User Interface Innovation Styles

A graphic design degree costs £40k and takes 3 years. But you? You're about to get the essentials in under 3 minutes. Because EVERYONE should know how to use design to make their expertise irresistible — whether you're presenting, pitching, or promoting. 👇 But first. The BIG misconception: Most people think visual communication = pictures. Wrong. It’s strategy. It’s how you use: - Layout + structure - Fonts + spacing - Visuals + white space - Content flow 💡 Why it matters: Dual Coding Theory. Allan Paivio (visual communication researcher extraordinaire) says we process info through two systems: both verbal (words) + non-verbal (visuals). We need to use them together for boosting understanding, engagement AND memory. Here’s how to do it like a pro 👇 --- 1️⃣ Visual Hierarchy Everything else serves this one goal: Make sure your audience sees the *right info* in the *right order*. Tips: - Bigger = more important - Closer = related - Structure = use titles, subheads, body - Use white space to reduce cognitive overload - Guide the eye like a story --- 2️⃣ Colour Keep it simple: 🎨 Pick 3: light background, dark text, bright accent ⚖️ Check contrast (aim for 8+): use Adobe Colour Checked to help (https://lnkd.in/eavEBGwD) 🔁 Use consistently Try: Coolors (https://coolors.co) for instant, accessible palettes. --- 3️⃣ Fonts ✔️ Use clean sans serifs (Helvetica, Inter, etc.) OR what is most accessible for your audience. This will be different for neurodivergent people or those with visual impairments. ✔️ Pick one with multiple weights (bold, medium, light). ✔️ Apply consistently for hierarchy Here’s a great resource to help: https://lnkd.in/eJA8NheT --- 4️⃣ Imagery Use visuals *with purpose*. 📸 Every image should enhance understanding, not just decorate 🎨 Stay consistent in style 📋 Attribute if using stock or AI imagery --- That’s your crash course in visual communication. Credibility. Clarity. Clout — without the £40k price tag. What would *you* add to the list? Liked this and want more? Follow me for tips on how to use visual storytelling to collaborate, communicate and change-make 👏

1–2 seconds to stop the scroll on platforms like Instagram or TikTok. Users form an opinion about a visual in ~50 milliseconds. Want to instantly grab attention? Great visual composition isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about direction. Content with compelling visuals gets 94% more views than text-only content. It leads the viewer’s eye, shapes how your message is understood, and makes your content impossible to ignore. 8 essential principles to level up your visual game: 1. Rule of Thirds Break your frame into a 3x3 grid. Positioning key elements along these lines or at their intersections creates a naturally balanced and pleasing layout. 2. Leading Lines Incorporate lines, whether architectural, natural, or implied, to pull the viewer’s gaze toward your focal point or guide them through the composition. 3. Balance Create stability by distributing elements thoughtfully. This can be perfectly symmetrical or more dynamic and asymmetrical, depending on the visual weight. 4. Focal Point Every design needs a clear star. This is the element that immediately captures attention and anchors the composition. Clear visual hierarchy can improve conversion rates by up to 30% by reducing cognitive load and guiding decisions. 5. Negative Space What you leave out matters. Space around elements enhances clarity, improves readability, and gives your design room to breathe. 6. Hierarchy & Scale Use size, placement, and proportion to signal importance. This helps viewers navigate your design in a clear, intentional flow. Applying hierarchy, contrast, and spacing can increase content comprehension by up to 70% 7. Contrast Play with differences, color, size, shape, or texture, to create emphasis and depth. Contrast is what makes elements pop. High-contrast CTAs (buttons, key elements) can increase CTR by 20–40% in digital campaigns. 8. Repetition Consistent use of shapes, colors, or patterns builds rhythm and cohesion, making your design feel unified and intentional. Consistent visual systems can increase brand recognition by up to 80% Final Thought Visual structure isn’t optional, it’s how we make sense of what we see. As creators, it’s our job to shape that experience. Master these principles, and your designs won’t just look good, they’ll communicate with clarity and impact. Explore references, study great work, and keep refining your eye. #beautybusiness #beautyvisuals #keyvisuals #communication

Micro-interactions are no longer just a “nice-to-have” in UX— They’re a critical tool for guiding user behavior, building brand connection & improving retention. These small, purposeful elements like a progress bar, a loading animation, or a subtle vibration make a big difference when done right. How micro-interactions add value: 1. Clearer navigation: → Progress indicators or hover effects help users understand where they are— → And what’s happening— essential for reducing frustration. 2. User confidence: → Actions like a confirmation checkmark after a form submission reassure users that their actions are successful. 3. Brand differentiation: → Unique micro-interactions tailored to your brand’s identity make your app or website stand out in a crowded market. Here’s how to use them effectively: a. Prioritize user intent: → Focus on moments where users might feel uncertainty. → Such as waiting for a process to complete or interacting with a new feature. b. Keep it seamless: → Ensure micro-interactions don’t slow down or overwhelm the user experience. → They should complement, not complicate. c. Iterate & test: → Small doesn’t mean insignificant. → Test micro-interactions with real users to see what resonates. Let’s take a look at why they matter for retention: Memorable experiences aren’t always about big features— They’re often about how smooth & satisfying the small moments feel. By optimizing these “micro” details, you can create loyal users who notice the care & thought in your design. What are the overlooked moments in your user journey where micro-interactions could shine?

