Why UI designers should understand Flexbox and CSS Grid

CSS for UI Designer Or bye bye, 12-column grid layout Most designers are familiar with responsive design, a column-based layout approach with fixed breakpoints to cover all screen sizes. However, we can move beyond the rigid structure with modern CSS layouts, crafting flexible and dynamic designs that seamlessly adjust to different screen sizes. Designers and developers having different… Continue reading Why UI designers should understand Flexbox and CSS Grid

Distinguishing between ARIA and native HTML attributes

As a developer, you want to create more inclusive and accessible digital experiences for your users. Great! It’s possible, however, that you might be feeling a bit confused or overwhelmed by the element attributes that can affect the usability for users of assistive technology. ARIA (or WAI-ARIA, Web Accessibility Initiative-Accessible Rich Internet Applications) defines some… Continue reading Distinguishing between ARIA and native HTML attributes

3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

Design By Carrie Cousins 2 days ago From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to try this month. Spring into a new website design aesthetic with some of the hottest trends of the season. Some of the things we are seeing right now are… Continue reading 3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024

Learn How to Use SmartArt in MS Word

Are you looking for a way to make your Word documents more visual? Try adding SmartArt graphics for the perfect visual touch. This SmartArt graphic is waiting for text to be added. Use SmartArt in Word to communicate your idea with graphics. SmartArt comes with Microsoft Word. SmartArt can save you time when adding high-quality… Continue reading Learn How to Use SmartArt in MS Word

4 Ways You Can Test Your Design System in Figma

Consistency is key for a successful UX design system. Learn about different ways to test your design system in Figma. Keeping consistency and efficiency across design projects is essential. A good UX design system must include all the elements that make up your brand’s visual and functional identity. As you may already know, one of… Continue reading 4 Ways You Can Test Your Design System in Figma

Designing genAI-enhanced features

Elevating user experience through intelligent content enhancement and personalization. Futuristic workspace (Created with Dall-E) Chatbots serve as an accessible gateway to the realm of Generative AI features, a fact underscored by the success of ChatGPT. Their simplicity, requiring only basic instructions to engage in natural dialogues, allows them to integrate across various digital platforms seamlessly. Yet,… Continue reading Designing genAI-enhanced features

The Art of Engineering AI Prompts

AI By Louise North 3 days ago In the rapidly evolving world of artificial intelligence, the ability to communicate effectively with AI tools has become an indispensable skill. Whether you’re generating content, solving complex data problems, or creating stunning digital art, the quality of the outcomes you receive is directly influenced by the prompts you… Continue reading The Art of Engineering AI Prompts

Crafting an effective design system strategy

How to build a strategy, not a roadmap A design system is a product. A product that solves concrete tasks: ensuring consistency reducing development time and much more Most often, the main reason to create a new product is that you want it to be different from the existing ones on the market. After all, why waste time… Continue reading Crafting an effective design system strategy

Journeying with a different kind of map in 2024

As expected, anything new would meet skeptics, and Beck was no exception. After all, how could a technical draughtsman be an innovative cartographer? The initial design would meet rejection on a couple of occasions before his perseverance paid off when he was allowed 500 copies to be distributed at a few stations in 1932. The… Continue reading Journeying with a different kind of map in 2024

Google Maps: a refreshing turn in the right direction

Finally! Google Maps gets a much-needed makeover… and we’re here for it. Sometimes, a reroute is all it takes to rediscover the joy of the journey — Google Maps’ latest update is a testament to that. What’s New Since My Last Rant A few months back, I ripped into some serious user experience flaws in Google Maps. Google Maps: about that… Continue reading Google Maps: a refreshing turn in the right direction

Good design is subjective, contextual, and intentional

Urban planners have been designing for human experiences for nearly 200 years, and UI/UX designers can learn from this. Examples of The Chicago School of Architecture | Photo Credit: Tom Seiple When I finished my graduate degree, I was lucky to find my first job in Chicago. From a very early age, I had always hoped to… Continue reading Good design is subjective, contextual, and intentional

30 Free Xmas Graphics

Compilations By Louise North 4 days ago We’ve reached that time of year when all marketing is on a singular theme: snow, presents, and turkey (or nut roast, if that’s your preference). These last few weeks running up to the Christmas break can be an endless trudge through grey, cold weather if you’re in the… Continue reading 30 Free Xmas Graphics

Why weirdness is at the center of belonging, diversity, and innovation.

