A Comprehensive Guide to UI Developer in 2020
UI developers focus on the design and functionality of the user interface. They are responsible for making sure the UI is up to par and works smoothly to provide the best user experience.
The UI developers draft and implement the design of the app or website using dynamic tools and the best framework. They make sure that interaction between a user and the computer is seamless and effortless.
What Is UI Design?
UI Design stands for User Interface Design, which deals with the interaction between a user and a computer. It’s a graphical layout that delivers a seamless look, feel, and functionality of digital products. The common elements of UI are:
- Buttons used
- Text added
- Image slideshows
- Text entry fields
- Screen layout
- Interface animations
- Color schemes
- Font size and type
The UI is what the users see and interact with when they download an app or browse a website. All elements of a UI should feel consistent and aesthetically pleasing to users. The goal of a good UI designer is to create an interface that is appealing and encourages user engagement with the software or app. The UI should be dynamic yet straightforward to use and understand for users.
Differences Between UI & UX
The terms UI design and UX are mostly confused and thought of as one because they’re usually put together as UI/UX design. However, they’re both different because UI compliments the UX of apps and software.
UX stands for user experience that depends on the UI design of digital products. The ease of using digital products determines how well-liked they are by users. The UX is determined by the functionality of the app or software; how smoothly it works? How complicated is the app? Does the software aid people in their daily life, or is it a hassle? For example, a calorie counter app should help users in adding their calorie intake without a hassle. To improve the UX, designers can connect a database of recipes with respective calories. The database will provide users with the ease of just searching for the food.
There are four differences between UI and UX:
The purpose of UX-based research is to meet the needs of people that aren’t being met currently. A business aims to offer a software solution to users that doesn’t already exist.
The purpose of UI-based research is to find out what color schemes or fonts appeal to users. The UI developers are responsible for making the app prototype look eye-catching using elements that users prefer.
The focus of UI developers is to implement appealing elements that are easy to interact with for users. For example, how easily a customer was able to purchase a product via UI design. UX developers focus on improving the human-computer interaction on an app or website. The UX is improved with the help of user testing and iteration.
The UI design focuses on the look and performance of digital products. The developers are concerned with how the app appears to users, while UX focuses on the user’s perspective. Developers make changes to UI design that enhances the user experience on an app, software, or website. A smooth UI has a positive impact on the UX.
While both terms are widely different, they’re not separate from each other. One can’t work without affecting the other. The use of UI/UX design is to offer the best and smooth user experience. A beautiful UI is pleasing, but without UX, it would prove to be useless to users. Without an attractive UI, even great UX would become obsolete. UI and UX are backbones of a successful mobile app or software.
Importance of UI
In a mobile-centric world, a user-friendly UI design will help businesses stay on top of the mobile app market. The implementation of a good UI is the reason why users are drawn to your app. We’ve already established above that UI influences the UX of digital products. Here are some reasons why UI is important for digital products:
- A business’s conversion rates are higher when customers find the website or app easy to use.
- Positive user experience should be your top priority because a pleasant user experience, boosts your sales and customer loyalty.
- A bad experience is a big turn off for customers that gives them a reason not to return to your website or app.
- The image of your business will deteriorate exponentially if word gets around that your website is too complicated or difficult.
- A creative and trendy UI attracts users to your website or app.
- A stable UI ensures that the content of your app/website is presented in the best possible manner.
- Customers are fond of navigation that is easy and simple. It increases your traffic if users can navigate through your website/app with ease and find what they want.
UI Trends in 2020
The user experience continues to evolve in the year 2020 with the implementation of the latest UI trends to digital products. The top trends of 2020 prioritize the use of AI, speed, simple UI designs, and a mobile-first approach.
The latest smartphones are being manufactured without borders and rounded edges to make space for the displayed content. UI designers will have to become accustomed to the use of sharp-edged elements for an app or website design.
Apps running on the latest versions of operating systems on full-screen smartphones are also adopting the dark mode. The use of dark mode needs to be considered when UI designs are being implemented.
