Creating the best chocolate brownies will require both UX and UI. I'm serious. To get started, you will need a recipe, ingredients, kitchen utensils, and an oven. Then: mix, bake, cut, arrange on plates, serve and eat.

But what is UX and what is UI? The manufacturing process is UX, and the plating and serving process is UI.

What about eating? This is UX; except when it's not UX. Will the consumer get a different experience if the cakes are served straight from the pan or beautifully arranged on a plate? I would say yes, the latter would be preferable.

In this article, I will share with you five differences between UX and UI design. Let's hope that by the end of it, you will have a better idea about them. I must say right away that although you will notice differences, some of them will be very similar to each other.

With that caveat, let's take a look at some of the differences between the two.

UX is not UI

UX design, or user experience design, is the process by which a need is identified. A rough prototype is then drawn, which is later confirmed (or not) by testing. When both the business model and the value proposition are confirmed, the product is ready.

You can think of UI, or user interface design, like this:

User Interface Design = Visual Design + Interaction Design.

Visual design is how the site looks, its personality, if you will; brand. Interaction design is how people interact with your site. When someone presses a button, does it change in such a way as to indicate that it has been pressed?

While both UX and UI designers create interactions, UX designers can be thought of as architects of macro interactions, while UI designers are micro-interaction creators that deal with the details.

According to designer Nick Babich:

“The best products do two things well: features and details. Features are what draw people to your product. Details are what keep them.”

A UX designer is more likely to design user flows, the steps a user will take to, for example, sign up for a newsletter. What steps will they follow and how will they know they have succeeded?

The project then goes to the UI designer. The UI designer enhances these interactions by adding color and emphasizing original design, giving them hints, and showing them directions to the newsletter.

UI makes interfaces beautiful

A useful product satisfies a need that the market has not yet encountered. The research process of a UX designer involves competitive analysis, developing personas, and then creating a minimum viable product; a product that will be valuable to your target audience. This is confirmed by testing throughout life cycle product.

Once the user flows and wireframes are prototyped and tested, it's up to the UI designer to make it all look nice. This includes choosing a color scheme and design that is both beautiful and easy to use. However, color choices, typography, and interactions are not based on a designer's personal preferences, but on well-articulated, persona-specific reasons designed by UX designers. With their help, UI designers implement a visual hierarchy that will serve as a guide for users, explaining to them what and when to do in order to achieve their goal.

A well-designed hierarchy will highlight one main goal per page, letting users know where they are on the site and what they can do at any given time. this moment time. The hierarchy will handle this with conventions and patterns already familiar to users. These templates will guide users in the direction.

UX Helps Users Achieve Goals

UI creates emotional connections

People come to your site to do something. Perhaps someone is looking for a dog for a small apartment.

The UX side of things can look at people like dog lovers and try to figure out what's important to them. What do they value or need when seeking help choosing their furry friend? To understand this, they start work. They ask questions, observe people, interview people, maybe make prototypes and do some guerrilla testing to see if they can help them.

Once you've got the basic usability set up, according to Aaron Walter, author of Design for Emotion, your user loyalty will depend on the personality of your interface. A bright design can attract people to your site, they may even stay if there is something to be done there. And when a personal connection is formed, they are on the hook. Does your interface make them laugh? Does he grab them? How cheeky is he? Aaron says: "People will forgive your shortcomings, follow you, and sing your praises if you reward them with positive emotions." This is where the UI designer comes in.

UX design is created first

Then (sometimes) the UI design is created

How do UX and UI designers work together throughout the design process?

As a rule, UX design and research are the first steps in deciding whether to create a product or application. UX designers do most of the research that confirms or refutes initial product ideas and guides product development.

After the prototype has been tested a few times and is almost ready, the UI designer steps in and starts working on the visual design and micro-interactions.

However, this path is not always linear and depends on many factors. For example:

• Who is responsible for UX and UI?
• The same person, or someone else, and a different team?

UX is used in all products, interfaces and services

UI refers only to interfaces

User experience design is a vast field, and it is becoming more and more popular every day. Nowadays, not only companies using the web, but many others developing products or providing services are beginning to grasp the value of understanding their users and validating hypotheses before the creation process begins.

User interface design is for user interfaces. This does not mean that it is limited to graphic user interface computers, tablets, and mobile devices. These days, interfaces can be found in many other products such as watches, washing machines, car dashboards, vending machines, and more.

I recently read about an iPhone app that unlocks your car door. It turns out that this set of interactions takes many more steps than just using a key to open a door. Whether we are designing for an interface or an experience, we must ensure that our users stay at the heart of the process.

conclusions

It is almost impossible to separate UX from UI or UI from UX.

But if you try, you can conclude that:

• UX design helps users complete tasks in an environment various platforms and services.
• UI design creates attractive and aesthetic interfaces that connect with people.

Translation of an article by Don Sklecht

• Translation

I was listening to a podcast yesterday and noticed someone was asking a question and along the way said, "Old fan, first time calling." For some reason, this made me think of Medium. I've been reading articles here for a long time, but never put in my two cents. Today is the day that will change.

To begin with, I decided to write about something that is close to me, about visual design (aka graphic design), more specifically about the basic principles that have come with experience, and which I consider the most important for the good performance of my work.

I don't want to bloat the article, so I'll be brief on each principle. For those that deserve a more detailed exposition, I may dedicate a full article in the future.

So, are you ready? Everything starts with…

#1 Point, line and shape

These are the basic building blocks of any design, no matter what. With them, you can create anything from simple icons to very complex illustrations, all done by combining these simple elements.

In geometry, a point is a combination of x and y coordinates, add the z-axis and you are in 3D space, but we will limit ourselves to two dimensions in this article.

Point > line > shape

If you connect two points, you will get a line. A line made up of immensity of dots is a bit like a bunch of atoms that form molecules, and they, in turn, form all the objects around you. Then, if you add a third point and connect them, you get a shape, in this case a triangle, but as mentioned earlier, with these basic elements, you can get almost anything you want.

But to your eyes, these shapes don't exist, really, until you add something to them...

#2 Color

Visible color spectrum

The human eye can see over 10 million different colors from red to purple, and from childhood we all learn to assign certain values ​​or meanings to certain colors.

For example, imagine traffic lights. It's just colors, but we learn that red means stop, green means go, yellow means step on the rails, because you can do it before the red turns on. This shows that we are doing very different actions just depending on the color, sometimes without even realizing it.

In my opinion, this happens simply because we have learned these things, and not because color has inherent meanings from nature. This is supported by the fact that these values ​​change depending on the culture, where and when you grew up.

All this means is that you can add meaning, purpose and tone just by choosing the right color, you just have to make sure you understand very well who you are designing for.

Now that you can see your triangle, how about making it more interesting...

#3 Typography

From triangle to letter A

This is a big deal and one of the most important and difficult things for a designer to get right. It's not just about what you write, but how you present it. Typography is how your words will look.

With the right font, you can take plain text and make it powerful. But it's not easy. What's easy is to completely blow away a powerful statement by simply choosing the wrong font. Typography, like color, defines tone.