Why weirdness is at the center of belonging, diversity, and innovation In my senior year of college, I took a class about how to prepare for the workplace. The class taught us how to write a resume, what to wear to job interviews, and what companies look for in candidates. It was an easy A.… Continue reading Why weirdness is at the center of belonging, diversity, and innovation.

Making Waves in India 2023: Why Accessibility Deserves a Spot on Tech Giants’ Radar

India has a new rising economy that is catching everybody’s attention with its development, innovation, and growth. But we won’t be talking about what’s out there on the internet. We will be diving deep into a topic that’s making waves and deserves a prime spot on the radar of tech giants – Web Accessibility. Now,… Continue reading Making Waves in India 2023: Why Accessibility Deserves a Spot on Tech Giants’ Radar

Using Figma variables for breakpoints

The hunt to find more use cases for local variables. At this point in 2023, almost all UX UI designers who use Figma should know about one of Figma’s biggest features of this year, local variables. Something I have continued to struggle with since its initial launch this past summer is how to actually apply… Continue reading Using Figma variables for breakpoints

15 Best New Fonts, November 2023

Fonts By Ben Moss 2 days ago 2023 is almost over, and the new fonts are still coming thick and fast. This month, we’ve found some awesome variable fonts, some revivals, and one or two novelty fonts to get you through the holiday promotion work. Enjoy! Dash Dash is the result of detailed scientific study… Continue reading 15 Best New Fonts, November 2023

3 Common Color Accessibility Issues One Can Easily Avoid

Color is often used to evoke emotions and emphasis. That’s one of the reasons why designers see color as an important element in their work. Colors communicate messages on both psychological and visual level. The importance of color is undeniable, but is basing the message solely on color the right thing to do? This post… Continue reading 3 Common Color Accessibility Issues One Can Easily Avoid

Housing, It’s a Human Right (Part 2)

A 3-Part Series on the digital accessibility of the housing process experienced by people with disabilities. In this 3-part series, we will look at the challenges and rewards of the entire experience surrounding the process of acquiring housing for people who live with a disability.  We will look at: Buying an existing home Leasing an… Continue reading Housing, It’s a Human Right (Part 2)

Enhancing Accessibility with AI and ML

There has been a lot of buzz recently about Artificial Intelligence, with some people speculating that we are approaching the long-awaited AI revolution. This hype has been chiefly generated by recent advanced algorithms powering ChatGPT and other language-related models. While I believe that these models are still a far cry from general AI (AI which… Continue reading Enhancing Accessibility with AI and ML

Give Your Site Some Focus! Tips for Designing Useful and Usable Focus Indicators

What Are Focus Indicators? Have you ever noticed the blue outlines that sometimes show up around buttons or form fields? What about when you click on a menu item? Have you ever tried to make those outlines disappear? Here’s a hint: by default, browsers use the :focus css pseudo class to give outlines to form… Continue reading Give Your Site Some Focus! Tips for Designing Useful and Usable Focus Indicators

What should be the contrast level of inactive buttons?

Using the APCA Readability Criterion to improve the accessibility of disabled controls Disabled buttons. They need to look non-interactable. But they also can’t be completely unreadable. How do I find the sweet spot? I spent a few hours in a deep dive going through a bunch of blogs and accessibility guidelines documentation in search for best approaches… Continue reading What should be the contrast level of inactive buttons?

15 Best New Fonts, October 2023

Fonts By Ben Moss Yesterday We’re entering the final quarter of 2023, and even in the pre-holiday lull, there are still plenty of fonts to get excited about. In this month’s edition of our roundup of the best new fonts for designers, there are lots of revivals, some excellent options for logo designers, and some… Continue reading 15 Best New Fonts, October 2023

Risk tolerance: why some countries prefer more complex UIs

An analysis of Uncertainty Avoidance and Amazon’s website in various countries Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash What do Switzerland, the US, Sweden, the UK, and the Netherlands have in common? They are all rich, protestant, relatively cold countries where a big part of the population consists of (former) immigrants. They also form the top 5 of… Continue reading Risk tolerance: why some countries prefer more complex UIs

We’re turning designers into factory workers

Considering the availability of modern tools and recent advancements in governance (design systems), one might think designers could relax and enjoy some leisure time. Surprisingly, that’s not the case. In fact, it feels like designers have even less time than before. As we’re frantically pushing towards an auto-governed future, we ought to stop and think… Continue reading We’re turning designers into factory workers