In UI design, everything a designer does affects the user experience. From the purposeful and intentional to the neglectful oversight and omission, every action–and non-action–shapes the experience of the end-user. For designers, successful UI solutions require decisions that will communicate the intended message at all times. Content, color schemes, screen layout, buttons vs icons, labels—all…

Happy New Year 2016!  See you at the CES conference.  Check out our latest UI designs!

The move to a flat user interface aesthetic is rooted in the desire to provide a more efficient, user-friendly experience. It sees the realism at the foundation of Skeuomorphic design as no longer necessary in an age of computer-savvy consumers. Flat design strives to bring simplicity to interfaces, in turn providing a more rewarding User…

Since wireframes are meant to convey design concepts and information architecture, visual clarity is an absolute must. Stakeholders need to be able to see the structure and strategy for the User Interface system without getting distracted by how each element will look in the final design. A wireframe should allow them to examine the what, why…

Make the design as simple as possible.  The more complex the UI solution, the more it creates confusion, increases human error and slows people down. Establish visual hierarchy. Size, position, contrast, and color are used to emphasize importance and a visual hierarchy that is instant and intuitive. Insist on consistency. Consistent behavior in every aspect…

Sometimes clients feel they already know what their customers are like so user research and usability testing is not needed. Unfortunately, these clients often assume that they and their product’s users are exactly alike. At this point it becomes important to ask the question how do we know this about the users, and more importantly,…

When approaching user interface design for medical devices, designers need to design for more tech-savvy users as well as older users who became established in their medical careers before computer technology became such an embedded part of everyday life. A younger emerging group of technology-fluent users may require different design needs than the less technology-fluent…

A study was performed several years ago that explored the reasons why User Interface Designers, and people who work with designers, believe they don’t achieve the design results they desire. Perhaps surprisingly, the obstacles most mentioned by both designers and non-designers alike wasn’t a lack of skill or creativity. The main issues that often lead…

With the steadily increasing utilization of touch screen interfaces, new requirements and design considerations have become more prevalent along with the design flaws that don’t accommodate finger widths. This is made obvious when button placement comes into play. While the point of a cursor is far more easily controlled, the larger area needed for touch…

You can use an eraser on the drafting table or a sledge hammer on the construction site.  — Frank Lloyd Wright The interface designer must balance the legitimate use of familiar paradigms, which ease the learning process, against the enhanced usability that can be attained by abandoning them.  — Jef Raskin Like all forms of…

A splash screen, when used correctly, serves a specific and valuable purpose: to convey to the user that the application has indeed been launched and that it is still in the process of loading. A branded image or resource-light animation acts as the app’s virtual waiting room and can reinforce a company’s brand recognition. A…

The importance of intuitive UI design in healthcare can not be overstated. As such, the importance of even the smallest design details in electronic health record interface design should always be given a proper amount of consideration and weight. When using metaphors within the user interface, keep them consistent. Mixing metaphors causes confusion, and with…