When designing for accessibility, we focus on removing barriers that might prevent certain people from using your product. But why should we care about accessibility? And how do we design for accessibility?
The importance of designing for accessibility
As designers, we shouldn’t ever forget the responsibility we have with our designs and their impact on the people who use them. It’s only fair to say we should also take the responsibility to ensure that everyone has access to what we make regardless of ability, situation, or context. It’s not just an ethical subject, but improving accessibility also increases the reach of our projects. So it’s not a bad thing to invest in accessibility as it will bring a better experience to everyone.
How to design for accessibility
To make your designs usable and accessible by as many people as possible, including individuals with…
As a designer, at a point in your career, you’re going to give presentations. And it’s crucial to do it right.
Whether you have lots of experience presenting or just starting, the tips below should help you to improve.
Smile & make eye contact
Sounds easier than it is, but if you smile and make eye contact, you’ll build a relationship with your audience, which helps them to connect with you. Making eye contact could also make you feel less nervous, as you’re talking to individuals instead of a group of unknown people.
Being a visual genius and having a killer portfolio is, at this day of age, not enough to get you hired. You need the soft skills to stand out. Let’s go through some of those skills and discuss why they are so essential.
You have hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are typically quantifiable and can be easily defined and evaluated, like computer programming for an IT professional or wood framing for a carpenter. Soft skills, on the other hand, are people skills. These are much harder to define and evaluate; they include communication skills, listening skills, and empathy, among others. Soft skills characterize how a person interacts with others.
Ask questions
If you want to be taken seriously at companies when it comes to high-level decision making, you need to question everything. Instead of just accepting every task you’re given, ask what problem…
Here are some methods to create optical balance.
Our brain can sometimes perceive information a little differently than intended. This is called an optical illusion. Optical illusion also applies to design. However, with designing interfaces, it works the opposite way; you need to break the laws of physics and mathematics and slightly change how the elements look to create an optical balance.
Size
When we put a square and a circle next to each other and give them the exact same size, we could visually feel that the circle is smaller than the square. …
Let’s go through a couple of examples of how some designers are applying bad practices to create dark patterns.
Dark patterns are tricks used in websites that make the user do things that he or she didn’t mean to, like subscribing to a newsletter or buying something.
Trick questions
A common dark pattern when registering with a service is a series of checkboxes with alternated meaning. For instance, ticking the first one means “opt-out,” and the second means “opt-in”.
Here are three properties to take into consideration.
A good color mastery in Interface Design (UI) is crucial. It can improve usability and also help to influence the perceptions a user may have, like strengthening brand recognition and generating more conversion.
Harmony
Color is one of the most powerful tools in a designer’s arsenal. Finding a killer color combination can create harmony and level up the overall experience considerably.
Here are six fundamental properties.
Visual hierarchy is a concept that allows a user to process information in a specific order. Its function in Interface Design (UI) is to facilitate the understanding of information by the user.
Alignment
Alignment can create order between elements. When any of the elements ‘brake’ from the overall alignment, it will attract attention. This rule also allows us to relate elements to each other and helps us to understand the beginning and the ending of specific information.
Semih Yılmaz
A digital designer creating functional and delightful experiences that solve real human problems.
