Apple: Simplicity Meets Sophistication

When it comes to Apple, its design philosophy has always been about simplicity, elegance, and ease of use. From the moment you unlock your iPhone, you’re greeted with a clean interface that feels intuitive even if you’re using it for the first time. Apple’s UI is minimalist but powerful, with everything you need at your fingertips, whether it’s for productivity, communication, or entertainment. And you know I’m a big fan! (Apple Fanboy, Kind of)

What’s Good:

• Consistency Across Devices: Whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the experience feels cohesive. Apple nails it with cross-device integration, allowing you to transition from one device to another seamlessly.
• Fluid User Experience: The UI is visually appealing with smooth animations, gestures, and a clean design language that is both inviting and efficient.

What’s Not:

• Customization Limitations: Apple’s tight control over the user interface means you can’t customize your device much, unlike Android. While that contributes to its uniform experience, some users may find it restrictive. Even with the iOS 18 update, it’s still not nearly as customizable.
• Overload of Features: Apple’s settings menus can be a bit overwhelming for first-time users or those who don’t need all the advanced features. Even as someone who uses Apple every day, it’s easy to get lost in endless settings and toggles.

Waterllama: Hydration with Personality

Waterllama is one of those apps that adds fun to the mundane task of staying hydrated. With its whimsical characters and colorful interface, Waterllama motivates you to drink water throughout the day, turning what could be a dull health chore into a playful experience.

What’s Good:

• Engaging UI: The playful characters and visuals make it exciting to track your water intake. It’s a great example of gamification done right in UX, making something as routine as drinking water feel like an achievement.
• Ease of Use: The app’s simple layout and visual cues make tracking easy, even when you’re on the go. There’s no steep learning curve; you open the app, log your drink, and that’s it!

What’s Not:

• Customization Limits: While the design is fun, the app could benefit from more options for customization, like setting different hydration goals based on more specific health needs. It’s also very character-driven, which might not appeal to everyone.
• Limited Tracking Options: Waterllama focuses almost entirely on hydration. Adding more health and wellness metrics could make the app more comprehensive without losing its playful design.

Strong: Fitness Meets Functionality

Strong is my go-to fitness app, particularly for weightlifting and strength training. Its UI is designed for efficiency, and the app’s ability to store workout data and help you plan routines makes it invaluable for anyone serious about their fitness.

What’s Good:

• Streamlined UI: The app’s minimalistic design is functional and uncluttered, allowing users to log workouts quickly and efficiently. This is crucial when you’re at the gym and want to focus on lifting, not messing with your phone.
• Detailed Tracking: Strong provides detailed progress tracking and analytics, giving you clear insights into your fitness journey. The ability to easily compare past performance and set goals enhances the user experience significantly.

What’s Not:

• Learning Curve: For beginners, the app can feel a bit complex. It’s built for people who already know their way around a gym, so first-time users might need some time to get comfortable with all the features.
• Aesthetic Design: While the UI is functional, it could use a little more personality. It’s very straightforward, but it lacks the engaging visual elements that make apps like Waterllama fun to use. A slight redesign could make it feel more approachable without sacrificing functionality.

Conclusion

Each of these apps—Apple, Waterllama, and Strong—has found a spot in my daily routine thanks to their strong UX and UI designs. Apple’s seamless integration across devices keeps me in its ecosystem, Waterllama turns hydration tracking into a fun task, and Strong makes fitness tracking efficient and insightful. However, even the best apps have room for improvement. Whether it’s adding customization options, simplifying interfaces, or enhancing visual appeal, there’s always something that could be fine-tuned.

Design isn’t just about how something looks, but how it works—and these apps, despite their flaws, definitely work for me.

Similarities and Differences

First, let’s talk about what these roles have in common and how they differ.

Similarities:

1. User-Centered Focus: All three roles prioritize the user’s needs and experiences. Whether you’re writing microcopy, conducting user interviews, or designing interfaces, the goal is to create a product that users love.
2. Collaboration: UX writing, researching, and designing often require working closely with other team members, including developers, product managers, and stakeholders. Collaboration is key to creating cohesive and effective user experiences.
3. Iterative Process: Each role involves an iterative process of testing, feedback, and refinement. This means continuously improving the product based on user feedback and data.

