Whether creating a web page, Android app, or iOS app, most traditional designers start their work by creating static images with tools like Adobe XD, Figma, or even Photoshop. The designs might look aesthetically pleasing but they are not even close to being ready to be converted into code.
After the designing phase, designers need to add interactions that will show developers and testers how UI elements correspond with one another, what affordances they need to account for, and any other animations that will be present in the end-result. Then, designers pass those prototypes to developers who turn designs into code, and the circle of back and forth commentaries begins.
Bridge the gap between design and code once and for all with UXPin Merge. Bring your coded design system to UXPin’s design editor for hi-fi prototyping and quality usability testing. Discover UXPin Merge.
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Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.
What is design to code?
Design to code is the process of translating a design mockup or prototype to code that can be implemented by developers to create functional user interfaces. This process involves converting graphical elements, layout structures, interaction designs, and other visual components into HTML, CSS, and possibly JavaScript code that can be interpreted by web browsers or other platforms.
Design to code is a crucial step in the product development as it means going from a concept of a product to an end-result. It ensures that the visual and interactive aspects of a product or application are accurately represented in the final implementation. This process often involves collaboration between designers and developers to ensure that the design intent is preserved while addressing technical constraints and requirements.
Challenges of converting design to code
Design-to-code approach creates more steps than you need to create a popular digital product. The process of turning prototype to code probably affects this areas:
Ideation and Product Development – Coming up with ideas to be turned into products or features.
Design Conceptualization – Communicating ideas to the design team.
Design Review and Feedback – Reviewing the work of the design team and giving some feedback.
Tool Limitations – Designers struggling with the limited possibilities of adding advanced interactions in their design tool.
Communication – A lot of back-and-forth in the designer-dev communication, trying to smoothen some prototype inconsistencies.
Iterative Refinement – Adding some tweaks until the product fulfills the original vision.
These steps can take weeks or months to complete. Even when you use a tool like Avocode and Anima to turn PSD, Figma, and others that turn designs into code, you still need relentless prototype and product testing to ensure that all interactions work as they were designed.
You still need to deal with unnecessary steps because Avocode and Anima can only convert designs into code. They do not offer a designing environment that can use code to design a UI.
Design to code wastes time and money
Not surprisingly, the serpentine process of passing work between product managers, designers, and developers quickly becomes expensive. In the United States, website developers with associate’s degrees can expect to earn about $35.46 per hour (€ 29.5). The longer development and prototyping take, the more it costs to bring the product to market.
Without code-based design, though, the process will always involve backtracking and repeating steps. It’s clear that the design to code handoff process wastes time and money.
Popular website designer Matthew Strom found that he could streamline his process by designing with code instead of starting with static images. While building a new homepage for WSJ. Magazine, he found that working with code was often more straightforward and rewarding than taking a vector-first approach. He discovered that the old process became sluggish as he created more images.
Thankfully, Strom knows enough code to build a complicated homepage without relying on design tools for every step. Unfortunately, few designers have the experience to create digital products from code.
Prototyping suffers with design to code
You can improve the design to development process slightly by encouraging your designers to learn basic code. Knowing the fundamentals of HTML and CSS gives designers a shared understanding that helps them anticipate the needs of developers.
It makes the process even better when designers know some front-end JavaScript and Ajax because it gives them insight into how much work it will take developers to turn their static designs into interactive components.
Some coding experience also helps designers understand the limitations of development. It can make a huge difference when graphic designers have a baseline understanding of what developers can and cannot do.
However, the code-to-design approach doesn’t mean that a designer must know all of that. It’s enough to sync developers’ repo where they store UI code components with the design tool editor to empower designers to use the production-ready parts in their designs. Not only is it faster but also much more consistent with the design standards. Thanks to this, you can avoid all the reviewing and repetition stages in the whole product development process.
Without a code-based approach to design, you end up with prototypes that don’t function as anticipated, which inevitably means you end up wasting even more resources.
Make designing and prototyping easier with a design tool based on code generation
A tool that enables having your UI code components imported to a design library is much more efficient than the one that converts an image to code.
UXPin Merge bridges the gap between the process of translating prototype to code. Teams use the same UI elements throughout their processes, both to design a product and to develop it. Thus, there’s no misalignment, duplicated work, and misunderstandings. Teams can ship products faster and with ease.
