You’ve probably heard about UI/UX. UI means user interface, and UX is short for user experience. But don’t worry, I won’t get too technical here. I’ll just help you understand the basics of design.

Many clients have approached us, wondering about our approach to design. Our quick answer is that design should be practical, simple, and functional. Anything more than these three principles becomes unnecessary. If you are looking for something more in depth, I suggest you to skip this article. I am sharing what I know so far about design and my experience working with more than 100 clients.

Simple?

“Simple” is a word that can be intimidating for our designers. It’s tricky because simplicity isn’t always straightforward. When we say “basic,” it’s closely linked to simplicity. We ensure that buttons and certain functions are logical for the users. We consider where a user’s finger naturally goes when using an app, or where their eyes usually go when taking action on a website. Once a designer grasps how humans interact with devices, we can concentrate on creating a straightforward design for human interaction.

We ensure that buttons and certain functions are logical for the users. We consider where a user’s finger naturally goes when using an app, or where their eyes usually go when taking action on a website.
When working with clients, our aim is to guide them towards the main goal, which is often to make things user-friendly. Yet, there are instances when both clients and ourselves lose sight of keeping things simple while striving for ease. Easy and basic are distinct elements in design. Basic involves simplifying without excessive flair, while easy means ensuring straightforward functionality.

Practical

Practicality means something is valuable, efficient, and fits real-life scenarios. As you continually update your platform and digital trends evolve, maintaining practicality becomes a challenge. When we assess practicality and effectiveness, speed also becomes a crucial factor.

Speed pertains to the quickness of transitioning between different screens. While you might initially associate this with functionality rather than design, as previously mentioned, our approach to design encompasses functionality. Expanding on this, the concept of practicality includes aspects like content arrangement, image placement, and space utilization.
You might have noticed platforms with stunning designs that attract fewer users, while there are platforms with basic designs boasting a larger user base. This underscores the fact that design is more than just aesthetics; it’s about ensuring a practical and effective user experience.

Functional

The size of the buttons, the placement of buttons, the screen size, and everything else that centers around prompting a user to take action contributes to the aspect of functionality.

You may have encountered instances while interacting with an app where buttons are positioned below the screen or hidden behind the camera area, especially on an iPhone. This situation exemplifies what we consider non-functional design - it lacks logical placement.

As a designer, comprehending not just how humans interact with the device but also evaluating the device and its functionalities is essential. A functional design ensures that the intended purpose of the product, whether it’s an app, a website, a physical object, or any other creation, is achieved with optimal usability and practicality.