Differences:

1. UX Writing: UX writers craft the text that appears throughout a product. This includes everything from button labels to error messages to onboarding instructions. Their goal is to communicate clearly and effectively, guiding users through the product.
2. UX Researching: UX researchers focus on understanding the users. They conduct interviews, surveys, and usability tests to gather insights into user behaviors, needs, and pain points. This research informs the design and development process.
3. UX Designing: UX designers create the visual and interactive elements of a product. They design wireframes, prototypes, and final interfaces, ensuring that the product is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

Pros and Cons

Now, let’s look at the pros and cons of each role.

UX Writing:

Pros:

• Clarity: UX writers have a knack for making complex information simple and accessible.
• Impact: The right words can significantly enhance the user experience.
• Creativity: Crafting engaging and concise copy requires a good deal of creativity.

Cons:

• Limited Visibility: UX writers’ contributions might not be as visible as design elements.
• Challenges in Measurement: It can be difficult to measure the impact of UX writing quantitatively.

UX Researching:

Pros:

• User Insights: Researchers gain a deep understanding of user needs and behaviors.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Research findings provide a solid foundation for design and development decisions.
• Problem-Solving: Researchers enjoy solving complex user problems.

Cons:

• Time-Consuming: Conducting thorough research can be time-consuming.
• Recruitment Challenges: Finding and recruiting participants for studies can be difficult.

UX Designing:

Pros:

• Visual Creativity: Designers get to flex their creative muscles and create visually appealing products.
• High Impact: Design is often the most visible aspect of a product and has a significant impact on user experience.
• Innovation: Designers can push the boundaries of what’s possible in user interfaces.

Cons:

• Feedback Overload: Designers often receive a lot of feedback, which can be overwhelming.
• Balancing Aesthetics and Functionality: Ensuring that a design is both beautiful and functional can be challenging.

Wearing Multiple Hats

In many roles, especially in smaller companies or startups, people find themselves wearing multiple hats. You might be a UX designer who also conducts user research and writes microcopy, or a UX writer who also dabbles in design. This versatility can be both rewarding and challenging.

Pros:

• Holistic Understanding: Handling multiple roles gives you a broader perspective on the product and its users.
• Skill Development: You’ll develop a diverse skill set that can make you more adaptable and valuable to employers.
• Flexibility: Being able to switch between tasks can keep your workday interesting and varied.

Cons:

• Time Management: Balancing multiple roles can be time-consuming and stressful.
• Depth vs. Breadth: You might not have the time to dive deeply into each area, which can affect the quality of your work.

Which Role is Right for You?

So, which role is the best fit for you? Here are a few things to consider:

1. Passion for Words: If you love crafting clear, concise, and engaging copy, UX writing is your calling.
2. Curiosity About Users: If you’re fascinated by user behaviors and enjoy gathering and analyzing data, UX researching could be a great fit.
3. Visual Creativity: If you have a passion for design and love creating visually stunning and functional interfaces, UX designing is likely the way to go.
4. Versatility: If you enjoy wearing multiple hats and have a broad range of interests, you will thrive in a role that combines aspects of writing, researching, and designing.

Ultimately, the best role for you will align with your skills, interests, and career goals. Each role has its own unique challenges and rewards, and finding the right fit is all about understanding what makes you tick.

What Are Figma Slides?

Figma Slides are essentially presentation slides that you can create directly within Figma. Unlike traditional presentation tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides, Figma Slides bring the power of Figma’s design capabilities to your presentations. This means you can leverage all the awesome design tools Figma offers while crafting your slides.

Why Use Figma Slides?

