UX & UI 02

Oct 30, 20203 min read

Updated: Dec 11, 2020

Through challenges, we, as creative practitioners can explore new styles that in the end can aid the development of work in the future. Daily challenges are often available in the creative community and one body of work I have come across through my visual research is Mobile App Design Challenge / Figma Free / UX/UI #2 by Nikita Resh (2020). This body of work is made up of mini design user interface and user experience designs spanning a variety of themes and topics. Three interfaces are shown for each theme giving an idea of what the application would be used for and how the user would navigate around the application.

Taking a look over this body of work it can be seen that Resh has a certain style in regards to UI/UX design and, after reflecting on the other practitioners work, a style that fits the trend of rounded-off corners and tiles/cards to display information. After taking a look at the first four design concepts, familiarity starts to emerge through the elements used. Concept elements, for example, the size of tiles/cards and the use of imagery and text seems to be replicated and adjusted to create a slightly new version of the predecessor with a new theme. This is not to say that the work is simply a copy and paste of the same layouts, it is to say that the design concepts do not appear to evolve one another or appear to develop through the challenge. Each design suits the theme and topic with a clean and modern style. The term, one size fits all, comes to mind when thinking of the elements used here.

This project does bring to mind the question of how far can user interface and user experience design in the context of the mobile phone application go? My understanding in relation to this design specialism is that the designs should be underpinned by functionality. How easy is it for the user to navigate the space? To use the menu? To find the functions they require? Does the design conflict with the key items/features of the mobile device they are designed for, for example, the top bar that shows the mobile user the time, battery life, signal and so on? Upon reflecting and dissecting this body of work further, key items in the design such as the menu option and the brand name for each design are situated in the top region of the designs leaving no room for the top bar I mentioned previously. This "issue", for lack of a better word, is then prevalent in the bottom region of the designs also, which is where the user is able to navigate their device (home button, back, tabs etc).

The design should not overpower function and experimentation should be carried out to find the balance between both goals. A goldie locks zone if you will. How would these designs have differed if they fell into this zone? Would the design haver changed drastically or only every so slightly?

These are all areas I must think about when designing the tiles/cards for the augmented reality of Unexpected Joy. Do I use the full device screen or have the tile/cards float within the device's camera? Do I need to consider the devices functionality if the designs are view through Snapchat?

References and Figure List:

Fig 01