Outline
I. UI Design in Modern Application
II. The Art & Science of Layouts
III. UI Typography: Guidelines & Common Mistakes
IV. Guide to Fantastic Color Usage
V. Usability Principles for Modern UI Design
VI. Common UI Design Patterns
Section 1
UI DESIGN IN MODERN
APPLICATION
What Is A User Interface?
“The way that you
accomplish tasks with a
product –
what you do and how it
responds –
that’s the interface”
— Jef Raskin
What Is A User Interface?
Good Interaction Design
is Learnable.
What Is A User Interface?
88%
79% of users will search for
of site users are less likely to
return to a website after a
negative experience
Source: econsultancy.com
another website to complete
their task
IF content is not optimized
Source: Experience Dynamics
UI Design in Modern Application
• User Interface (UI) is not about how it
looks, but rather about how it works.
• Interface is your product.
• Primary aim: communication.
• The main goal in UI design:
Simple & elegant, clear & consistent.
8 Characteristics in
Good UI Design
1. Clarity 5. Consistency
2. Concision 6. Aesthetics
3. Familiarity 7. Efficiency
4. Responsiveness 8. Forgiveness
Main Building Blocks of
Visual Interface Design
• Layout & Positioning
• Shape & Size
• Color
• Contrast
• Texture
Practical Techniques for
Crafting Effective UI
Practical Techniques for
Crafting Effective UI
Use White Space To
Build Relationships
• Definition of white space
– empty spaces between various content elements
• Great tool to tell relationships between content
elements.
Rounded Corners
Define Boundaries
• Aside from polishing your interface, rounded
corners actually defines borders
Convey meaning with colors
Direct Attention
• Use animation to direct attention.
• Color and contrast are not enough.
Shadows And Darkened
Background For Focus
Source: vhc.apptivity.com
Emphasize Core Actions
• Shift focus to primary actions for your user
Use Hover Controls To
Simplify & De-clutter
Hover controls: De-clutter:
Labels Inside Input Fields
• Save space & emits clear messages
Context-sensitive
Interface Element
• Additional functionality for experienced users
without complicating the interface
Icons
• Good practices of modern icon design are as listed in
Android Launcher icon design guidelines:
Source: developer.android.com
Make It Responsive:
Loading Indicators & Pressed State
Do not make
your user wait
without any
indicators
Undo & Restore
• Be forgivable
• Provide extra protective measures for your
users
Confirmation Dialogs
• To ensure that the user really wants to go
ahead
• Always provide other options close by
• Do not overuse: will introduce interface friction
(kaizen)
“UI design, especially in modern web application,
doesn’t have to be in a finished state because you
can always keep evolving it and improving it.”
Dmitry Fadeyev
Designer/Developer
Founder of usabilitypost.com, themesboutique.com,
logospire.com
Section 2
THE ART & SCIENCE OF
LAYOUTS
Four Major Layout Types
Fixed-
Width
Layout
Hybrid Fluid
Types
Elastic
Fixed-Width Layout
• Static grid layout with its width with fixed
value, in pixel unit.
• Good for precise interface design.
• Not recommended for Web application.
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width= "200" />
<ColumnDefinition Width="200" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
</Grid>
Fluid Layout
• Adjust its width in proportion to the size of the
user’s view port.
• Provides user the freedom to resize the
application.
• Designer must design carefully: resize impact
on text display and overall interface.
<Grid>
<Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
<ColumnDefinition Width= "200*" />
<ColumnDefinition Width= "Auto" />
</Grid.ColumnDefinitions>
</Grid>
Elastic (Zoomable) Layout
• Scale the content instead of overall size of the
layout.
• Advantage: design proportion is well kept, ensuring
proper readability & positioning.
• Disadvantage: design proportion are not easy to keep
when manipulating with text size.
• Silverlight tool for image manipulation:
– Silverlight Deep Zoom
Mathematics in Design
Golden Ratio Design
• The Golden Ratio
layout (1:1.618033987)
• Good practice in
layout designs
• Best for photo
galleries, portfolios
and product-oriented
websites.
Calculation with Golden Ratio
62% 38%
To calculate the width of Golden
Ratio, get total width of a
rectangle and divided by 1.616
(top). Apply the Golden Ratio to
get the height for a specific
rectangle based on the total
width of the rectangle (right).
Golden Ratio Sample Layout (1)
Source: net.tutsplus.com
Golden Ratio Sample Layout (2)
• 6 Golden Rectangles,
3 rectangles per line,
each 299 x 185 pixels.
• 299/185 = 1.616
Source: spacegeek.com
Mathematics in Design
Fibonacci Design
• Based on
Fibonacci sequence
– 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5,
8, 13, 21, 34,
55, 89, 144...