1. Seamless Design Integration: If you’re already using Figma for your design projects, integrating your presentations into the same workflow is a no-brainer. You can easily pull in design assets, components, and styles from your other Figma files.
2. Collaboration: Figma is known for its real-time collaboration features, and Figma Slides are no different. Multiple team members can work on the presentation simultaneously, making it perfect for team projects.
3. Consistency: By using Figma, you ensure consistency across your design and presentation work. You can maintain the same styles, fonts, and components, giving your slides a professional and cohesive look.

Getting Started with Figma Slides

1. Create a New File: Start by creating a new file in Figma. You can choose a custom size for your slides or use the standard 16:9 ratio. To do this, simply create a new frame and set the dimensions to 1920×1080 pixels.
2. Design Your Slides: Use Figma’s robust design tools to create your slides. You can add text, images, shapes, and components just like you would in any other Figma project. Remember to make use of Figma’s grid and alignment tools to keep everything neat and tidy.
3. Use Components: Components are a lifesaver when it comes to maintaining consistency. Create components for common slide elements like headers, footers, and buttons. This way, you can easily update them across all your slides if needed.
4. Animate Your Slides: Figma also supports basic animations and transitions. Use the prototype mode to add interactions between your slides. This can make your presentation more dynamic and engaging.

The Downside: Lack of Templates

Now, let’s talk about one of the drawbacks of using Figma Slides: the lack of templates and template customization. Since Figma is relatively new to the presentation game, there aren’t as many pre-made templates available compared to more established tools like PowerPoint or Google Slides.

Why This Matters:

1. Time-Consuming: Without ready-made templates, creating slides from scratch can be time-consuming, especially if you’re in a rush or not as confident in your design skills.
2. Customization Limits: While you can create your own templates, the customization options are still somewhat limited compared to dedicated presentation software. This can be a bit frustrating if you’re used to having a wide variety of templates at your disposal.

Workarounds:

1. Create Your Own Templates: Spend some time creating a set of templates that you can reuse. Once you’ve done this, you’ll save time on future presentations. Consider making templates for different types of slides, like title slides, content slides, and summary slides.
2. Use Community Resources: The Figma community is pretty active, and you can find user-generated templates and resources online. While they may not be as abundant as in other tools, they’re definitely worth checking out.
3. Combine Tools: If you really need a specific template, you can always design it in another tool and import it into Figma as an image. This way, you get the best of both worlds—Figma’s design power and the template variety of other software.

Final Thoughts

Figma Slides are a powerful tool for anyone who wants to create beautiful, consistent, and collaborative presentations. While the lack of templates can be a drawback, the benefits far outweigh this minor inconvenience. With a bit of creativity and some time investment upfront, you can create your own set of templates and streamline your presentation process.

So, give Figma Slides a try and see how it can transform the way you create and share presentations. Happy designing!

So, what is accessibility? It’s a concept of whether or not a product/service can be used by everyone-regardless of how they approach it. For example, a crosswalk has a few indicators of crossing: the red hand changes to a walking person, ridges on the floor to show when you’ve reached. Besides roads, we see accessibility in products we use daily as well. You’re probably reading this on your smartphone right now, and have the text set on larger or smaller font to help your eyes adjust. You might have night light turned on your device in the evening to improve your sleep.

Now there’s good accessibility but also bad ones. It’s important to know which is which, and also to learn from it, so you iterate a better design your next go-through. Now for me personally, I’ve got big hands, so any app that has tiny buttons (looking at you Soundcloud) for use on a key feature, I take issue with. Streaming sites auto-playing previews when you’re not moving your mouse or hovering over them.

And there’s also half-and-half. Apple has high efficiency storage on its image libraries, but if you’re running low on space, and decide to take a video, it may pause in the middle of your moment, and you lose the recording altogether. Ticketing apps let you purchase multiple seats and let you add to the ones you’ve already bought, but say someone in your party can’t attend. Those same ticketing apps won’t let you sell just 1 of the 5 tickets, you’d have to sell them all and risk losing out.