Most fonts are designed for specific uses, you just need to learn them and use them for your own purposes. Some fonts are good for large blocks of text, others for headings. Some are extremely functional and super clean, while others are just made for fun or ironic use (you know what I mean).

There are thousands of different fonts to choose from, but unless you need something fancy or you are creating something very specific, I would recommend always sticking to the classics. However, if you're feeling brave, you can even design your own typeface, although done well, I find this to be one of the hardest things for a designer to do. But if you think you're ready for one task you can't forget, it's...

#4 Space

The way you balance the space will either help or hurt the design, which is especially true in typography.

Consider how each element/letter relates to the others, giving them exactly as much room to breathe as they need. It is commonly referred to as negative space (positive space being the letters themselves).

Adjusting the negative space between characters (aka kerning)

You have to accept negative space as part of your design and use it the same way. Space can be powerful and will help the viewer navigate through the design. It can also be a place to rest the eyes.

But use it wisely, too much space and your design will look unfinished, too little space and your design will look too cluttered.

If you learn to find the right balance between positive and negative space, you can create ...

#5 Balance, rhythm and contrast

This is when you start turning a bunch of simple elements into something interesting and attractive. Properly balance all the elements of your design, given their visual height. Big black square on the right upper corner drown the design in that direction. Compensate for this weight or move the square to a different location.

Adjusting the visual weight of words to create rhythm and contrast

The way you lay out the elements on the page is critical because the heavier elements will help create contrast and rhythm, and your viewer's eye will skim through the design gracefully and effortlessly.

There are a few things that can help your rhythm and balance that you can play with too...

#6 Scale

Taking the next step by adjusting the word scale

Scale will help create not only rhythm, contrast and balance, but also hierarchy. Usually not all elements of your design need to be of equal importance, and one of the best ways to communicate this is with size.

Now, it has to serve a purpose. Don't fall for the "make my logo bigger" approach and forget about the space I mentioned earlier.

For example, take a newspaper page. What is the largest on the page?

Headlines are usually short. Why? This way you can quickly skim through the page and see if there is anything interesting to read. Then we have the subheadings, which are in smaller font but give more information about the article, and finally we have the article itself with the smallest font size but the most readable large piece of text.

So we're talking about size having a function, and never forget the person who will be consuming your design. In the case of the newspaper, it's time to put some order into...

#7 Grid and alignment

It's like that weird satisfaction when you're playing Tetris and you add up the last line that disappears from the screen.

Creating a certain connection between elements so that they look more balanced and pleasing

They are supposed to be invisible, but you will see them if you open a book or newspaper. One way or another, but (regardless of what you design) snapping to a grid will structure your design and make it more pleasant and easier to digest.

Even if you intentionally make a chaotic design, there must be order in this chaos.

Alignment is especially important for text, there are several ways to align it, but my custom is to align it to the left. Of course, it's always important what you're creating and for whom, but usually people read from left to right and top to bottom, so text centered or right is much harder to read.

#8 Framing

This is a key concept in photography, but it also applies to visual design.

Wherever you use a picture, illustration or something else, create the right framing and you will see the difference.

Reframing the composition to add interest and an additional element

Try directing your eyes to what's important, scale/crop images to make your subject stand out or reinforce your message. The most important thing here is the story, and how to tell it correctly.

After all this, if you feel like something interesting is missing, you can play around with…

#9 Textures and patterns

Testing texture with noise

Personally, I see textures and patterns as accessories, you don't have to use them and can live without them, but sometimes they can make your design look pretty much just by the fact of it, or add that ring of interest that it lacked.

Textures are not as trendy today as they once were, but with them you can add a new dimension to your design, making it more three-dimensional and tactile.

Textures don't have to be in the composition itself, if you need to print something, choose the right paper, add things like chamfering, embossing or UV varnishing and your design can go from mundane to something beautiful. But choose one, don't go crazy with the special trim.

Patterns always deal with repetition and can almost be considered textures, depending on how you use them. I believe that they can be used mainly to introduce rhythm and dynamism into flat design, and also as a way to compensate for excess negative space.

Last but not least, and in reality what I consider to be the holy grail in visual design is…

#10 Visual concept

This is the idea behind your design. What do you mean and what is the hidden meaning behind this superficial image.

Idea lamp... cliché, I know :)

This is what separates a great design from something you can download from stock.

Design with a thought, with a purpose, and always keep the idea that unifies everything. Carefully choose fonts for this purpose, think about how every tiny part of your design follows this basic concept. Consistency is the most important thing.

If your concept is strong, then you will be able to defend it and sell the idea to a client/boss or whom you will show it to.

Also, a well-thought-out design will live for years. Fashionable hipster things are cool and cool, like mustaches and plaid shirts, but they have an expiration date. I really think that good design does NOT follow trends, but creates them.

Now you have them, "my" 10 principles for creating good design. Even though I consider #10 to be the most important, you should pay attention to all the other principles and make sure you achieve excellence in your art. You may have a good idea, but I think you also need to know how to implement it (or know someone who can do it for you).

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, but most people actually do. If the contents of the book are not well displayed on the cover, then this will definitely affect the success.

Okay! It's all.

As a final note, there are of course other things that I take into account in the project/design, like understanding the audience and what we want to achieve with it, however, I did not include them in the list of principles, because I consider these " constraints” is an important part of defining a visual concept. The idea may be great, but if it does not meet the requirements of the project, then sooner or later it will fail.

I hope you find this list helpful, even if you already knew it all. I do use this set of principles as extensively as the Stadler pens, and it has been an interesting exercise for me to deconstruct my designs into a sort of "building blocks".

Feel free to leave your feedback, I'm always open to a healthy discussion.

Thanks for reading!

“Visual Interface Design No matter how much effort you put into researching users and creating a product behavior model that contributes to the achievement of their goals, these forces will be ...”

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Visual interface design

No matter how much effort you put into user research and creating

developing a model of product behavior that contributes to the achievement of their goals

lei, these forces will be wasted if you fail to properly

communicate the principles of this behavior to users. In the service

In interactive products, this is often done with visual aids.

you - by displaying objects on the display (although in some cases

teas, the behavior of the product has to be communicated through physical

physical properties, such as the shape of a hardware button or its tactile feel).

Visual interface design is a discipline that is often misunderstood because of its similarities to graphic design and the visual arts. It is often incorrectly defined as "skinning" an interface; we have even heard such wording as “product decoration”.

Our experience has led us to conclude that visual interface design is a much needed and unique discipline that should be applied in conjunction with interaction design and industrial design. It can seriously affect the effectiveness and attractiveness of the product, but to fully realize this potential, it is necessary not to postpone the visual design for later (otherwise, you will end up trying to “make up a pig”), but to make it one of the main tools for meeting the needs of users and business.

Developing a visual interface design requires a number of related skills. The specific set of skills is determined by the product being created. To create compelling and usable user interfaces, an interface designer must have basic visual skills—an understanding of color, typography, form, and composition—and how they can be effectively applied to communicate behavior and information, to create a mood, or stimulus. Visual design of interfaces for measuring physiological responses. The interface designer also requires a deep understanding of the interaction principles and interface idioms that define the behavior of the product.

