per page is illustrated by a well-designed hierarchy, which makes clear where and what the user is on the web.

You are going to do this with user-known conventions or patterns. Such patterns can act as instructions for the consumer on how to get there.

 

UX helps users meet their goals, UI allows emotional connections

People visit your site in search of information. You ask questions, you observe people, you interview people, and you can create samples and run a guerrilla experiment to see if you can verify your ideas for company and goods.

 

How do UX and UI designers work together during the design process?

The first step to determine whether to create a service or application is typically UX development and analysis. Most of the work by UX designers is validated or invalidated and guides product development.

After several prototypes have gone through the model, the UI designer has now substantially completed the project and begins the visual design and the micro-interactions.

Many factors depend on this. It may never be a straight road, however. Who manages UX and UI, for example? Is it the same person or another team?

 

UI pertains to interfaces whereas UX employs across the interfaces, services, and products

The design of user experience is a vast field and becomes increasingly popular every day. Today, not just web-based companies, but many others who develop products and offer services can gain an understanding of their customers and test their hypotheses before building them up.

The development of the User Interface is, of course, for UIs only. This doesn’t mean it’s limited to laptops, tablets, and handheld phones’ graphical user interfaces. We also see interfaces for many other items such as watches, washing machines, dashboards, sales machines, ticket kiosks, and many more these days.

You must have read about the application on the iPhone, which unlocks your car door. This array of interactions proves to be much more complicated than just using your key to open the car door. 

We should be vigilant to (again) hold our users at the center of our design process, whether we design for interfaces or experiences.

 

The user experience covers all aspects of the engagement of the end-user with the business, its services, and products

It is a wide definition that includes the interaction a person could have with a product or service— not just a virtual experience.

Many UX practitioners have chosen to call on the expertise of their customers, and others have taken a further leap to refer simply to the field as experiential design.

The original definition of UX is the essence of every logical application layout, all-encompassing, and always human-centered.

UX developers ensure that the organization provides a product or service that meets the customer’s expectations and enables it to reach the desired result smoothly.

UX developers work closely with UI designers, analysts from UX, marketing, and product groups in their research and experimentation on their clients.

We use their observations to iterate and refine services consistently on the basis of both quantitative and qualitative user research.

 

Significant Difference between UX and UI

UI comprises all the elements that allow someone to connect with a product or service at the most basic level. On the other hand, UX takes away the whole experience from the person who interacts with this product or service.

For example, take Google. Its familiar Spartan interface shows how a pleasant experience does not need whistles or bells.

Through focusing on the client, Google knows that they are after one thing: data when they come to the web. 

The fact that Google is a generally-accepted term demonstrates the success and ambition of the business. Almost anything a person has ever wanted to know can be found at a glance, and few other search engines still exist.

Imagine now that it took 15 seconds to get a result each time you searched for Google–the question could not be answered instantly anymore.

The interaction with Google would be quite different, even if the interface remains the same.

 

Does UI weigh  more than UX?

  • Different people take on this subject differently.
  • UX focuses on the experience of the user; the user interface focuses on how the surfaces of a product look and work
  • The UX developer deals with the development issues so that the client concentrates on more specific elements
  • UI is the bridge we want to get to, UX is our feeling of arriving.
  • UI concentrates on the service, a selection of images in time. UX focuses on the consumer and the brand journey.
  • UX covers all the interactions that the user has with a product or service, and UI is unique to how people interact with a product or service.

 

In a nutshell

When UX began to be a household term — at least on a corporate level— it was not rare for people to mix and swap words. Although the user experience sector will no doubt continue to develop, the vital role played by each discipline in the broader domain of human-centered design is crucial to understand.

What do you think? What is UI vs. UX? Does this mean different things, if it is used interchangeably? Think about it and visit us today at GoodWorkLabs

Why it is important to maintain Design Consistency

Why it is important to maintain Design Consistency

 

Designing is an art. And art, unlike most things, is not supposed to be the same. It needs to be varying, dynamic, adaptive and appealing.  The norm of compliance to rules is something that does not apply to designing.

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A Beginner’s Guide to AngularJS Technology

Angular JS Technology – The tech that rules the Internet

Often described as the HTML for applications and software, AngularJS is one of the go-to tools for frontend programming nerds. An extension of Java, this frontend framework does have several features that set it apart from contemporary tools. One of the most noticeable features of AngularJS is its application on the internet. It can be argued that the use of AngularJS has made web browsers and their various extensions more interesting. Let us have a look at what makes this particular tool such a top draw.

Angular JS

What is AngularJS?

When talking about AngularJS there are two words that quickly follow – ‘user interface’. UI is one of the most desired aspects of a website that draws in viewers and influences their choice to make use of its various features. AngularJS is primarily used to develop applications for the internet. Since it was first launched in 2009, most applications and websites have made use of AngularJS to a great extent. AngularJS has built-in directives which are applied to incorporate new syntax into browsers.

