User experience (UX) design is the process of creating products to deliver seamless experiences to users. UX designers combine market research, product development, strategy, and design principles to make a product functional, enjoyable, and accessible.
As a creative and evolutionary field, UX design constantly welcomes fresh ideas from budding designers. But, there are foundational design principles that every new practitioner should understand and employ in their work.
Learn More: What is User Experience Design and Why is it Important?
Currently considering taking up a UX design course in Singapore and interested in pursuing a career in this industry? Here are some basic design principles that’ll help keep your design process on track.
1. Focus on the User
UX design always prioritises the user. UX designers are required to put themselves in the user’s shoes, understand their pain points, preferences, and opinions, and design for their needs. What looks best to the designer may not always be the most ideal.
2. Clear Hierarchy
The hierarchy of how information is organised and presented throughout your design affects user experience. For example, where the menu bar on a website is placed, what is included in it and how it directs users to other pages. Aside from navigation, there is also a visual hierarchy to note, which involves prominently displaying important content and using design to guide users through the entire product.
3. Consistency
Users are always seeking out products that they are accustomed to. As such, consistency in designs introduces familiarity and encourages your audience to adopt your product faster. To achieve this, designers must learn to implement the right user interface components and repeat them across every item. Products unfamiliar to the user are more likely to fail.
4. Accessibility
Accessibility is another important component of UX design. It is affected by text readability, contrast, and colours. Designing with accessibility in mind creates a problem-free product that is usable for as many people as possible.
5. User Behaviour
Factors such as location, emotional state, device, user demographics, and lifestyle, can affect how people interact with your product. Understanding your target audience helps you prepare a design that improves their experience. For example, designing mobile-friendly websites for busy individuals on the go.
6. Usability
Usability refers to how easily a user interacts with a website or product to achieve their goals. This includes efficiency, learnability, memorability, errors, and satisfaction. In order to achieve usability, frequent research and testing is important.
Usability might sound similar to accessibility. Though they are related to each other, they are actually different. Accessibility revolves around making products equally enjoyable to people regardless of their abilities, while usability relates to the quality of a person’s experience when interacting with your product.
7. Less is More
Decluttering your design and focusing on simplicity can contribute to a better user experience. Visual clutter produces inefficient user interfaces and makes the product difficult to navigate and use.
There are many more design principles that UX designers will learn when they undergo a UX design course, these are important for creating effective product designs that are easy for your audience to use.
Want to learn more about UX design? Smartcademy offers user experience design courses in Singapore to equip you with the skills you need to dive into the world of UX. Learn more about our courses here. Eligible S’poreans/PRs can get up to 90% IBF Funding*, SkillsFuture Credits and UTAP Funding claimable too!