In this chapter, we will discuss effective strategies for visual interface design. The third part of the book contains more information about specific interactive as well as interface idioms and principles.

Visual arts, visual interface design and other design disciplines Artists and visual designers work with the same visual media. Both must be skillful and experienced in all that concerns these means, but their activities serve different ends. The goal of the artist is to create an object that evokes an aesthetic response when viewed. Thus, the visual arts is the artist's way of expressing himself on a topic that he (and sometimes the society as a whole) has an emotional or intellectual interest in. The artist is not bound by almost any restrictions. The more unusual and original the product of his efforts, the more it is valued.

Designers, on the other hand, create objects for other people. While contemporary artists are primarily concerned with self-expression, designers, as Kevin Mullet and Darrel Sano note in their excellent book Designing Visual Interfaces, are “busy looking for the most appropriate representation to convey some specific information.” ', that is, communication.

In the case of visual interface designers, they are looking for the best representation that conveys information about the behavior of the program they are involved in designing. Taking a goal-oriented approach, they should strive to present behavior and information in a way that is understandable and useful, which supports the marketing goals of the organization and the emotional goals of the characters.

Let's face it, the visual design of user interfaces does not preclude aesthetic considerations, but such considerations should not go beyond the functional framework. And although there is always subjectivity in visual communications, we strive to minimize the influence of taste. We have found that a clear expression of the user's emotional and business goals is invaluable, even when it comes to designing aspects of the visual interface that work for the benefit of the brand, user experience, and visceral responses. We wrote more about intuition processing in Chapter 5.

Visual arts, visual interface design and other disciplines Graphic design and user interfaces Graphic design is a discipline that for many years (until the second half of the 80s of the last century) was dominated by printing, since design was mainly reduced to the creation of packaging, advertising, document formatting and living environment.

Old school graphic designers are uncomfortable with digital media because they are not used to creating graphics at the pixel level. The younger generation of graphic designers, on the other hand, have been taught how to handle the "new" format and have been quite successful in applying the concepts of traditional graphic design to digital graphics.

Graphic designers tend to be very visually savvy and have less understanding of the concepts behind behavior. software product and interaction with him. Talented graphic designers, digitally savvy as well, excel at creating the rich, aesthetically pleasing, impactful interfaces we see on Windows XP and Mac OS X, as well as the visually rich interfaces for PC games and applications aimed at the casual user. consume la. They are able to create a beautiful and adequate appearance of interfaces, and in addition, they can bring a corporate identity to the appearance and behavior of a software product. For such professionals, design or interface design is first of all tone, style, composition, which are attributes of the brand, secondly - transparency and understandability of information, and only then (if it comes to it at all) - conveying information about behavior through the expected destination (see chapter 13).

Visual interface designers need some of the skills that digital designers have, but they must also have a deep understanding and understanding of the role of behavior. Their efforts are largely focused on the organizational aspects of the design and how to communicate product behavior to the user using visual anchors and expected purposes.

Their focus is on the correspondence between the visual structure of the interface, on the one hand, and the logical structure of the user's mental model and program behavior, on the other. In addition, they are concerned with how to tell the user about program states (say, how to make the "modifiable" state distinguishable from the "read-only" state) and what to do with the cognitive aspects of the user's perception of functions (element composition). , visual hierarchy, figure-ground ratio, etc.).

334 Chapter 14 Visual Interface Design Visual Information Design Information designers do not work on interactive features, but on the visualization of data, information, and navigational aids. In visual interface design, their skills are especially important, especially when it comes to data-intensive applications and some websites where content outweighs functionality. The effort of an information designer is to present data in a form that is conducive to its correct interpretation. The result here is achieved through the management of the visual hierarchy using such means as color, shape, position and scale.

Common objects of information design are all kinds of graphs, charts and other ways of displaying quantitative information. Edward Tufte has written several groundbreaking books that delve into this topic, including The Visual Display of Quantitative Information.

Industrial Design Any discussion of industrial design is beyond the scope of this book, but the proliferation of interactive tools and handheld devices has seen industrial design play an increasingly important role in creating interactive products. As is the case with skill differences among graphic designers, interface designers, and information designers, there are two categories of industrial designers: some specialize in creating beautiful and useful forms, while others are talented in the logical and ergonomic realm. presenting physical controls in a way that matches user behavior and reflects device behavior.

As more and more devices adopt full-featured displays, it is becoming increasingly important for interaction designers, interface designers, and industrial designers to collaborate to create complete and effective solutions.

The Building Blocks of Visual Interface Design At its core, interface design boils down to the question of how to style and arrange visual elements in a way that clearly reflects behavior and presents information. Each element of a visual composition has a number of properties, such as shape and color, and the combination of these properties gives the element meaning. Each individual property rarely has a natural meaning on its own. Rather, it can be said that the user gets the opportunity to understand

Building blocks of visual interface design

in the interface due to different ways of applying these properties to each of the interface elements. In cases where two objects share properties, the user will assume that these objects are related or similar. When users see that the properties are different, they assume that the objects are unrelated. The most contrasting objects attract our attention the most.

Long before the child begins to understand speech and speak, he shows the ability to distinguish objects that contrast visually. The children's show Sesame Street relies on this human ability by asking children to choose an object that is not like the others or is not part of the group. The visual design of interfaces creates meaning in a similar way, which in practice gives a much better result than just words.

When designing a user interface, consider the following visual properties of each element or group of elements. To create a useful and attractive user interface, you need to carefully work with each of these properties.

Shape What shape does the object have? Is it round, square or like an amoeba? Form is the main sign of the essence of an object for a person. We recognize objects by contours; the silhouette of a pineapple textured with blue fur still allows us to understand that it is a pineapple. At the same time, the distinction of shapes requires a greater concentration of attention than the analysis of color or size. Therefore, shape is not the best property to create contrast if you want to grab the user's attention.

The weakness of form as a factor in object recognition becomes apparent when you look at Mac OS X's dock1 where you could mistakenly call iTunes instead of iDVD or iWeb instead of iPhoto. Pictograms have different shapes, but have similar sizes, colors and textures.

Size How big or small is the object relative to other objects on the screen? Larger elements draw more attention, especially if they are significantly larger than the surrounding elements. Size is an ordered and quantifiable variable, that is, people automatically order objects by size and tend to rate them by size; if we have text in four sizes, it is assumed that relative is a special interface element of the Mac OS X operating system, which

–  –  –

the importance of text grows with size and that bold text is more important than normal text.

Thus, size is a useful property for designating information hierarchies. A sufficient discrepancy in size usually quickly attracts the attention of a person. Jacques Bertin, in his classic The Semiology of Graphics, describes size as a dissociative property. This means that if the object is very small or very large, it becomes difficult to interpret other variables, such as shape.

