Tools for User Interface Designers

For every application that’s developed by software engineers, there are always designers included in the process to make the visuals enticing. Software engineers know the logistics and the coding of an application, but they have minut experience on designing appealing software.

In designing the visual peripherals of software, it’s the same as designing the interior and exterior of your room to designing a pair of sneakers. The designer is using the same set of skills to unify the product and engaging consumers.

I’ve been passionate about art since I was six-years-old. I’ve transitioned from pen and paper to the digital world. Below are some advice to keep in mind when designing software, web development, graphic designing, and etc.. These rules and advices are what I’ve compiled from art classes, college, and the real world.

  1. Does your artwork have a color scheme? This is the number 1 basic rule for art! Establish a color scheme. Ex. : complimentary, supplementary, warm colors, cool colors, analogous, monochromatic, and etc..
  2. Is there a focal point? How many are there? Too many will cause your viewer to be confused. What’s the point of your work?
  3. Is there unity? Does your work look like 5 different people worked on it? Inconsistent styles? If there’s no unity, then there’s no harmony in your work. Trust me, people can tell. Apple does a perfect job in product designing. You can tell if it’s an Apple product or not.
  4. Don’t have mismatched fonts. I try to keep my design under 3-4 fonts. Too many different fonts does cause fragmentation as well.
  5. If you’re designing software, know who your target audience is. This is self-explanatory.
  6. What sets your design apart? Differentiation? Why design something that is so generic? Designs are suppose to be visually-engaging. Designing generically causes your design to be lost and unrecognized.

www.smashingmagazine.com is a great resource of interactive designers to use. They have free resources and tools.