13 Useful UI Design Articles for UX Practitioners

Check out these 13 useful articles on interface design as picked by our design team:

1. What Is Zero UI? (And Why Is It Crucial to the Future of Design?) (Fast Company)

Zero UI is a style that’s been looming in the shadow for some time, but is just now emerging. The idea is easy to understand — the less the user has to think about the interface, the better and more natural it feels. John Brownlee explains the specifics, and how this style is changing everything.

2. When It Comes to UX Design, Simplicity is Overrated (Wired)

UX designers take it as dogma that UIs should be simple, but what does that really mean? Robert Hoekman Jr. challenges our preconceptions of “simple,” and dissects what is the true attractive element in these rather complex interfaces.

3. Kill Friction Before It Kills Your UX (UXPin Blog)

Friction is one of the biggest obstacles to a smooth UI and a pleasing UX. Jerry Cao analyzes the enemy and provides some bold tactics for getting rid of it (plus explaining the rare times when friction is helpful).

4. 7 Unbreakable Laws of User Interface Design (99 Designs)

This article might as well be part of the UI design canon. Peter Vukovic outlines 7 tenets that every designer should know by heart, and discusses the best practices for implementing them. A must-read for beginners, but experts might learn something new as well.

5. Bad User Interface Design Is Death by a Thousand Cuts (Boagworld)

UX expert Paul Boag gives his take on UI design in the form of a warning. Succinct and to the point, this quick read points out some common UI mistakes and strategies to avoid them.

6. 5 Psychology Secrets for Great Interaction Design (The Next Web)

UI design deals with more than just the intricacies of technology, but also the intricacies of the human mind. Jerry Cao gives 5 techniques for UI design taken straight from the psychology books, because the user is the most important part of the user interface.

7. Why White Space is Crucial to UX Design (Fast Company)

An article all about how fulfilling nothing can be. Written by our design team, this piece explains how negative space (white space) can increase comprehension and readability, and also influence the visual hierarchy of a screen.

8. Incorporating UI Design in Agile Sprints (Mountain Goat Software)

Agile isn’t just a trending buzz word; its popularity is thanks to its effectiveness. Hence the success of the Agile sprint, a process of rapidly designing and testing for a short period, or “sprint.” Mike Cohn explains the role of the UI designer in such a sprint.

9. 32 Inspiring Mobile App UI Designs with Amazing User Experience (Graphic Design Junction)

Sometimes learning through example is more effective than being taught. Muhammad Faisal lists 32 mobile apps with exemplary UI designs. Just browsing through these screenshots is bound to inspire new ideas.

10. The “Liking” Principle in User Interface Design (Nielsen Norman Group)

Jennifer Cardello describes why being liked is more than just vanity, it’s actually good for business. She goes into the science behind likability and the power of social influence, breaking it down into practical and replicable tips for any UI.

11. UX is UI (Medium)

True, there are a lot of articles dedicated to explaining the differences between UX and UI, but Mike Atherton’s insightful piece looks at how they are interconnected. This is a thought-provoking read to help UI and UX designers to better understand their crafts.

12. Approaches for Multiplatform UI Design Adaptation: A Case Study (Smashing Magazine)

Written with the precision of a scientific journal, this article by Sergii Ganushchak & Kate Abrosimova explores how to create consistent UIs across multiple platforms, drawing on examples from companies like Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber, and Airbnb.

13. How to Use the Best UI Patterns (UXPin Blog)

Jerry Cao gives us an all-encompassing primer on UI patterns. This cover-all feature explains everything you need to know about UI patterns: their classification, the step-by-step procedure for implementing them, and links to the most use pattern libraries online.

Takeaway

If you’d like to take your design knowledge to next level, check out a few of our downloadable UI design books, all for free.

Web UI Design for the Human Eye, contains three full volumes on the peculiarities of human sight, and how UI designers can take advantage of them.

Volume I discusses color theory in interface design, how to optimize layout spacing, and the importance of contrast. Volume II present the most useful visual content patterns, and guidelines for typography. Volume III explains how visual consistency is more than just a polish; it actually improve usability.

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