#ui interface

This is just a draft plate for our exercise in our subject lol. Gonna make a mobile game with this. Gonna improve it for greater good hah.

p.s. just a draft

I am sorry that I have not posted a “Upgrading My Worst Design” this week but I have been busy working on this. This is a base interface for a UI project from the future that will be implanted into your eyes. It is not perfect, but I think the out come will be interesting. 

Let me explain a little bit of what is going on. On the top right corner, it is mostly information about yourself. We have the measurments for your hydration and blood pressure. The little tabs on the side are your step numbers, diet/meal tracker, calorie counter, and your schedule/calendar.

On the right corner of the screen is a little playlist for music. On the bottom right is a mini GPS map and a couple of recent icons behind it. When it is activated the small icons will spin out into sight of the user. We have a Facebook feed, Snapchat feed, search that will go to Google, Instagram feed, a calling system and message system.

That is it so far into the project but next time it will have a picture of what the user is seeing and will go into more depth on the little nic-nacks of this UI.

I decided to split my video displaying the UI of my functioning prototype into two. For this video, I go through the main process of the app. I start off with the loading page which dissolves into the home screen. From there you start the process of going through and overview of the different emotions and how to differentiate them. Next the user chooses the emotion that is the closest to how they are feeling and starts the process of the activity. They are shown a brief definition of the emotion, asked to rate how intensely they are feeling on a scale of 1 to 10, and then asked to write a brief description of why they think they are feeling that way. The user is then prompted into the activity.

Good interface design is not about visual aesthetics, although that is a major part of it. Successful UI design is determined by whether or not the users were able to complete the goal at hand. There are a few fundamentals and principles that should go into every good UI designers handbook. 

1. Know your user. 

Probably the most important principle behind any kind of design is to know who your user or view is and what they need out of what you are offering. The blog from teamtreehouse puts it simply when they say: "Your user’s goals are your goals, so learn them. Restate them, repeat them. Then, learn about your user’s skills and experience, and what they need." 

It's not important to keep up with the competition or follow the latest trend. What is important is to find what kind of interface your users appreciates and relates to and to go from there to create a easy and pleasant experience for them. You want to keep your users in control of their environment and what better way than to offer them exactly what they want. "Thoughtless software takes away that comfort by forcing people into unplanned interactions, confusing pathways, and surprising outcomes." (bokard.com) 

2. Aim for clarity in your design. 

To be an effective interface design, people must understand what it is and how to use it. Clarity gives the users a sense of confidence and can help ensure that they will use the product again. The best way to achieve this is to keep it simple. 

While this may sound easy, Pär Almqvist said it best: “A modern paradox is that it’s simpler to create complex interfaces because it’s so complex to simplify them.” Simple is not easy to design. However it is necessary in creating a useful design. From the teamtreehouse blog again, they put it best when they said: "The best interface designs are invisible. They do not contain UI-bling or unnecessary elements. Instead, the necessary elements are succinct and make sense." Only add what is necessary, avoid glitzy, in your face elements, and before adding anything, ask yourself if your users really need this in your design. 

3. Use visual hierarchy and constancy. 

Design your interface in a way that helps move your users eye around the app in the way you intended. Help them focus on the most important elements first. To achieve this you can use text size, color, and placement to help move your user along.  "A clear hierarchy will go great lengths in reducing the appearance of complexity (even when the actions themselves are complex)." ( teamtreehouse blog) 

Along with visual hierarchy also comes constancy in your design. Your users need constancy. "They need to know that once they learn to do something, they will be able to do it again. Language, layout, and design are just a few interface elements that need consistency. " ( teamtreehouse blog) Consistency in your interface allows your users to have a better understanding of how things will work, and will help increase their confidence and efficiency. 

It is not only important to keep similar or the same elements looking the same, you need to also keep the inconsistent aspects continuously inconsistent as well. "Elements that behave the same should look the same. But it is just as important for unlike elements to appear unlike (be inconsistent) as it is for like elements to appear consistent. "(bokard.com) 

And when you do make changes, be sure to highlight them clearly for the users. Smashing Magazine wrote an article about useful techniques for UI design, in which they commented, "Users must notice immediately what’s going on behind the scenes and whether their actions have actually led to the expected results." 

4. Provide area for feedback.  

There should always be elements that inform the user whether they are preforming a task right or if they are doing it wrong. "Always inform your users of actions, changes in state and errors, or exceptions that occur. Visual cues or simple messaging can show the user whether his or her actions have led to the expected result."( teamtreehouse blog) Communication with your users is a vital aspect in creating a great UI experience. Without communication, you will never understand what your users want and need from your product, or how they are perceiving how to use the app (if they are using it right or not). 

5. Speak their language.