The day you became a better UI designer
The most important principles of good UI design, so you don't have to spend years to learn them.
Inspired by The day you became a better writer by Scott Adams.
I’ve been studying design for more than 6 years. I became a better designer the day I realized that good design is about applying a few basic principles. I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I’ll share with you the most important ones so you don’t have to spend years to learn them.
UI design is about clarity and usability. The secret is keeping things simple. A well-designed interface with fewer elements will be more user-friendly than a complex one. Every element should have a purpose.
Don’t invent new ways to do things. Use patterns that are already known. Users are used to them and will feel more comfortable.
Learn how the brain reads information. Users start reading from the top-left and end in the bottom-right. Use this to your advantage.
Making your design aesthetic is a secondary step. Polish the elements you already have instead of adding new ones.
Typography
- Use a maximum of 2 fonts.
- For long texts use a simple and easy-to-read font.
- For titles use a more expressive font (optional).
- For hierarchy use font-size and font-weight.
Colors
- Use few colors – a primary color + neutrals is enough.
- For important elements use your primary color.
- For communicating success use green.
- For communicating danger or errors use red.
- For everything else use neutrals.
Space
- Add enough space between elements so they don’t look tight.
Break these rules only if you have a good reason to do so.
That’s it. You just learned 80% of the rules of good UI design. You’re welcome.