• The Golden Spiral
• Applicable to layout
and font size
• Best for blogs and magazine layouts
Fibonacci Design Sample Layout
Fibonacci
sequence
on columns
and font size
Gutenberg Rules
• Defines Reading gravity.
Applying Gutenberg Rules
Source: goodbarry.com
Section 3
UI TYPOGRAPHY: GUIDELINES
& COMMON MISTAKES
Introduction
• Typography is a powerful medium that
allows for precise, effective
communication.
• Typography exists to bring orders to
information by dividing and organizing
– i.e.: make textual stuff looks pretty!
Designer’s Main Concern
• Readability
• Measure (Line Length) - Width of the block
• Leading (Line Height) - Height of a line in the block
• Tracking (Letter Spacing)
– Tips: check if “VV” and “W” are distinguishable
• Word Spacing
• Color: Strive for consistency.
Typography & Grid
Example of modern Typography UI with good use of grid & negative space:
Source: www.montylounge.com
Choosing the “Right” Type
• Consider context & narrative
– “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”
• Choose by the typeface’s specific functions
– Brush Script is common, with its bad readability,
it is not built for serious text blocks.
– Microsoft Expression Blend choose Segoe UI as
default font for good readability.
Choosing the “Right” Type
A beautiful face is
the one that serves
its purpose.
Both typefaces are from
the serif family,
however, Haptic (left) is
attention-seeking header,
Mrs. Eaves XL (right) is for
good readability
Good Font Size
• Define a set of font size and do not change
• Classic scale:
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 18 21 24 36 48 60 72
• Fibonacci Sequence:
8 16 24 40 64 104
Good Practice
• Pay attention to Widows and Orphans
– Creates awkward rags, impairing readability.
“An orphan is left behind where as a widow must go on alone”
This is bad for UI design.
Good Practice (cont)
• Clean rags and hyphenation
5 hyphenations A poor rag (top)
in a row is creates distracting
unforgivable (top), shapes in the white
this can easily space of the margin.
avoided by Correct this by
changing the line making manual line
breaks (bottom) breaks (bottom).
Source: fonts.com
Good Practice (cont)
• Hanging punctuation
– Place bullets points, punctuation marks before a
justified paragraph.
– Avoiding reader’s flow to be disrupted
Good Practice (cont)
• Treat text as a user interface
Source: cameronmoll.com
Common Mistakes in Typography
• Using double hyphens instead of resized dash
• Using periods instead of ellipses
• Using dumb quotes "" instead of “”
• Double-spacing between sentences
Common Mistakes in Typography
(cont)
• Improvising a copyright symbol.
• Using too much emphasis.
• Underlining your hypertext links with border-
bottom
Common Mistakes in Typography
(cont)
• Faking families in Photoshop
• Not using accent characters
• R4nDomz cAp!taLizAti0n & uNNec3s2ary
sYmBÖlz! \(Öᴥ<)/
• Comic Sans is a sin! Do not use!
Section 4
GUIDE TO FANTASTIC COLOR
USAGE
Simple Must-Do List
When Designing with Color
1. Choose the right color palette
2. Pump your color schemes to your
prototype
3. Get feedbacks
1. Choose the Right Color Palettes
• Understand the meaning of colors
Warm Colors
• Red (Primary), Orange (Secondary),
Yellow(Primary)
• Reflects passion, happiness,
enthusiasm, and energy.
Warm Colors
• Red – hot & emotional color.
Keywords: fire, violence warfare, love, passion, anger, importance
• Bright Red = energetic; Dark red = Powerful & elegance
Source: darkcrimson.com
Warm Colors
Orange
– vibrant and
energetic color.
Keywords: Friendly,
Inviting, Change
and Movement
Source: neighborino.com
Warm Colors
Yellow –
brightest/energizing
color. Keywords:
happiness, sunshine,
deceit, cowardice,
danger
Source: foodtease.com
Cool Colors
• Green(Secondary), Blue(Primary), Purple
(Secondary)
• They are the colors of night, of water,
of nature, and are usually calming,
relaxing, and somewhat reserved.
Cool Colors
• Green – down-to-earth color.
Keywords: new beginnings, growth, renewal, abundance,
jealousy, inexperience
• Bright green = energetic; dark green = stability
Source: i-avion.com
Cool Colors
• Blue – emotional-impact color.
Keywords: sadness, calmness, responsibility, peace, spiritual
• Light Blue = Calm; Bright Blue = Energetic; Dark Blue = Reliable
Source: sman96.com
Cool Colors
• Purple –royalty color.
Keywords: creativity, imagination, romance
• Light Purple = Romantic; Dark Purple = Wealth & Royalty
Source: avantgrape.com
Neutral Colors
• Neutral colors often works as backdrop colors.