Improve workflow with code components
Instead of interpreting image-based designs and turning the ideas into code, developers just take the components that were used in a design from their library to build ready products.
As the code-powered prototypes already behave like a final product, there’s no need for additional reviewing steps – the result of developers’ work will be pixel-perfect to the designers’ work.
Request access to UXPin Merge for code-based designing and prototyping
You don’t have to continue the tedious process of building products from a design-first perspective. Shorten your go-to-market process, improve collaboration between departments, and take control of your designs with UXPin Merge. Now, you can test building UI with UXPin Merge by using built-in Merge libraries. Try UXPin Merge for free.
In the high-tech digital UX design world, pen and paper can still be the preferred choices for fast low-fidelity prototyping. Contrary to assumptions, UX teams spend a lot of time away from the computer, writing on sticky notes, whiteboards, notepads, and adding annotations to paper prototypes.
The more planning and preparation designers can do before sitting down at the computer, the quicker they can design wireframes, mockups, and prototypes. Paper prototyping is a crucial part of the early UX design thinking process because it fosters collaboration, allowing designers to explore lots of ideas at a minimal cost.
With UXPin, design and development teams can jump straight from paper prototypes to high-fidelity prototyping, significantly accelerating the design process. Build consistent, high-quality digital experiences. Sign up for a free trial and explore UXPin’s prototyping features today!
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Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.
What is Paper Prototyping?
Paper prototyping is the process of developing ideas and designing user flows using hand-sketched “screens” that represent a digital product. Paper prototypes test on a high-level user experience rather than interaction design.
Paper prototypes are low-fidelity because they don’t have any functionality. For this reason, paper prototypes designers rarely share paper prototypes outside of the department.
Design teams often lay paper screens on a desk or flow and imagine how real users would navigate to reach an end goal. The designs are rudimentary and usually sketched in black and white. Content is limited, with only headlines and call to action links displaying any legible text.
Sometimes, teams will build a mock iPhone or Android device using a piece of cardboard to simulate swipes, scrolls, and other basic functionality. These mock devices also allow designers to see how their designs might look within the confines of a mobile phone—especially useful if you’re designing a mobile app.
While the main benefit of paper prototyping is speed, some designers use tools like UI Stencils to design accurate, aesthetically pleasing screen layouts—vital if you plan to present paper prototypes to stakeholders or testing participants.
UXPin’s journey started with a similar paper prototyping product called Web Kit. A paper pad paired with a design tool that automatically turns paper prototypes into wireframes. UXPin has evolved into an end-to-end prototyping solution, allowing you to create prototypes that are production-ready from the start. Try UXPin for free.
Paper Prototyping Digitally
With tools like reMarkable and Apple Pencil, teams can collaborate remotely while enjoying the speed and versatility of the physical paper experience.
Using digital sketch tools can accelerate the paper prototyping process. Designers can make changes faster (without needing to redraw a screen), attach detailed notes, and upload finished prototypes instantly to design tools like UXPin to build high-fidelity prototypes or go with wireframing.
Paper prototyping digitally also reduces paper and plastic waste, which is better for the environment :)
Advantages and Disadvantages of Paper Prototyping
Aside from speed and flexibility, there are several advantages and disadvantages to paper prototyping.
Rapid iteration — It’s easier to discard a paper design that took 5 minutes vs. a digital mockup that you spent more than an hour perfecting.
Low cost — Paper is cheap, and even additional tools and kits won’t break the bank.
Increased creativity — The freedom of pencil and paper fosters experimentation and new ideas. Design tools have their place in the design process but can stifle creativity in the early design stages.
Team-building — Paper prototyping is a rare opportunity where teams get together in a creative environment. Working with pen and paper brings out child-like energy, which can help form bonds and strengthen coworker relationships.
Minimal learning curve — Everyone can sketch ideas, making paper prototyping a great way to involve other departments like marketing, development, and stakeholders.
Documentation — Paper prototypes serve as excellent documentation. Designers can make notes and outline ideas to reference throughout the project. They’re excellent UX artifacts that can even double as study notes for team members to refer to later.
Disadvantages:
No user reactions — With no user feedback, it’s difficult to know whether or not your ideas will work. Even if you test your paper prototypes with participants, the feedback will be limited.