Brightness How dark or light is the subject? Of course, the concepts of dark and light make sense mainly in the context of background brightness. On a dark background, dark text is almost invisible, while on a light background it will stand out sharply. As with size, the brightness value can be dissociative; say, if a photograph is too dark or too light, it becomes impossible to make out what is in it. People perceive contrast easily and quickly, so the brightness value can become good tool drawing attention to those elements that need to be emphasized. The brightness value is also an ordered variable—say, darker (lower brightness) colors on a map are easily interpreted: they represent greater depths or greater population density.

Color Yellow, red or orange? Color differences quickly attract attention. In some professional areas, colors have specific meanings, and this can be used. So, for an accountant, red is negative results, and black is positive; for a stock trader, blue is a buy signal and red is a sell signal (at least in the US, this is the case). Colors also acquire meaning through the social contexts in which we grow up. For a Westerner who grew up around traffic lights, red means “stop” and sometimes even “danger,” while in China, red is the color of good luck. White is associated in the West with purity and peace, and in Asia with funerals and death. At the same time, unlike size or brightness, color initially does not have the property of order and is not expressed quantitatively, therefore it is far from ideal for conveying information of this kind. In addition, color should not be made the only way to convey information, since color blindness is quite common.

Use color wisely. To create an efficient visual system allowing the user to identify similarities and differences

objects, use a limited set of colors - the rainbow effect overloads the user's perception and limits the ability to convey information to him. In addition, when it comes to color issues, there can be conflicts between marketing needs and the task of reflecting interface ideas, in order to find a compromise in such a situation, you may need a talented visual designer (and part-time diplomat).

Direction Where is the object pointing - up, down, or sideways? Direction is useful when you want to communicate orientation information (up or down, forward or backward). Keep in mind that direction can be difficult to perceive for some shapes and small objects, so it's best to use it as a secondary feature. So, if you want to show that the stock market has gone down, you can use a red arrow pointing down.

Texture Rough or smooth, monotonous or uneven? Of course, the elements depicted on the screen do not have a real texture, but they are able to create its appearance. Texture is rarely useful for conveying differences or drawing attention because it requires a lot of attention to detail. In addition, a significant amount of pixels are required to transfer the texture. Nevertheless, the texture can be an important clue: when we see an area textured with rubber, we assume that we should grab the device by this area. Serifs and bulges on user interface elements usually indicate that the element can be dragged, and chamfers or shadows around the button enhance the feeling that it can be clicked.

Location How is an element positioned relative to other elements? Like size, location is an ordered and quantifiable variable, and therefore useful for conveying hierarchy. By placing the most important or most requested elements at the top left, we will use the order of perception of the elements on the screen for the benefit of the product. Location can also serve as a means of creating spatial relationships between objects on the screen and objects in the real world.

Principles of Visual Interface Design The human brain is an excellent pattern recognition machine. It extracts meaning from the dense streams of visual information that bombards us from literally everywhere. Our brains deal with this barrage of input by identifying visual patterns and creating a prioritization system for the objects we observe. Ultimately, this allows us to consciously perceive the visible world. It is the ability of the human brain's visual system to assemble parts of the visual field into images based on visual anchors (cues) that allows us to process visual information so quickly and efficiently. Imagine if you suddenly had to manually calculate the flight path of a baseball in order to predict where it would land. Our eyes and brain together do this in a fraction of a second, with no conscious effort on our part. The process of creating a visual interface design should rely on our natural ability to process visual information to ensure that information is conveyed to users and reflects the capabilities and functions of the program.

One chapter is not enough to fully cover the topic of visual interface design. However, there are a number of important principles that will help you create interfaces that are as easy to read and pleasing to the eye as possible. As already mentioned, Ke vin Mallet and Darrell Sano provide an excellent and detailed analysis these basic principles; we will only briefly discuss some of the most important principles of visual interface design.

When creating graphical interfaces, you should:

Use visual properties to group elements and create a clear hierarchy;

Create a visual structure and lay a logical route at each level of the organization;

Use holistic, consistent and context-appropriate images;

Integrate visual style with functionality meaningfully and consistently;

Avoid visual "noise" and clutter.

These principles, and some other general rules about working with text and color in graphical user interfaces, are discussed in detail in the following sections.

Use Visual Properties to Group Elements and Create a Clear Hierarchy Generally, it makes sense to group logical sets of functional or informational elements through visual properties, such as color or spatial characteristics. By consistently applying these visual properties to the interface, you can create patterns that your users will quickly learn to recognize. For example, in Windows XP, all buttons are convex, with rounded corners, and text fields rectangular, slightly depressed, with a white background and a blue border. Thanks to the systematic use of this image, it is impossible to confuse the button and the input field, despite some similarities.

–  –  –

When looking at any set of visual elements, the user unconsciously asks, “What is of interest here?” – and almost immediately: “What is the relationship between these objects?” We should strive to ensure that the interface contains the answer to both questions.

Create a hierarchy Based on the scenarios, determine which functional and informational elements should be perceived by users immediately, which are secondary, and which are needed only in exceptional situations. This ranking is the basis for the visual hierarchy.

Use color, saturation, contrast, size, and position to create visible differences between levels of the hierarchy. The most important elements should be larger, brighter colors, more saturated and more contrast. They should be placed above other elements or made protruding. Highlighted elements are best painted in saturated colors. Less important elements should be less saturated, less contrast, smaller or flatter. Neutral light colors take them to the background.

Of course, setting these properties should be done with care. Do not make the most important element huge, red and bulging. Often it is enough to change just one of the properties. If two elements of different importance are found to be vying for the user's attention, turning on the fuse of the less important one is a better solution than trying to "ignite" the more important one. This will give you more space to focus on the most important elements. (Here's a good analogy: if all the words on a page are in bold red, does any of the words stand out?) Creating a clear visual hierarchy is one of the most difficult tasks in visual interface design, solving it requires skill and talent. Users hardly notice a qualitative visual hierarchy, but its absence and the resulting confusion are immediately evident.

340 Chapter 14 Visual Design of Interfaces Visualizing Relationships To communicate the relationship between elements, refer back to scripting. It is necessary to identify not only elements with similar functions, but also elements that are most commonly used together. Shared elements should usually be grouped spatially to minimize mouse movement, while elements that may not be used together but have similar functionality can be visually grouped even if they are not spatially grouped.

Spatial grouping explains to users how certain tasks, data, and tools relate to others and can hint at the correct sequence of actions. Good grouping by layout takes into account the order of tasks and subtasks and the movement of the eye across the screen: from left to right for Western languages, and generally from top to bottom. (We will discuss this point in more detail a little later.) Elements located next to each other are usually related to each other. In many interfaces, this grouping is implemented too heavily: wherever you look - frames, and sometimes the frame contains only one or two elements. Often the same effect can be more intelligently achieved through distances. For example, on a toolbar, buttons can be separated from each other by four pixels. To isolate file commands ("open", "new file", "save") into a separate group, it is enough to increase the distance between the file command buttons and the neighboring group of buttons up to eight pixels.