Why Accessibility Matters in UX/UI Design

Accessibility isn’t just about making sure that people with disabilities can use your product—it’s about creating a better experience for everyone. When we design with accessibility in mind, we make our products more flexible, adaptable, and ultimately, more usable. For instance, captions on videos are essential for people with hearing impairments, but they also benefit people in noisy environments or those who prefer reading to listening.

Consider the principle of “universal design,” which aims to create products and environments that are usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. This principle can be applied in countless ways in UX/UI design. For example, adjustable text sizes not only help those with visual impairments but also improve readability for everyone. Similarly, voice-activated controls can be a game-changer for users with mobility issues, while also providing convenience to all users.

Real-World Examples of Accessibility in Action

One real-world example of excellent accessibility design is the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which Microsoft developed for gamers with limited mobility. This controller features large programmable buttons and can be connected to a variety of external devices to suit different needs. It’s a brilliant example of how thoughtful design can make gaming accessible to a wider audience, enhancing the user experience for everyone involved.

Another example is Google’s suite of accessibility features in their products. From voice typing in Google Docs to customizable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, these features are designed to help people with a range of disabilities. But they also enhance productivity for all users by providing more ways to interact with the software.

How to Incorporate Accessibility in Your Designs

Incorporating accessibility into your designs doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are some practical steps you can take:

1. Start with Empathy: Understand the diverse needs of your users. Conduct user research that includes people with different disabilities and gather insights into their experiences and challenges.
2. Follow Accessibility Guidelines: Familiarize yourself with guidelines such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These provide a comprehensive set of standards to help you make your designs more accessible.
3. Use Accessible Design Tools: Tools like Figma and Sketch offer features that help designers create accessible interfaces. For instance, they provide color contrast checkers to ensure your text is readable against different background colors.
4. Test with Real Users: Conduct usability testing with people who have disabilities. This will give you valuable feedback on how well your design works for them and highlight areas for improvement.
5. Iterate and Improve: Accessibility is an ongoing process. Regularly review and update your designs to incorporate new accessibility features and address any issues that arise.

The Future of Accessibility in UX/UI Design

As technology continues to evolve, so too does the potential for accessibility in UX/UI design. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and augmented reality offer exciting new possibilities for making products more inclusive. For instance, AI-powered tools can provide real-time transcription for people with hearing impairments, while AR can create immersive experiences for people with visual impairments.

Incorporating these technologies into our designs will not only help us create more accessible products but also push the boundaries of what’s possible in UX/UI design. As designers, it’s our responsibility to stay informed about these advancements and explore how they can be used to enhance accessibility.

Conclusion

In conclusion, accessibility is a crucial aspect of UX/UI design that benefits everyone. By prioritizing accessibility, we can create products that are more usable, flexible, and enjoyable for all users. Whether it’s through simple adjustments like larger text sizes or more complex solutions like adaptive controllers, there are countless ways to make our designs more inclusive. As technology continues to advance, the opportunities for accessible design will only grow, offering exciting new possibilities for creating a more inclusive world.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more updates on my journey in the world of UX and UI Design!

So what the heck is UX and UI Design? UX stands for user experience and UI stands for user interface. When you use an app, UX is how you feel when you use the app and UI is overall how the app looks. And that’s all you really need to know. And also Figma. And maybe typography. And hierarchy. And how all of that fits together. Easy right?

Of course, knowing how to effectively use each element is key, but in my experience, I’ve found that being able to transform an app or site is what really makes products stand out. The main thing you should be able to do is try and fail. What I mean is that you’re never gonna get the idea in your head right on paper the first time. You’re not that guy/gal pal. Doesn’t just apply to UX design but a lesson learned nevertheless.

Now giving a blanket statement isn’t really saying anything so I’ll let you in on one of the designs I made to understand why I think I’m the right fit for UX and vice-versa. Here’s the before of the website torontocupcake.com, a bakery in Toronto.

Now I ran through a few drafts of what I wanted the redesign to be and landed on this. 3 hours before our family’s Super Bowl Party (Go Chiefs!). So a bit rushed, to say the least.

Now this looks ok, for 3 hours of work. But this isn’t high school and design work is expected to be clean, crisp, and professional. So, I re-did the design over 3 days instead, and made it like so.

