You might design several versions of something. If each version isn’t better than the last, then what are you actually doing? But if you are able to make version 4 better than versions 1, 2, and 3… why didn’t you just make version 4 from the beginning?
Young designers often complain about doing design tasks to get a job. It can feel like doing “free work” or “giving away ideas”. Some designers even think they should be paid for their time. Ok, wait… you want to be paid to do job interviews?! Let’s back up a bit, because if you agree with that, you’re making a big mistake.
Have you ever wondered why product teams don’t just design the real UI from the beginning? Why do we make wireframes at all? Is it only so less talented designers can work on UI too? Can we skip wireframes if we get more experience? Or do wireframes do something that UI designs can’t do? These are not silly questions.
It’s been a little too long since I posted any real beginner content, so here we go. This is a fundamental user experience (UX) skill, and as design trends change, it never hurts to refresh your intuition about fundamentals.
It is really common to hear designers making choices or changes so their designs are “consistent”. But sometimes consistency has no benefit, or could even make your design worse. So why are you treating inconsistency like a problem?
Some questions are stupid because the answers are obvious and easy. But some questions are stupid because it’s hard to know where to start answering. Today’s is one of those:
“How do you make a design responsive?”
UX designers hate designing forms as much — or more — than users hate using them. But when developers tell you that your super-simple form won’t work, you might feel stuck. So let’s answer:
“Why can’t credit card numbers include spaces?”
To non-designers, UX often looks like a job where you mostly argue about button colours & headlines. That is barely any of what UX actually is, but it’s true that we do those things. So let’s answer:
“What link color gets the most clicks?”
Design trends change our preferences over time, and when someone asks you to explain your preference, you will try to rationalise your feelings by making them sound like facts, even if they aren’t.
So let’s answer:
“Are circles better than squares?”