⚡️ UI design tip: Have a logical reason behind every design detail The importance of UI design is often trivialised as being nothing more than making an interface look pretty 😅 I think this demonstrates an ignorance of the logic behind UI design. Sure, some elements are purely decorative, but if an interface is designed well, every detail will have a logical reason behind it that improves usability. Being able to clearly articulate the rationale behind your design decisions helps support your designs in discussions and results in a better design. Here are 8 logical reasons behind this seemingly simple group of text blocks 👇 1️⃣ Icons and text are left aligned to create a neat left edge. This improves readability and aesthetics while decreasing cognitive load. 2️⃣ Headings and text links are descriptive so they’re scannable and can be read out of context by screen readers. 3️⃣ Secondary text is less important than headings, so it’s made less prominent (using size and contrast) to create a clear visual hierarchy. 4️⃣ Secondary text line height is at least 1.5 to improve readability. 5️⃣ Text links are coloured blue to indicate they’re interactive and underlined so the colour blind can distinguish them from other text. 6️⃣ Spacing inside each block is less than the spacing between each block to create groups of related information. Spacing is based on a set of predefined spacing options to improve consistency. 7️⃣ Information is broken up into smaller groups to make it easier to understand and to help speed up decision making. 8️⃣ Colours are based on an accessible monochromatic colour palette with rules that govern its usage. Did I miss anything? 🤔 PS These are just a few logic-driven design guidelines from my UI design book Practical UI 📘 #ux #uxdesign

💡Signal-to-noise ratio in product design Signal-to-noise ratio is a balance between valuable, meaningful information (signal) and extraneous, distracting details (noise). A high signal-to-noise ratio means that the product delivers its essential functionality and message without overwhelming the user with unnecessary complexity. 🍏 Clarity and simplicity: The product’s core functions should be easily identifiable and accessible. Any extra information or feature that doesn’t directly contribute to the user’s goals should be minimized. 🍏 Good visual hierarchy: Layout design should guide users toward important actions or information, making the most critical content stand out (signal) while downplaying or removing irrelevant content (noise).  🍏 Focus on user goals: Design user-centered products, understand user needs, and focus on solving their specific problems to enhance the signal. Tips to enhance signal-to-noise: ✔ Focus on essential features: Avoid feature creep when designing your product (https://lnkd.in/dhi7njem). Identify the key functions that users need and prioritize them. Use the Pareto principle—focus on the 20% of features that provide 80% of the value to users. ✔ Minimise content overload. Adopt a “less is more” approach. Limit the amount of text, images, or interactive elements. Every piece of content should serve a purpose. ✔ Use visual attributes (contrast, size, and spacing) to prioritize content and actions: Larger and higher-contrast elements should represent the most important information or actions.  ✔ Reduce cognitive load: Invest in information architecture design (https://lnkd.in/dn-vxbAN). Simplify navigation (i.e., avoid excessive sub-menus, clearly label navigation items) so users can find what they need without confusion, use consistent patterns (familiar design patterns reduce the need for users to learn new interactions), and utilize Gestalt principles (like proximity, similarity, and alignment) to organize content logically. ✔ Reveal complexity only when needed: Show essential features upfront and hide advanced options behind collapsible menus or secondary screens (use progressive disclosure). This keeps the main interface focused and clean. 📕 Guides ✔ Signal–to–Noise Ratio (by Xinyi Chen)  https://lnkd.in/dt3MpgeH ✔ 10 design principles every designer should know (by Taras Bakusevych)  https://lnkd.in/dRpDwFdG #design #productdesign #uxdesign #ux #ui #experiencedesign