Quite a bit better than from where we started right? So how’d we get here? Well, I started by looking at the original site in its entirety, navigating each page and seeing how many clicks it would take for me to checkout. I did some mock-ups for how it would feel on draft 1 and how it might be on the final product as well. Then I followed up with some research on other major bakeries (Nothing Bundt Cakes, Sprinkles, etc.) and looked into how their site looked and felt. Then I made some wireframes and prototypes for how I wanted the new site to look and feel.

Now, this may seem intimidating at first, but honestly, that’s like a lil sprinkle of what I had to do. You’ve got to do user research as well, see what people are looking for when they purchase cupcakes, and keep on redesigning until you get to THE ONE. The one design that will push the product forward.

The redesign process was iterative, with plenty of testing and tweaking along the way. I used Figma to create interactive prototypes and gather feedback from stakeholders and users. Typography and color choices were carefully considered to align with the brand’s identity while enhancing readability and visual appeal.

In the end, the revamped Toronto Cupcake website received positive feedback from both stakeholders and users. The new design not only looked great but also significantly improved the user experience. It was incredibly rewarding to see my hard work pay off and make a real impact, even if it was just a mock project.

This project reinforced the importance of user-centered design and the value of continuous iteration. It was a perfect example of how UX and UI work hand-in-hand to create products that are not only beautiful but also functional and enjoyable to use. I can’t wait to take on more projects like this and continue growing as a UX Designer.

Another reason why UX design is such a great fit for me is that it allows me to combine my creative skills with problem-solving. As a creative person, I’ve always been drawn to activities that let me express myself. UX design taps into that creative passion by allowing me to envision and create beautiful interfaces and experiences, especially ones that are accessible to all.

As I continue on this journey, I’m constantly reminded of why I chose this path. The blend of creativity and logic keeps me motivated and excited for what’s to come. There’s always something new to learn, a new challenge to tackle, and another opportunity to make a difference through design.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more updates on my journey in the world of UX and UI Design!

If you ask anyone in my tiny circle, they will refer to me when it comes to technology of any kind. You know, the nerd of the group. My refer-ability has even more power when it comes to the latest and greatest Apple products since I have experienced all of their products some way or the other.

On top of that, Apple products are aesthetic and can be good furniture pieces. But no one spends $12,000 on a Mac Pro (the Apple cheese grater) and its $5,000 display (not sponsored) to just show off. They are apt at minimalism while having the functions that consistently make them one of the top brands year after year.

To help you understand just how “obsessed” I am, here are the products I have owned/currently own:

• iPhone 3GS, 4S, 5S, 7, X, 12 Pro, 14 Pro
• iPad mini, iPad 9th Gen, iPad Air 4
• Apple Watch Series 0 (original), 4, 7
• MacBook Pro
• AirPods Pro 1, AirPods Pro 2

Not a lot, but I still live like a student so I definitely am unable to buy a new iPhone year after year, but I can honestly say that every version I have owned has been better than most. My iPhone X (ten) was better then every phone released post until the iPhone 12 Pro, according to myself, Business Insider, and DigitalTrends. However, The 12 Pro was not “earth-shattering” compared to the much better camera and features of the 14 Pro, what with its 48mp camera which is comparable to the modern Asian smartphones (I’m not counting the Xiaomi phones, which have a whopping 200mp!)

Now this blog doesn’t exist just for me to tell you about new Apple products, that’s just one of the many things I’m excited to write about. Besides that, I want to talk about design, specifically UX Design, which is the field I am transitioning to. Apple is just one example of great design as well as a great user experience (UX). Facetime is the most synonymous way to say “video-call” and is used by grandparents everywhere. The simple UI (user interface) with minimal controls makes it easy to use, accessible, and has a great design, the key steps in any great user experience. It is just one company of many that makes for an excellent UX

I hope this first blog gives you an idea of what’s to come, and I look forward to hearing your comments below!

#apple #uxdesign #minimaltechie