Elements that are separated by large distances can be grouped together through common visual properties, creating a pattern that will eventually take on a meaning of its own to users. Thus, the use of volume to create a sense of the physical expected destination is probably the most effective method separate controls from data and background elements (See Chapter 13 for more on expected assignments.) This strategy is often used in drawing icons. Mac OS X uses bright colors for application icons and dim colors for rarely used utilities.

The device's green start button may overlap with a similar animated green icon to indicate that the device is functioning properly.

Once you have decided on the groups and the visual features of those groups, start adjusting the contrast between the groups by either emphasizing or shading the groups according to their importance in the current context. Emphasize differences between groups, but minimize differences between members of the same group.

Principles of visual interface design

The Squint Test There's a good way to make sure that visual design makes effective use of hierarchy and relationships—designers call this the squint test. Close one eye and look at the screen with your other eye squinted. Pay attention to which elements stick out too much, which have become fuzzy, and which have combined into groups. This procedure often uncovers previously unnoticed problems in interface design.

Create a visual structure and navigate a logical path at every level of an organization Interfaces can be conveniently thought of as being made up of visual and interactive elements that are grouped together using panels, which in turn can be grouped into screens, views, or pages. Such a grouping, as mentioned above, can be carried out by distribution in space or by common visual properties. A monopoly application can have multiple levels of these structures, so it's important to maintain a transparent visual structure so that the user can easily navigate from one part of the interface to another according to their workflow.

In the remainder of this section, we describe a number of important properties that help define a clear visual structure.

Alignment and Grid Alignment of visual elements is one of the main techniques that allows a designer to present a product to users in a structured and organized way. Grouped elements should be aligned both horizontally and vertically (Fig. 14.1.) In general, each element on the screen should be aligned with as many other elements as possible. The refusal to align two elements or two groups of elements must be conscious: this is permissible only to achieve a specific separating effect. Among other things, designers should pay attention to:

Signature alignment. Labels for controls that are stacked on top of each other must be aligned to a common border. If all captions are about the same length, you align them on the left side so that it will be easier for users to read them than if they align to the right.

Alignment within a group of functional elements. A group of related checkboxes, choices, or text boxes must obey the standard grid alignment.

342 Chapter 14. Visual design of interfaces Pic. 14.1. Adobe Lightroom very effectively uses the alignment to the composition grid. Text, functional elements, and control groups align very well on a fixed-pitch grid. It should be noted that the padding of controls and labels of group elements to the right can prevent them from being read quickly.

Alignment of elements separated by groups and panels.

Groups of controls and other objects on the screen, wherever possible, should all be anchored to the same grid.

The grid is one of the visual designer's most powerful tools, rapidly gaining popularity in the post-World War II years thanks to Swiss printers. The grid provides uniformity and consistency in the structure of the composition, which is especially important when designing an interface with several levels of visual or functional complexity. After interaction designers have determined the overall infrastructure of an application and its user interface elements (see Chapter 7), interface designers must organize the composition into a grid structure that properly emphasizes important elements and structures and leaves room for less important elements and lower level elements.

As a rule, the grid divides the screen into several large horizontal and vertical areas (Fig. 14.2).

Principles of visual interface design

Rice. 14.2. In this example, the composition grid governs the size and position of different areas of the web site screen. It ensures consistency across screens, reducing both the work of the designer in creating the composition and the effort that the user must make to read and understand the contents of the screen. The grid uses the concept of pitch, that is, the minimum distance between elements. For example, if the grid spacing is four pixels, all distances between elements and groups must be a multiple of four.

Ideally, the grid should also set the proportions of the various areas of the screen. Such ratios are usually expressed as fractions. Common fractions include the famous "golden ratio" (denoted by the Greek letter "phi" and equal to about 1.62), which is often found in nature and is considered especially pleasing to the human eye; the reciprocal of the square root of two (approximately 1:1.41), which is the basis of the international standard for paper size (for example, A4 sheet); and 4:3, the aspect ratio of most computer displays.

Of course, a balance should be sought between idealized geometric relationships and the specific spatial needs of the functions and information presented on the screen.

A perfect implementation of the golden ratio does nothing to improve the readability of a screen where objects are piled up.

A good compositional grid is modular, that is, it is flexible enough to allow for all the necessary variations, while maintaining structure consistency wherever possible. As with many other design issues, simplicity and consistency are important here. If two areas on the screen require roughly the same space, give them exactly the same dimensions. If two areas require different space, make them significantly different in size. If the grid spacing is too small, the grid will become difficult to read due to its complexity. Small differences can cause the user to feel unsteady (although it is unlikely that they will be able to recognize the cause of this feeling) and ultimately destroy the huge potential of the grid.

Decisions about composition must be uncompromising in a certain sense: “almost square” is good for nothing; "almost one to two" - too. If the composition on the screen is close to a simple fractional part of it—one-half, one-third, or one-fifth—adjust the composition so that it takes up exactly one-half, one-third, or one-fifth of the screen. Use precise, clear, pronounced proportions.

Using a grid in visual interface design provides a number of benefits:

Ease of use. Since the grid makes the arrangement of elements uniform, users quickly learn how to find the right elements in the interface. If the screen title is always in the same place, the user does not have to think or look at the screen in search of this title. The sequence in the arrangement of elements and the choice of distances between them facilitates the work of visual processing mechanisms in the human brain. A well-designed grid makes the screen much easier to read.

aesthetic appeal. By carefully applying the grid and choosing the appropriate ratios between various areas screen, the designer can create a sense of order that is comfortable for users and encourages them to interact with the product.

Efficiency. Composition standardization reduces the effort associated with creating high-quality visual interfaces. We believe that creating a mesh and incorporating it into the process in the early stages of detailing design solutions reduces the number of iterations and actions to "debug" the interface. A well-defined and clearly labeled grid lays the foundation for an easily modifiable and extensible design, allowing developers to find good compositional solutions when changes need to be made.

Creating a logical route Composition should not only follow a grid exactly, but also structure an effective logical route through the interface for users, taking into account the fact that (in the case of the principles of visual interface design in Western languages) the eye moves from top to bottom and from left to right (Fig. 14.3).

Good logical route Uncomfortable logical route Eye movement and route Everything is scattered on the screen in the interface is the same Fig. 14.3. The movement of the eye across an interface should provide a logical path that allows users to effectively and successfully solve problems and achieve goals. Symmetry and balance Symmetry is a useful means of organizing an interface in terms of achieving visual balance. Asymmetrical interfaces usually look like they're about to collapse on one side. Experienced designers are able to achieve asymmetrical balance by controlling the visual weight of individual elements, much as a seesaw can be balanced by placing children of different weights on opposite ends. In the context of user interface, asymmetrical design is difficult to achieve due to the high cost of screen space. The squint test allows you to check the balance of the interface.

Two types of symmetry are most often used in interfaces: vertical axial symmetry (symmetry with respect to vertical line, drawn through the center of a group of elements) and diagonal axial symmetry (symmetry about the diagonal). Most dialog boxes have one of these types of symmetry, most often diagonal (Figure 14.4).