Don’t neglect visual hierarchy in your UX portfolio. Let’s take as an example a typical UX case study section layout where a designer presents one design decision by describing the rationale and presenting the design concept. The story and image are ready. It’s time to organise the content using visual hierarchy. Here’s how to use visual hierarchy in your UX portfolio ⬇️ 1️⃣ Collect content Make sure you have your text and images ready. Heading needs to be insightful, the body text needs to be concrete whereas the image should be high-quality. 2️⃣ Use squint test Evaluate current visual hierarchy to see which elements stand out and which elements blur together. Simply use “Blur” function in Figma to check it. This test should help you see how your users can potentialy navigate through this content and if it’s clear and easy to scan. 3️⃣ Group content Think about which elements belong to each other, which information describes another element, if the order of the content is natural. Group these elements and separate with a bigger spacing. 4️⃣ Prioritise content using size, weight and colour Decide which information should be prioritised, which information is the most important. Should hiring manager read this first or that? Use font size, weight and colour to prioritise and deprioritise information. For font size use Typescales Figma plugin to make everything in scale. 5️⃣ Use writing rhythm for longer texts It means breaking longer paragraphs into smaller groups divided with small spacings. The most common writing rhythm is 1-3-1 which means: 1 sentence, spacing, 3 sentences, spacing, 1 sentence. The first sentence should be an intro sentence whereas the last one should conclude the paragraph. How visual hierarchy will help improve your portoflio? ✅ Increase readibility ✅ Make it more scannable ✅ Improve user’s perception ✅ Bring user’s attention to key points Looking for more portfolio tips? Don't forget to follow 😊 #uxdesigner #uxportfolio

--FACADE LIGHTING DESIGN of the Day-- TASK: "Create a sense of luxury, grandeur, and visual hierarchy. Emphasize the building's key architectural elements, drawing the eye upwards along the tower while highlighting the intricate details and importance of the entrance area." CONCEPT Warm color temperature lighting is used throughout, contributing to a welcoming and prestigious ambiance. The design carefully balances highlighting verticality on the main tower with illuminating the textures and patterns of the lower levels and entrance structure, creating a cohesive and elegant nighttime identity for the building. The lighting avoids flat illumination, instead using contrast and focused beams to add depth and drama to the facade, making it stand out elegantly against the evening sky. Our 3 major design facts were: 1. Vertical Accentuation: Long, continuous lines of light travel up the central part of the tower, emphasizing its height and slender form. 2. Focal Point Entrance: The entrance canopy and the intricately patterned screens surrounding it are prominently illuminated, using higher brightness and warm light to create a welcoming focal point and highlight the detailed architectural work. 3. Textural Highlighting: The lower levels feature uplighting or wall grazing techniques that reveal the texture of the stone cladding and the details of the structural elements, adding depth and visual interest to the building's base. TECHNOLOGY This design likely utilizes energy-efficient LED technology, primarily employing linear LED grazers or projectors for the vertical lines and ground-recessed or surface-mounted uplights for the lower facade textures. Narrow-beam spotlights accent specific features. For the entrance, integrated lighting within the patterned screens and downlights within the canopy provide illumination. Lumen packages are selected based on the desired effect and throw distance—higher lumens for the vertical lines, lower for grazing effects. Lux levels were carefully calculated, aiming for higher illuminance (e.g., 100-150 lux) at the entrance focal point and lower, controlled levels (perhaps 15-50 lux) on the main facade elements to achieve the desired contrast and visual hierarchy.

I recently came across this 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 dashboard by Godfried Junio Matahelemual, and it’s a brilliant example of how to organize high-density data without overwhelming the viewer. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵. By dividing the dashboard into four distinct columns—Exposure, Engagement, Conversion, and Cost—it creates a natural path for the eye to follow. It effectively turns a "𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴" into a context about the marketing funnel. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿-𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 The most effective design choice here is the use of colored shapes to display Month-over-Month (MoM) percentages. Rather than just listing a growth or decline number in plain text, Godfried has nested the percentage change within a subtle, color-coded badge. This serves two purposes:  1. 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝘅𝘁: You immediately know the "health" of a metric (Growth vs. Decline) before you even read the digits.  2. 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆: It separates the "Total" (the current state) from the "Trend" (the direction of movement), making the dashboard much faster to interpret during a high-stakes meeting. It’s a great reminder that in data visualization, the goal isn't just to show data—it's to reduce the time it takes for the user to understand it. 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗚𝗼𝗱𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗱!

“There’s a tremendous amount of craftsmanship between a great idea and a great product.” — Steve Jobs The difference between a good product and a great one? Finding and fixing the micro-moments in the customer journey. These are the tiny, often unnoticed interactions that can shape how users feel about your product. They’re not loud. They don’t show up in feedback forms. But they matter. Take Apple AirPods. 🎧 Music stops when you pull them out. Obvious. But if you slightly adjust them, the music keeps playing. Because Apple knows the difference between a full removal and a micro-adjustment. That’s a micro-moment. It’s not a feature. It’s empathy encoded into design. Another one? 🔍 "Find My AirPods" with a sound alert. Because they knew we all lose them in couch corners or tote bags. These moments aren’t about delight alone. They reduce friction. Add confidence. Build trust. As PMs, designers, and builders—we need to ask: 🔹 Where does the user pause? 🔹 Where do they hesitate? 🔹 Where are they thinking more than they should? That’s where your next breakthrough lies. Don’t just map the customer journey. Zoom in. Look for the micro-moments. Because that’s where magic lives. #ProductDesign #UserExperience #CustomerJourney #MicroMoments #Apple #ProductManagement #UXResearch