Get you to know the UI designer from the beginning

What is the design of the UI design?

　　What exactly is the UI?

First sentence Overview: The UI is a bridge between the machine and people.

The Chinese name of the UI is the user interface, and most of the device interfaces we use now are graphical user interfaces, the GUI (graphical user interface). interface We use these visual graphical interfaces to understand the computer and work on it.

But the initial interface was not so friendly, and then the interface was a command-line interface, CLI (command line interface). The computer is only used by the government or large organizations, in the eyes of ordinary people is completely incomprehensible existence.

(Command line interface, Bourne shell interaction on Version 7 Unix)

And jobs has long been eager for computers to get into ordinary people's homes. In 1979, he visited Xerox in a "fate" and then made a porter ... The graphical interface is applied to the Macintosh and the mouse is introduced. Apple has been trumpeting its innovative interactive interface, and the birth of the Macintosh has opened a new era. And then the interface design also laid the current computer interface. You can find many designs that have been preserved for decades.

(Mac OS System 1.0, 1984)

The first task of a UI designer is to design a graphical interface that ensures that people can use the software clearly and efficiently.

In addition, there is a relatively new interactive interface in recent years: The natural user interface, NUI (Natural user interface), interested friends can search their own to learn more.

　　About Platform

Now that there are so many systems, PC-side, mobile-side, and Web, what should I do with the design?

On the current trend, the UI design of the mobile side is undoubtedly the hottest. But I do not recommend you, I suggest you choose your most interested in the platform. First of all, because of your hobbies can make you happy to do the design, will fall in love with their work, will be full of enthusiasm to create more.

Then you will learn a lot, you will gradually find that the problem of visual design and platform differences is not the most difficult, more importantly, through the design to solve the user's problems, to play the utility of the software. You will gradually understand the user experience, consider the business needs, understand the technical difficulties, and start thinking about the whole service overall.

By then, the platform is really not a problem for you.

Interactive design

UI designers should also learn about interaction design, or simply be sure to understand the product structure and interaction logic. Because the only way to make a reasonable interface design.

An interactive designer is not a simple picture frame. Their production has a competitive product analysis documents, user feedback documents, flowcharts, design sketches, design prototypes, etc., the work content can be enriched.

In practical work, I highly recommend UI designers to join the discussion in the early stages of product design. This reduces communication costs and error understanding between the interaction designer or product manager and UI Designer to ensure that the software interface and project team members are expected to conform.

Conversely, if in the project early stage, the designer does not have any participation, but receives the demand only then starts the work, it is very difficult to get rid of "to need the document as the design basis" the awkward situation. And usually such a process will lead to continuous communication and change the map ...

Therefore, UI designers should also be good at communication, understanding human-computer interaction, not for the requirements of the document design.

　　Second, become a "t-type" designer

　　Multi-directional understanding, on the one hand specialization

I very much encourage you to learn a wide range of knowledge, rather than visual only stare at the visual, interaction is only staring at the interaction. Can in the interdisciplinary study slowly sets up own professional direction, then the goal becomes the "t type" the designer, has the knowledge breadth and the specialized knowledge depth. "

I saw the designer Andrei Herasimchuk interview a paragraph [1], hit my heart. I would like to express more, but I still forget. Only excerpts from the passage are as follows:

At some point in your life, you will find that you have a good place where you can do well without too much effort. Some people are good at drawing, some are good at maths. It's the same at work, you need to find out what you're good at.

But remember, you don't have to spend a lot of energy doing this because you're good at it. You should try to spend your time on something that you are not good at.

Here's my advice: spend time on something you're not good at. And now there are more and more interdisciplinary things, so you need to know which part you are good at, and then force yourself to practice the parts that are not good. Even the graphic design, the part of the font, the part of the color theory, the space and the layout, the emotional connection, and the software interaction design, the interactive part, the behavior part, the user research, the programming part and so on. Any kind of design has a variety of content to learn, which is why design learning is a lifetime process. So, be honest with yourself: OK, this part has been done well, I will continue to practice, but I will be able to reduce the amount of energy to do other things that do not so good. Don't be a person with only one dimension.

　　"t Type"ui Designer

Finally, the dry goods, I combed my own to become "t type"ui designer may need knowledge, hope to help the beginner or confused friends.

(UI design Knowledge Base, red Word representation as the first phase of UI designer must have the knowledge)

Of course, not all of the knowledge points in the picture must be proficient, and there may also be missed points. The key is to determine your career direction, and then continue to expand their knowledge.