Exclusive applications typically do not have top-level symmetry (they achieve equilibrium through a fine grid), but well-designed interface elements in such applications are almost certainly symmetrical to some degree (Figure 14.5).

346 Chapter 14 Visual Design of Interfaces 14.4. Diagonal symmetry inside the application's Bullets and Numbering dialog box Microsoft Word. The axis of symmetry runs from the bottom left to the top right. 14.5. Vertical Symmetry in the Macromedia Fireworks Tool Palette Principles of Visual Interface Design Use holistic, consistent, and context-appropriate images The use of icons and other visual elements can help the user understand the interface or, conversely, annoy, confuse, or even offend if the icons are poorly chosen. It is very important that designers understand what message the program is supposed to convey to the user and what message the user expects to receive. A good understanding of characters and their mental models usually provides a solid foundation for textual and visual interface languages. Cultural aspects also play a role. Designers should be aware that color has different meanings in different cultures (in China, red is not considered a warning color), as well as gestures (a thumbs up is considered a highly offensive gesture in Turkey), and symbols ( the octagon prescribes a stop in the US, but few other countries). In addition, you should know color codes accepted in different areas of human activity. For example, in hospitals, yellow indicates radiation, while red is typically used in life-threatening situations. On the stock market terminal, red is a signal to sell. Before you get started, make sure you understand the visual language of your users' industry and culture.

Visual elements should be part of a global visual language that binds interface components. This means that elements that are logically similar should share common visual properties—such as position, size, line thickness, and general style—different only in what emphasizes their meaning. The idea is to create a connected system of elements. The interface, which achieves this goal, seems flawless: not a single element looks like it was added at the last minute.

In addition to their functional value, pictograms can play a significant role in conveying brand attributes. Bright "cartoon" pictograms can be on point if you're designing a website for children, while balanced, understated pictograms are more suitable for a business application. Regardless of which style is chosen, keep continuity - if on some icons the lines are bold and black with rounded corners, and on others they are thin broken lines, the visual style will “fall apart”.

The design and drawing of pictograms is a completely independent area. Creating understandable images at low resolution takes a lot of time and practice - it's best to delegate this task to experienced designers. Pictograms are a complex topic to understand, so we will only highlight a few important key points here. For those readers who want to learn more about the use of icons, we strongly refer to William Horton's The Icon Book. The examples in this book may seem dated, but the basic principles are still relevant.

Function Icons Designing icons that represent functions or operations performed on objects is challenging but fun.

The main difficulty lies in the representation of abstract concepts in a pictographic, visual language. In such cases, it is better to rely on idioms than to find images that no one understands and provide them with tooltips (see Chapter 23) or captions.

In the case of obvious and specific functions, adhere to the following rules:

Place both a function and an object on the icon to make it easier for the user to understand the icon. A verb combined with a noun is easier to understand than a verb on its own. For example, if the Cut command is presented as a document with a cross through it, this will be more understandable than the metaphorical image of scissors.

Beware of metaphors and representations that may not have the required meanings in the eyes of the target audience. For example, a thumbs-up in Western culture means "okay" and may seem like an appropriate pictogram to indicate a positive reaction, but in the Middle East and other cultures this gesture is offensive - in any application intended for a global market, it should be avoided.

Group related features visually, either spatially or, failing that, using color or other visual means.

Create simple pictograms; avoid unnecessary details.

Reuse elements wherever possible so that the user learns them once and for all.

Symbols as a reflection of objects Creation for various types objects in an interface, unique characters also help the user better understand the interface. Such symbols may not always be figurative or metaphorical—hence, they are often idiomatic (the power of idioms is discussed in detail in Chapter 13). Such visual markers allow the user to navigate among objects faster than just labels. To establish a connection between a symbol and an object, use the symbol whenever the object appears on the screen.

Principles of visual interface design

–  –  –

The interface designer must also take care that symbols representing objects of different types are visually distinct. Picking out a particular icon on a screen full of nearly identical icons is just as difficult as finding a particular word on a screen full of text. It is very important to visually differentiate (contrast) objects with different behaviors, including different variations of controls such as buttons, sliders, and checkboxes.

Rendering Pictograms and Symbols As the graphical possibilities of color displays expand, so does the temptation to render pictograms and symbols in ever greater detail, almost photorealistic. However, this trend ultimately does not meet the user's goals, especially in business applications. Pictograms should remain simple and schematic, with a minimum of color and shading, and keep their modest size. AT Windows Vista and Mac OS X, steps have been taken towards a more detailed representation of icons. Although such icons look impressive, they undeservedly draw attention to themselves, and at a small size they are displayed badly - that is, they either take up too much expensive screen space or are illegible. In addition, they force the developer to neglect the visual coherence of the elements in the interface, since very few features (mainly those related to the hardware) can be adequately represented by specific photorealistic images. Photographic pictograms are like text typed only capital letters; the distinctions between them are not clear cut and it is easy to get confused. Icons are easiest for users to recognize by their shape, but in the case of Mac OS X, the outlines of all icons are equally blurred. The Mac OS X interface is filled with photorealism that distracts users and does not work for their benefit (Fig. 14.6).

Visualizing Behavior Instead of describing the results of the functions in the interface in words only (or, worse, not giving any descriptions), show the user what the results will be. For this purpose, use visual elements. This technique should not be confused with the use of icons on controls representing expected assignments. In addition to text describing a setting or state, include a picture or diagram that describes the behavior. Although visualization is usually 350 Chapter 14. Visual interface design Fig. 14.6. Photorealistic icons in Mac OS X. This level of detail only detracts from the functional and informational elements. Also, if in some cases detailing familiar objects is justified, what is the point of detailed images of unfamiliar objects or abstract concepts (such as a computer network)? How many users have seen "naked" HDD(far right)? Ultimately, the user has to navigate the labels to make sense of the pictograms they need, and it doesn't often take up extra screen real estate; its ability to convey meaning clearly is well worth the pixels. Microsoft made this discovery a few years ago, and since then dialog boxes(particularly in Microsoft Word) are replete with visual elements that complement textual descriptions of controls. Photo shop and others graphic applications have long shown the user the results of operations in the form of thumbnails.

Communicate function and behavior visually to users.

The Preview dialog box in Microsoft Word (Fig. 14.7) shows how the printed document will look, taking into account the set paper size and margins. Many users have little idea of ​​what a 1.2-inch left margin looks like, and Preview clearly shows it to them. Microsoft could go even further and organize direct input in this dialog box. Users could then drag the border of the left margin and watch the numeric value in the corresponding counter change. The numeric input field associated with such a control does not lose its importance, it cannot be completely replaced by a visual element. The input field shows the exact parameter values, and the visual shows the final look of the page.

Integrate Visual Style with Functionality in a Meaningful and Consistent Way If interface designers decide to stick to a certain style in an interface, it should be done globally. Every aspect of an interface must be analyzed for style; should not be limited to some visual

Principles of visual interface design

Rice. 14.7. Function preview in Microsoft Word demonstrates the visual expression of the application's functions. This feature doesn't require the user to try to imagine what a 1.2-inch box will look like, but it does make it easy to see what results a particular value of the elements will have. You don't want the interface to look like someone hastily smeared it with paint, do you? You need to make sure that the functional aspects of the program's GUI are in perfect harmony with the overall visual style of your product brand. The behavior of the program is part of the brand, and the user's experience with the product should reflect the balance of form, content, and behavior.