Features 

While in its essence AngularJS may seem like any other framework with several similarities, but what truly sets it apart is its comprehensive set of features that cover pretty much any requirement you might have as a web application developer. So let us have a look at some of the most prominent features that have made AngularJS so popular.

1) The AngularJS Community: Given its decade-long existence and the number of users it has worldwide, AngularJS has a well-developed community which serves as a repository of information which includes tutorials, tips, guides etc. The wealth of experience within the community is also something that makes this framework desirable.

2) Open Source Coding: AngularJS makes use of open-source codes which allow a great deal of flexibility for developers. The freedom to customize as the developer wishes is something that will eventually lead to better quality of a product. The level of security that this framework offers is another desirable aspect of its open source nature.

3) Documentation: AngularJS offers comprehensive documentation with all the desirable features one might possibly need to get working.

4) Two-Way Data Binding: Possibly the most desired aspect of angularJS. This type of binding facilitates the cohesion between the DOM and the model that you are using. The simplicity of this binding process is truly an appealing factor.

5) Templates: The templates that Angular JS has to offer are in traditional HTML. AngularJS acts as a buffer between the DOM and browser as it feeds the template into the browser.

6) The architecture: While AngularJS does not fully utilize the model-view-controller (MVC) architecture, it does apply the basic principles. The way in which it functions, it would be more appropriate to say that it uses the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM). This model offers the perfect environment to begin crafting your application.

 

What’s new with AngularJS

Being an Open source framework, Angular users enjoy constant updates for the main framework as well as all extensions. The latest version of AngularJS, version 5.1 was released in december 2016 along with the updated version 1.6 of Angular CLI. While the framework update does not have many new features, many of the bugs in the previous versions have been fixed in this version. The regular freezes and crashes have been minimized. One of the stability fixes made is in the Service Worker package which was previously experiencing several crashes on loading. Another update added in 5.1 is the i18n update which now allows you to set local ids and customize them.

How Relevant will AngularJS be for your Future

Given its general nature and purpose, AngularJS faces severe competition in the market. There are many alternatives that are in use today for the same purpose. However, the same can be said of Java on which all these tools run.

Angular’s appeal at this point is at its highest. Developers prefer the use of Angular because of its directives and the wide range of possibilities they entail. While Python related tools do pose a threat to AngularJS, its relatively brief legacy, for now, remains unchallenged and the testaments of its potential are more than serve as a deterrent to switching completely to alternatives.

 

10 Do’s and Don’ts of UI and UX design

We people somehow always like the human touch – the idea of going to a grocery store to buy things, taking an up-close look of the product we are going to pay for and looking for precisely tailored experiences. Convenience doesn’t mean that we close our eyes to what is being delivered to our doorsteps. This is where UI and UX play a major role in defining our online experiences. Like we don’t want to stand in a queue for buying movie tickets, we also don’t like waiting for a slow loading page or a slow transaction process. Convenience in the internet platform is being able to order products and access information right when we need them and be on our way. Ecommerce stores have begun to understand this inherent need of the online consumers. Consequently, they are investing more time and money into catering experiences that are friendly and qualitative.

10 do’s and don’ts of UI and UX design

Since the modern marketplace has been taken to a new platform, it comes with several new challenges. Here are 5 do’s and 5 don’ts that every ecommerce business need to be wary of.

The Do’s

  1. Consistent experience regardless of the access device: An ecommerce store can be accessed from a variety of devices ranging from traditional desktop screens to smaller smart phones. However, it is necessary that the experience remains consistent throughout. A user graduating from desktop environment to a smart phone screen should be able to navigate with the same intuitiveness.
  2. Recognizable navigation: Adding to the above point, it is necessary that users understand the layout of the online marketplace, regardless of the device. This would allow them faster access to the required content / product / service.
  3. Visitor demand being the focal point in the screen: Users visit a website / app searching for specific items, be it information or products. It is the task of the UI designer to make the desired information the focal point in the landing page/screen. This ensures that the visitor is satisfied right away.
  4. Working links: Users don’t want to go through the complete ordering process only to find out that the order cannot be shipped to the desired location in the last page. The frustration is the same when you have broken or erroneous links in your online marketplace.

Customized browsing experience: Let the users be the boss of how they would like to shop. Forced upon subscriptions, campaign videos and automatic scrolling takes away the control from the user.

The Don’ts

  1. Design hindering readability: Many a times, in an effort to create a highly graphic website, UI designers sacrifice upon the readability of the content. This is a strict ‘no’.
  2. Lack of user control on scrolling: Just like we would like to research different products on the store shelf before choosing one, the online buyer too likes to get as much information about a product before placing an order. They scan for visual clues that should give them access to more information. If you start removing these elements from the screen, the user is confused and will switch to a different store!
  3. Filling the screen with irrelevant content: Understand that the online shopping is always in a hurry. Giving them irrelevant information will only frustrate them.
  4. Slow loading pages / content: Again, online shoppers don’t have the time for the content or the product image to load. They want everything instantly.
  5. Having several things competing for attention: Including UI elements that fight for attention will only confuse the user. Follow a visual hierarchy in everything that you integrate into a webpage.

 

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