– Associates with Warm and Cool colors
Neutral Colors
• Black : Mystery, Elegance, Evil
• Gray : Moody, Conservative, Formality
• White : Purity, Cleanliness, Virtue
• Brown : Nature, Wholesomeness, Dependability
• Tan or Beige : Conservative, Piety, Dull
• Cream or Ivory : Calm, Elegant, Purity
Neutral Color
• But they can also be used on their own in designs, and
can create very sophisticated layouts.
Source: timeger.com
Pick Your Palettes
• Color Palette is your color scheme
Example of Monochromatic Color Palette
• Pick your favorite tone that matches the
mood of your application and generates
a color scheme that goes well with it.
• Tips & tricks:
– Use a good photograph to create a color scheme.
– Get sample color palettes from 3rd parties
Pick Your Palettes
• Get colors from your environment
Pick Your Palettes
• With Photoshop
• With Kuler
Pick Your Palettes
• With Photoshop
• With Kuler
Color Schemes Samples
Scheme
Color Schemes Samples
Awesome Tools
for Color Picking
• Adobe’s Kuler
– https://color.adobe.com
Community based
• ColoRotate
– http://www.colorotate.org/
– Color Generator for the
Colorblinds
Awesome Tools
for Color Picking
• Color Blender
– http://www.colorblender.com
– Auto generates palettes
• COLOURlovers
• http://www.colourlovers.com/
– A network of colour lovers!
2. Pump Your Color Schemes
To Your Prototype
• Draft out your prototype on a piece of paper or
on Expression Blend, preferably in
monochromatic outlines only.
• Reconsider of your color palettes:
– Which color represents your application the most?
• Fill the colors and experiments with different
combinations
– Which color is the most suitable for a
particular part of the application?
3. Get Feedbacks
After reviewing your UI design, get feedbacks
from:
• Your team members & mentor
• Your users or clients
• The professionals
• Your family members & best friends
• And any public citizen who is not afraid to mock
your design…
Section 5
USABILITY PRINCIPLES FOR
MODERN UI DESIGN
Usability?
• The ability to use something and how easy that
something can be used.
• How we measure usability of a product?
– Requires less mental effort to use.
– Less mistakes when using it.
– Do more, with less (steps, clicks, etc).
– Intuitive: Easy to learn/use & familiar to user.
Usability: Rules & Principles
• 7 2 Principle (Web app)
– Humans’ short term memory can retain only about 5-9
things at one time (George A. Miller)
– Limit no. of options in any navigation menu to 7 2.
Usability: Rules & Principles
• 2-Second-Rule (All)
– User should not wait more than 2 seconds for any
response.
– ‘Tell’ the user if they really need to wait > 2 secs.
– Example: Progress bar, Facebook ‘loading’
animation.
Usability: Rules & Principles
• 3-Click-Rule (All)
– Access information/feature within 3 clicks.
– Emphasizes the importance of clear navigation,
logical structure and easy-to-follow hierarchy.
Usability: Rules & Principles
• Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design (All)
– Strive for consistency.
• Button’s name.
– Enable frequent users to use shortcuts.
• Keyboard shortcuts in Firefox, Gmail.
– Offer informative feedback.
• Saving a file.
– Design dialog to yield closure.
• Account creation.
Usability: Rules & Principles
• Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design (All)
– Offer simple error handling.
• Minimize error, graciously handles errors. Ex: date input.
– Permit easy reversal of actions.
• Undo/back option.
– Provide the sense of control.
• User control app, don’t force/control user.
– Reduce short-term memory load.
• No information overload, offer hints/getting started guide.
Section 6
COMMON UI DESIGN
PATTERNS
Pattern?
• A pattern describes an optimal solution to a
common problem within a specific context.
Design pattern?
Selected Design Patterns
• Auto Complete
– Allows faster user
input by removing
ambiguity about
expected input
data, avoiding
potential mis-typed
information as well
as narrowing down
the correct choices.
Selected Design Patterns
• Movable Panels
– Allows users to organize information that make
sense to them.
Selected Design Patterns
• Calendar/Date Picker
– Enables users to easily apply or submit a date or
date range with some default values.
Selected Design Patterns
• Progress/Busy Indicator
– Allows the user to know the status of their operation
if the operation takes more than 2 secs or so.
Selected Design Patterns
• Input Hints
– Some explanation and/or examples of valid values
near fields to give users hints at the kind of input
they need to provide.
Selected Design Patterns
• Sortable Table
– Allow users to change the sorting order of the table
items by clicking on a column header.
Resources
• “The Smashing Book” by Smashing Networks
• Smashing Networks
– http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
• Yahoo Design Pattern Library
– http://developer.yahoo.com/ypatterns/
• Designing Interfaces
– http://designinginterfaces.com/