Form and function For many stakeholders (project owners), visual style is a very attractive area, but stylized interface elements should be kept under vigilant control - especially when designing exclusive applications. The underlying form, behavior, and intended purpose (see Chapter 13) should be the driving force behind visual style development, while aesthetic considerations should not interfere with the conveyance of meaning in the interface and the user's interaction with the product.

352 Chapter 14 Visual Interface Design At the same time, educational and entertainment applications (especially aimed at children) leave more room for experimentation with style. In such cases, both the visual impression created by the interface and the content of the application have an impact on the enjoyment that the user gets from interacting with the application; this serves as a strong argument in favor of a closer connection between the design of controls and the content. But here, too, keep in mind the expected purpose of allowing users to quickly access information.

Brand, Consumer Experience, and User Experience Most successful companies invest heavily in building and maintaining their brands. A company cultivating its own brand can dictate the price of its products while morally encouraging consumer loyalty. The brand is an indicator of the high quality of a product and assumes that the user will prefer it based on their own taste.

In the simplest sense of the word, a brand is the sum of all the interactions people have with a particular company. As interactions increasingly take place through technology-based channels, it's no surprise that firms' efforts to create "branded" interfaces are greater than ever. If the goal is constant and positive interaction with the consumer, then the verbal, visual and behavioral (behavioral) messages of the brand must be consistent and consistent. For example, if a consumer is trying to find out the prices of DSL services in his area and finds that there is no useful information on the telephone company's website (even after considerable effort to find it), he leaves in full confidence that the company itself - the establishment is rude and unpleasant. No design in the world will save you from this. The same is true for other channels: if a person does not receive the answers he needs, then it does not matter that the computer voice sounds friendly, the system accepts voice input, and the support representative ends the conversation with best wishes.

Although companies have known how to work with a brand in relation to traditional marketing and communication channels for quite some time, many are only just beginning to think about brands in terms of user experience. To understand branding in the context of user experience, it's helpful to look at it from two perspectives: first impressions and long-term relationships.

As with human relationships, the first impression of a user interface is extremely important. The first five minutes of communication lay the foundation for a long-term relationship. For this first five-minute communication to be successful, the user

Principles of visual interface design

The user interface should present the brand clearly and quickly. As a rule, visual design plays a major role in creating the first impression - mainly through images and color. By choosing the right color palette and image style for a brand-supporting interface, you'll get very close to using the brand to create a positive first impression.

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In web design, it is very important that the user does not feel uncomfortable - it's like looking at a sink full of dirty dishes. If your design is visually unbalanced, the site will look disorganized, which can make users feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, your design should be attractive and allow visitors to relax, look around, and most The best way achieve this effect - visual balance. Visual balance is basically the balance of design elements, their placement is like juggling your design elements.

When we imagine balance, it is easiest to compare it with the concept of weight. Physical weight and design element weight are actually very similar - a physical object can be small but very heavy regardless of mass, just as a visual design element can be very small but very eye-catching. The heaviness of a physical object can be compared to the visual brilliance of design elements, and each element interacts with other design elements in the same way that physical objects do.

Why Balanced Websites Look Good

We subconsciously love balance. Love for sustainable structures is inherent in us at a subconscious level, imbalance, on the contrary, causes a feeling of rejection.
Thus, visual balance is the key to successful design. It's that extra spark that some sites have and others don't. As an added benefit, balanced design pairs well with functionality.

There are several different factors that go into working with design elements. How you balance two or more elements in relation to each other, and how you present the visual properties of the elements are the balance type and balance properties.

Balance types

There are several different methods for creating balance. You can use these various methods to organize and arrange elements to create a well-balanced impression that will make users feel comfortable. Consider five main ways to achieve balance

Horizontal balance

Vertical Balance

Radial Balance

Symmetrical balance

Asymmetric balance

A great way to visually arrange elements is to balance them along the axes - horizontal or vertical. Horizontal balance - you place elements to the left and right of a friend - like on a children's swing. Vertical balance - you hang items from top to bottom along the central axis.

Instead of balancing the compositional elements along the central axes, you can also balance the elements around the center - radial balance. Basically, you can place the elements around a central axis, or like a sunbeam.

Another type of balance that is usually combined with horizontal, vertical and radial balance is symmetrical and asymmetric balance. Symmetrical balance - when both sides of the composition are mirror images of each other - as if a sheet of paper is folded in half. Symmetry is a very formal, strict balance that is easy on the eyes, and is widely used in building design or layouts. It is also becoming more and more popular because it is easier to reproduce in any size.

Asymmetry is probably the most common form of balance. Essentially, it is the opposite of symmetrical balance, in which the elements are balanced in relation to each other. Asymmetry is much more interesting way than symmetry as symmetry tends to lack visual hierarchy whereas asymmetrical layouts tend to have high visual hierarchy. Asymmetry does not mean, however, that there is no balance at all, it simply means that the elements are not positioned in relation to each other.

How do you know which type of balance would be right to use now? In general, symmetry is usually easier to perceive. That is why it is more common in design.

So if your goal is to convey stability and a strong organizational structure to the company. On the other hand, if you want to convey the fragility of what is considered safe, try enhancing the effect with asymmetry. Asymmetries add spark to a visually safe design.

For symmetry, it is best to use content of approximately the same parts, dispersed throughout the layout

In asymmetry, it is best to draw attention to one specific point, unbalancing the viewer's gaze.

balance properties

Each object in any composition has its own characteristics, as well as features of interaction with other objects. The main features in the balance: size, color, shape, size and position. Each of these properties can be used individually to create a symmetrical balance, and the combination of these properties is necessary to create balance in an asymmetrical composition - changing one element will affect others, and so on.

A large empty object has a light visual weight and can therefore be balanced with a smaller but more saturated object. For example, a blog with a content area and a sidebar - the content area is usually larger than the sidebar. You could balance them out by adding more white space in the content area and filling the sidebar with something visually heavier. If you want to achieve a symmetrical balance in your design, then you need to make sure that the elements are the same size, regardless of visual weight.

The color of an object in a composition can change the visual heaviness of the elements. More dark colors visually heavier than soft light colors - red is visually heavier than yellow as it attracts more attention. If you are trying to balance a dark element with another or several light elements, you can try playing with other balance properties, or change the background color of the surrounding elements.

The shape of the elements can drastically change the balance of a composition. Wavy or jagged shapes are more visually interesting and therefore heavier than shapes with very simple, straight lines. Don't try to balance multiple elements with a complex shape, rather balance a complex and simple object.

Contrast can be an extremely important factor in compositional balance. The higher the contrast of an object, the heavier it is, and vice versa. There are several ways to balance elements with different levels contrast, one of them is to compensate for the low contrast of an element with a sharp contrast of the background or texture. You can also add simple borders, gradients, and shadows to reduce the contrast of elements.