The digital world is leaving behind the trend of sticking to the grid and screen-fixed UI. In 2020, AR will merge the physical and digital worlds together. The AR influenced UI will make users feel like they’re in a real-world environment. Developers will design UI that will transform your surroundings into 3D-objects.
In 2019, we witnessed major progress for VR or Virtual Reality, and in 2020, Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be gaining massive popularity. It won’t replace designers, but it will make tasks more manageable. AI already has a significant presence and is used for collecting a large amount of data that is tailored according to users.
An AI integrated UI is known as an Intelligent User Interface. It’s designed to improve communication between a human and the computer. The IUI understands the user and tries to make the interaction more ‘natural.’ For example, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge came with a UI that could detect when the user fell asleep. The screen would stay awake, but if the users’ eyes closed, the screen would automatically turn off.
In 2020, various animations and illustrations will come to life! Users will be able to interact with the graphical elements of apps and websites. Elements that will move along with scrolling will grasp a user’s attention and embed it in their memory. A memorable experience like that will be hard for users to forget. However, be mindful of this trend because too many animations are irritating.
Best Tools for UI in 2020
Peoples’ expectations with digital products are increasing due to the improvement in technology. There was a time when people would deposit money via banks, and now transfers are made via smartphones. Developers can’t just settle for less; they need to design a UI that wows users!
In 2020, designers will have access to some of the best tools to design unique and innovative UI’s. Here are three of the best tools:
‘Fluid’ is a cross-platform UI designing tool that is best used for creating prototypes. The prototypes are usually closer to the real product. It’s used to remove any irregularities or bugs in the UI before the final product is developed.
Optimizely is a convenient tool for UI designers while the interface is under-development. With the tool, designers can alter the interface and identify the results of new changes.
The ‘Sketch’ is a UI design tool that allows the designer to ‘draw’ or ‘sketch’ the user interface before its built.
Five Essential Skills of A UI Developer
To become a successful and creative UI developer, you need to acquire skills. Going in 2020, these are the top skills required from developers.
HTML is the core language of coding that has been around for decades. HTML is used to communicate with the browser that makes it an essential requirement to design a UI.
CSS is a technology that is used for styling webpages and make the user interface better. All elements of a webpage are controlled by HTML and CSS, which makes them important skills for developers.
While HTML and CSS are technologies that control what the webpage looks like, JavaScript is the programming language that makes them functional. The client-side programming language coordinates with web features and style sheets to make transactions between multiple pages.
JavaScript Libraries or Frameworks are pre-written JavaScript codes that make it easier to design UI’s. Developers have multiple options to choose from depending on what they need like Angular Js, ReactJs, and Vue.Js.
What makes the code perfect? A good debugger! Every UI developer should have a debugger program that helps them analyze webpage elements for errors.
One of the toughest challenges for a UI developer is to create a responsive user interface. UI is a gateway to your software or app, and it must cater to various users. It means the UI has to be compatible with multiple screen sizes and brands.
Types of UI Designers
Here’s a breakdown of some kinds of UI designers. The following can also be used as job descriptions for designers.
- Mobile UI designer – Companies are shifting their focus to creating innovative mobile apps. Most designs seem too monotonous and so if you’ve got the skills, start designing mobile app UIs.
- PC UI designers – The most commonly designed user interface has to be PCs. PC UI designers excel at designing UIs for various laptops and desktop screens.
- Game UI designers – The designers in this field are more focused on mobile and online games. Game UI is the most difficult to design because of the complexity of games.
- AR/VR designers – Perhaps the most popular UI design in this decade! AR and VR are quickly gaining popularity and has created various opportunities for UI designers.
The Future of UI Design Is Now!
Business owners often take UI for granted, but it’s an important aspect that makes or breaks the digital product. UI design is a commitment that, if given the attention, can help your business prosper. Professional UI designers can also be affordable web and app developers that understand the behavior of a user interface and change it for the better!
