Hello I want to learn more on UI design

[sterile mountain]

Hi Onyeka, what sort of experience do you have with UI design so we can work out what might be the next steps for you.

[gray jungle]

Well, i have learnt the use of typography, visual appealing layout and currently learning micro-interactions

[sterile mountain]

That's good to hear. I would suggest that a really good way of thinking about the building blocks of how to approach UI design is to read a bit more into usability. It helps to step from something purely visual to designs that allow people to use it.

I'd recommend reading this to learn more about usability - https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/

Anthony here does a good job of explaining UI design fundamentals - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e1QUxQHEXw&list=RDCMUCunujHJJR_W5OmDph5A3fEg&index=17

[gray jungle]

Thanks sir, but I've read on the 10 heuristic principles. But how do I apply them and a working product

[sterile mountain]

That's great, so if we zoom out of the end-to-end design process, the UI design aspect comes towards the end and there are a few steps that need to happen before that.

I'll give you a summarised version of a methodology that we have developed over time at work to ensure consistent outputs.

1. We begin by gaining a thorough understanding of what the problem is, why we're doing it and determining how we know what we're designing works. (why, what, how). Once we do that we take the problem away and conduct the relevant user research studies.

2. We then look to define and focus our effort through evaluating the research that was done. This is done by defining specific context and desired outcomes.

3. The third phase is about generating a broad range of ideas quickly, while meeting the narrowed scope of focus. (Sketching/drawing activities)

4. UI design section. The next steps are to turn those initial ideas into something that reflects the look and feel of the product so that we can use as a platform to prototype and test. If you haven't already, this is when you should ensure that you are applying the heuristics against your designs. (This is usually done in a design tool, Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD etc.)