Location

This is an important factor, and this property can be used to balance other elements that differ in shape, color, weight, and size. As we said earlier, a large object is heavier than a small one, but their weight also depends on how close they are to the center of the village. Objects closer to the center weigh more than objects further away from it, so if you have, for example, a large red object close to the center, you can move it away from the center, or move other objects to the center.

How to add balance to the site

So, how do you make a page balanced? Let's take the simplest symmetrical balance as an example. Empty content looks pretty dull, so let's add a menu. If you look at almost any good design, you can see that the menu is designed "heavier" than the text. This is where the most primitive balance comes in - a small heavy element balances a voluminous but light text. Start designing the layout by sketching the necessary elements. These rules will help you avoid mistakes:

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Large objects are heavier than small ones

Dark objects are heavier than light ones.

Saturated colors are heavier than faded ones

The thicker the border, the heavier it is

The more texture, the heavier the object with it

In addition to the horizontal type of balance, do not forget about the vertical and radial

Warm bright colors such as orange and red are heavier than cool colors (blue, green)

Rule of thirds

In the visual arts, there is such a thing as the rule of thirds - this is when the workspace is mentally divided into 9 equal parts by 2 vertical and 2 horizontal lines. So, according to this rule, the main compositional centers should be located at the intersection of these lines.

So, how to divide the layout into 9 equal parts?

1. Imagine that the entire workspace is a regular rectangle

2. Mentally divide its vertical part into 3 equal parts and draw 2 parallel lines for this.

3. Same for the horizontal component

Compliance with the rule of thirds sets more interest in the content than with normal centering.

Examples with explanations

On the MacAllan Ridge site, you see the asymmetric block layout. However, the bulky block with a picture is equalized by the heavy borders of the menu block. Pretty common balancing act.

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here is my trick, hope it helps. /

first of all, to clarify design and development

design is conceptual work, the creation of a concept for a solution, the process of eliminating things that you think, feel and believe are not suitable as a solution to your intended goal.

development is the development of a final specification/idea (at least in theory) or something that makes sense and is close to what you are looking for (although in many cases it is not) basically the transformation of your design/idea into a working final product

note that both things can and in most cases coexist side by side in the production of a product

now that it's unmanaged, visual, web, ux, ui are only subcategories of the conceptual concept, each though based on the design principle also has their own universes and their own sub-rules and sub-practices that apply directly to their respective sub-categories and in many cases may seem to spread from one sub-category to another.

from my understanding and what I have learned over the years,

interaction design(does not apply to the field) - the concept / understanding of how one / individual interacts with the entity and how to develop the process of interaction of this person with the entity. this object can be anything you choose, such as your car or your toaster, the web browser, and the website you are viewing in the browser.

visual design(does not apply to the field) - the concept / understanding of the aesthetic appeal and impact of the subject with which a person interacts / looks at

Web design(domain-specific) - concept/understanding of an idea that is specific to a technology(s), and includes aspects of several design concepts such as, but not limited to: interaction design, visual design, user interface design, user interface design, etc. .d.

(does not apply to domain) - The concept of user interface design, which in turn includes visual and interaction design, as well as constraints on the domain in which such design work takes place.

user interface(some field-specific) - the concept of designing an interface through which a user can interact with a product, a gui in a software/web application, or a steering wheel in a car

user interface development(does not apply to the field) is the process of transforming a user interface design concept into a working interface that creates a physical connection between individuals and a product.

hope this helps

User interface design - how the user thinks and feels
Information architecture - how the system is organized
User interface design - how content is organized
Interaction design - how the user and device act and react
Visual design - what it looks like

Some or all of the above disciplines are part of the following fields:
Architecture when it is related to buildings
Interior design when related to interior spaces
Industrial design associated with tangible objects
Graphic design related to text and images
Application design related to digital I/O
Browser related web design

Interaction construct - Research entity, defines the INTERACTION/MESSAGE of the system/application. Visual Design - Artist who illustrates graphics, can be web media/print media/.etc Web Design - Artist BUT for WEB APPLICATION only UX Design - Research staff who understand anything and everything from the USER SIDE and follow the experience HAPPY/SMILEY EXPERIENCE UI Design - Same as Web Design UI Development - Frontend Developer - HTML, CSS, JS, JQuery, Ajax, YUI, Php, Silverlight.net.etc.etc. Any knd interface technology.

Let me organize it in a simple/simple way UX DESIGN INTERACTIVE DESIGN USER INTERFACE /WEB/VISUAL DESIGN UI DEVELOPMENT

My answer to this question:

Interaction Design- is a constructive aspect associated with the concept of utility. The choice of visual elements is not determined by aesthetic principles, but by how useful the design is for the site visitor and how it will simplify and optimize their experience.

Approach Example: Is a round button appropriate for our target audience or a square one?

Design > and user interface design means aesthetic perception. The only difference between Visual Design and UI Design is that the former is more comprehensive, including everything from buttons, icons and layouts to posters, while the latter does not include banners, focusing mainly on icons/buttons/ thematic side of the application.

UX Design similar to the concept of "Interaction Design", but it is more "hardcore" in this regard, describing a logical approach to usability, such as the logical architecture of a website, determined by the user's needs. It is the process of planning, projecting and framing, creating features and providing a system, and interaction design is another step.

Finally, UX associated with the concept of sketches and wireframe, UI completes the design accordingly (adding a theme, web safe fonts and color palette) and UI development is the process of recreating the design while coding.

You can read more about this at the Interaction Foundation: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature?ep=mb

The real problem we need to solve is the difference between UI, interaction and UX.

Here is another WORLD FIRST IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION about such differences.

(1) UI means how the user "looks" at the system/application and how the system/application "talks" to the user. Appearance applications, size, layout, colors, fonts, display, just like store lighting, shelf height and width, island width and length, etc.

(2) Interaction means how the user "acts" on the system/application and how the system/application "acts" on the user. Here I borrow heavily from Chris Crawford's The Art of Interaction Design: A Selfish and Illuminating Guide to Building Successful Software.

He postulates that a good interaction is like a good conversation, and that a good conversation has three essentail attributes, which I will explain in the example below. He says that a good interactive participant "listens", "thinks", and responds within a reasonable amount of time.

The person/application is just listening. Then it is not interactive, e.g. recorder, book, wall

The person/application just talks. Then it is not interactive, e.g. radio, old time television, old time CD player

The person/application just talks and listens, but doesn't think. e.g. some autoresponders, some social holes

(3) UX Given the same interface and the same interaction, will we get the same UX? Can they change at all?

for example. Let's say there is a search engine that works just like Google. But you "feel" or "suspect" that this new search engine collects too much of your personal data.

For me, interaction design is about user experience, but it also focuses on behavior and understanding the needs of the audience. For me, it's not necessarily about the design itself, but how the design is used. What draws me most to interaction design is the idea that interaction design is not only about designing more of what already exists, but also about creating designs that don't currently exist.

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