UI design examples are a great way to learn how to analyze the design process of businesses and understand how they optimize users’ experiences. This, in turn, can help a design team avoid slow-loading websites with large text blocks and poor design iteration. Successful companies focus on user-centric brands and work to gain a better understanding of their users through UI/UX design.
Interactive web interfaces are used by companies to give a positive first impression to digital buyers. The UI field is exciting if you’re interested in creative design and storytelling that connects brands to their target audience. This article discusses what UI design is, provides examples of UI design trends, and offers inspiration for your next design project.
What Is UI Design?
A user interface design refers to building interfaces with a cross-platform functionality on digital devices like computers and smartphones. A UI designer plays the key role of improving human interaction with digital products via responsive designs, eye-catching color schemes, and a good graphical user interface that provide seamless experiences for users.
Where Is UI Design Used?
- Websites
- Software programs
- Web applications
- Mobile applications
- Operating systems
Why Is UI Design Important?
The first thing people notice about your website is the user interface (UI). A good UI design makes using a product easy and enjoyable, both for first-time users and long-term customers. User-friendly websites and apps can make it easier for people to find what they’re looking for and provide an immersive experience.
Real-World Examples of UI Design
There are countless examples of UI design on the internet. Sometimes it can be helpful to see real-world examples of user interfaces, how they are used, and how they affect a user’s experience. Below is a list of some UIs that use a responsive design that provides smooth interactions for their users.
- MailChimp design
- Notion design
- Spotify color design
- Dropbox color system
- iPad responsive paperlike effect
- Notion user onboarding template
- Webflow concise page layout
- LinkedIn onboarding checklist
- Facebook application
- Figma responsive color system
10 Great Examples of UI Design
UI Design Example 1: MailChimp Design
MailChimp incorporates bold headers, bold colors, concise paragraphs, clear images of its product features, and a notable hamburger menu on its web page to deliver a modern design. It also utilizes a modal dialog box that lightheartedly notifies people to take certain actions.
UI Design Example 2: Notion Design
Notion is a digital workspace that simplifies teamwork and organization. The user interface is minimalistic and straightforward, making it easy to use. Notion also includes great features like project templates, file encryption, and enhanced security features for users who work with sensitive data.
UI Design Example 3: Spotify Color Design
This is a great example of a highly effective, color-heavy user interface design that has all of its information organized and understandable. The hue alterations are not random, and each color serves a clear purpose. Warning or confirmation icons are often red, yellow, green, or blue because these are high-visibility colors. The app is easy to navigate and also visually intuitive.
UI Design Example 4: Dropbox Color System
Dropbox has distinguished itself from other services with its consistent color palette. Its bright colors make text scannable and are friendly to people with dyslexia or visual impairments. Moreover, they serve as quick indicators of whether a folder is private or public. For example, folders shared publicly have purple titles, while folders shared privately use blue icons.
UI Design Example 5: iPad Responsive Paperlike Effect
Apple’s iPad is well-known for its responsive and paper-like effect. When users scroll through content, it feels like they are flipping through pages of a book. The iPad effect is popular for its ability to present information in a paperlike way. This feature was originally designed for note-taking and drawing, but it has turned out to be a great way to present reports and data.
This design concept also includes a dark mode or white background for those who have trouble reading in certain tones of light. These design principles have also become available in many mobile app design concepts thanks to positive user feedback.
UI Design Example 6: Notion User Onboarding Template
Notion’s onboarding UI design template makes it easy for users to become familiar with the interface without feeling overwhelmed. People can see where everything is without needing prior knowledge of how the sites work. Users know exactly what things are with bold images, bold text, and clean lines and shapes.
UI Design Example 7: Webflow Concise Page Layout
Webflow makes it easy to organize content into a visually appealing mobile app design. The drag-and-drop interface works in your browser, and you can add interactivity and multimedia elements with little effort. It’s helpful for web designers, but anyone can use Webflow to create a clean and simple interface that looks great on any device.
UI Design Example 8: LinkedIn Onboarding Checklist
LinkedIn’s onboarding checklist shows a great way to increase engagement and create a better user experience. Designing a well-crafted onboarding checklist ensures that new users are properly introduced to all of LinkedIn’s features.
The key to designing an effective onboarding checklist is to make it concise and easy to follow. You may also want to consider using animated gifs or videos to explain certain steps. Beware that overloading your LinkedIn with animations can have an adverse effect on mobile devices. You should try to find a balance that keeps your user’s cognitive load in mind.
UI Design Example 9: Facebook Application
The Facebook app focuses on simplifying your life by bringing all your social networking sites into one app. This means all your friends, posts, and photos are all in one place. Clicking one button takes you to whatever you’re looking for, so you can view new posts or access old photos with ease. A clean interface saves people time and brainpower, which translates to happier users.
UI Design Example 10: Figma Responsive Color System
Figma is a design tool with a responsive UI that acknowledges the relationship between psychology and color. The responsive color system in Figma is based on a 12-column grid. This means that you can create a style for each column, and the app will automatically adjust the widths and colors of your elements to match the screen size.
Pro Tips to Boost Your UI Design Skills
- Understand color psychology. Color is an essential tool in your designer’s toolkit. By using color effectively, you can make your design more appealing. Using contrasting colors with bold and colored text to separate sections makes the site more friendly. Think dark backgrounds with white lettering or white space with dark lettering.
- Keep it simple. Adding too many bells and whistles will slow down your site load time, making it less appealing for customers and search engines. Instead, keep text to a minimum and keep pages simple for error prevention and customer satisfaction.
- Get feedback from other designers. By getting someone else’s perspective on your work, you can spot any errors in your design and suggest ways to make it better. You should also check examples of successful designs to guide and inspire your user interface design.
What Should Be the Next Step in My UI Design Learning Journey?
To begin your journey, take advantage of one of the diverse ways to learn UI design. You could take a course at a local college or an online design course or class. Once you have mastered the basics, you can consider scaling up the challenge by completing several projects. A mentor will ensure that you have adequate guidance all along the way.
UI Design Examples FAQ
Yes. It’s common to see the definition of user interface and user experience design used interchangeably. But there’s a difference between UI and UX (user experience) design. UI design captures attention with a stylish, clear, and responsive interface, while UX design provides a lasting impression and memorable product experience.
A variety of courses, videos, and other online learning materials teach UI design. You may also attend a UI design bootcamp if you wish to get more structured and hands-on training.
Yes, there are many free slack communities for experienced designers and newbies. These channels often feature several templates, discussion forums, plus other threads for UI design-related questions. Such channels may be an excellent place to connect with other designers, get design inspirations, and keep up with the latest trends and updates.
Although you do not need to learn coding to become a UI designer, it may be beneficial to master the basic concepts of coding. That helps you think like a developer and equips you with more design resources when creating seamless experiences for users.
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
