We’ve been closely working with Maya on this article, and we’re happy to see the final result now being published on 18F. We highly encourage more teams to share the lessons they learned when building design systems or pattern libraries, and we’re always happy to support them in writing, editing and shaping that article. This post is a re-post of Maya’s final article. In this article, Maya will shed some light on how to built tools to leverage industry-standard best practices and produce a design system with reusable components.
Read more…
Designers need to create the most usable and attractive websites possible, and well applied minimalist principles can help designers make attractive and effective websites with fewer elements. Minimalist websites simplify interfaces by removing unnecessary elements and paring down content that does not support user tasks. In this article, Nick Babich will discuss some examples of minimalism in web design, things to consider when designing minimalist interfaces, and explain why sometimes “less is more”.
Read more…
UX professionals need to communicate design ideas and research findings to a range of audiences. They use deliverables for that purpose. Don’t be surprised by the number of deliverables Nick Babich mentions in this article. Rest assured, each project is different and a UX designer wouldn’t need to produce all of them for each project. Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all deliverable that will be equally effective for all projects. Each deliverable becomes an effective communication tool in the right context and with the right audience.
Read more…
Karim Maaloul decided to start a series of short WebGL experiments on Codepen, and he has finally found the time to compile them all together on a single website named “Moments of Happiness”. In this article, Karim has detailed the solution used to make a running cycle. On his Codepen page, all of these experiments are available, with the code at your disposal. Feel free to play around and make your own interactive toys. As you’ll see, all of the experiments share one principle: The behavior of each character responds programmatically to user input. No precalculated animation — every movement is defined at runtime.
Read more…
Few design elements are more fun to play with than color. Color effects can be dramatic, impressive and even serene. It can draw attention, set a mood, and influence the user’s emotion, perception and actions. When it comes to the web and mobile app design, this is definitely a time of vibrant colors. You the designer really get to experiment when using color effects. Whether you are a fan of bright, bold hues or prefer a more minimalist black and white, the one thing to remember is that there are no wrong colors. What matters most is how you use them. In this article, Nick Babich will summarize a few popular techniques of using vibrant colors in web and mobile design.
Read more…
While many of us are quite familiar with publications and events surrounding us, we often lack the global perspective on what’s happening in the web industry across the world. What about front-end events in Kuala Lumpur? What about the acceptance of UX-driven processes in Hong Kong? That’s exactly what we want to find out! Today, Vitaly Friedman is happy to announce that we have teamed up with our friends at Mozilla for the Developer Roadshow Asia, so we can connect and learn from designers and developers in southeastern Asia. Together, we’re planning on organizing a series of informal, free meetup-style events for people who build for the web. Do join us, won’t you?
Read more…
Retrospectives and reflections allow you to codify what you’ve learned from experience, to document mistakes and avoid future ones, and to increase your potential to grow in the future. In this article, Victor Yocco will show you a few approaches that you and your team can immediately incorporate into your practice. He’ll walk through post-project retrospectives in this first article, and in a second article, Victor will present some lessons learned and researched-backed techniques that those who wish to engage in reflection can attempt to include in their routine.
Read more…
The web has the power to bring virtual reality to the world, to every consumer, to every developer. Recently, there has been a proliferation of virtual reality (VR) web browsers and VR capabilities added to traditional browsers. In this article, Ada Rose Cannon will look at the state of browsers in VR and the state of VR on the web via the WebVR APIs. It is still early days for VR on the web, but now is the time to get building, to see what works and what doesn’t.
Read more…
Finding a hotel and flight is relatively easy, but when it comes to tours and activities, the problem is that late or last-minute bookings are not always available, and the mobile experience can be limited because many websites are slow or their booking process is long and complex. Building a great mobile experience is really hard and time-consuming, but with enough attention to detail, you can succeed. In this article, Einar Þór Gústafsson will present a case study and share observations on the project he designed and built: GetLocal, an online travel-agency and booking platform in Iceland.
Read more…
Most BFA and MFA programs don’t cover traditional business skills, and companies certainly aren’t investing in cross-functional training for creative professionals. McLean Donnelly shares his personal experience.
Read more…