Inaccurate feedback — Outside of UX teams, paper prototypes might be challenging to interpret, limiting any accurate or meaningful feedback.
Sign up for a 14-day trial and see how quickly you can turn paper design concepts into high-fidelity prototypes that function like the final product using UXPin.
When to Paper Prototype
Jake Knapp of Google says that “paper prototyping is a waste of time“—but admits that paper prototyping is useful for early-stage conceptualizing.
Once you move from paper to digital, there’s no reason to return. Some designers might return to paper prototyping for new features or a product redesign. But even then, returning to paper prototyping might be unnecessary.
That said, paper prototyping is perfect for early-stage conceptualizing. Its speed, ease, and simplicity make it accessible to all teams (including non-designers) while fostering experimentation and creativity—something you can’t achieve with a digital canvas.
Paper prototyping is the fun part of product design. It’s an opportunity for team members to brainstorm and sketch ideas.
Don’t worry about how beautiful your sketches look. Even the best UX designers aren’t brilliant sketch artists! The goal is to visualize your ideas and get the creative juices flowing.
Creating a paper prototype involves three main steps:
1. Prepare Materials
Gather materials like paper, pens, markers, sticky notes, and scissors. You may also use a whiteboard or large sheets of paper to sketch user interfaces.
2. Sketch Interfaces
Draw basic screens, user interfaces, and key components of the design on separate pieces of paper. Represent user flows by arranging these sketches in sequence.
3. Simulate Interaction
Lay out the sketches in the order of user interaction. Simulate the user experience by manually switching between sketches based on user actions, gathering feedback to refine the design.
Use printer paper and cheap pencils/pens. Ruled or line pads often stifle creativity as designers get side-tracked drawing between the lines rather than developing lots of ideas.
Start with a warm-up! Sometimes it takes a few sketches to loosen up and get into the flow. Crazy eights is a fantastic paper prototyping method to design many versions of the same screen fast. After a couple of crazy eights rounds, you’ll have many ideas to expand on.
Prototype mobile-first or progressive enhancement. Start with the smallest screen and adjust the layout as you scale the viewport (this applies to mobile and web design. Scaling up is much easier than scaling down because you prioritize content and avoid elaborate desktop layouts that don’t translate to mobile. Side note: UXPin’s Auto Layout lets you automatically resize, fit, and fill your designs. A handy feature for mobile-first design.
Stick to one sketch per screen (a piece of paper). Paper prototyping requires you to create user flows by placing pieces of paper in sequences. You’ll also switch these around or add new screens. If you have more than one screen on a piece of paper, you lose this speed and flexibility.
Iterate as the ideas come to mind. The goal is quantity, not quality. When you create lots of paper prototype ideas, you often end up taking bits from each to get the final result—like a Lego set, but with paper.
Planning is crucial for a successful paper prototyping session! Ensure you have enough pens (black fine-tipped markers work best), paper, scissors, glue, post-it notes, index cards, tape, cardboard, and anything else you think your specific project might need. A whiteboard and marker are also great for outlining user flows collaboratively. Pro tip—assign the job of preparing your paper prototyping to an arts & crafts enthusiast! Every team has at least one, and they always make sure you have more than enough of everything you need!
Testing & Presenting Paper Prototypes
Testing & presenting paper prototypes outside of the UX department is always tricky. The stakeholders or usability participants have to “imagine” what will happen, which can confuse or divert focus from what you’re trying to present. Nevertheless, a study by Jakob Nielsen found that 75% of usability issues can be identified with simple, low-fidelity prototypes like paper ones.
Here are some tips for presenting and testing paper prototypes:
Designate one person other than the presenter as play the “human computer” or product simulator – The person playing the human-computer will simulate scrolling, swiping, navigating to different screens, and other functionality.
Rehearse – Rehearsing is essential so that the presenter and simulator are in sync. The presenter can work out a good cadence for the simulator to keep up with the presentation.
Follow standard usability test best practices – Standards like using a minimum of 5 users and recording the tests still apply. You can download our free Guide to Usability Testing for more understanding of usability standards and practices.
If you’re giving users a paper prototype to inspect, ensure you provide guidance and annotations, so they know where to focus and what they’re supposed to test.
Prototyping in UXPin
Whether you’re building a mobile application or a new website, UXPin provides designers with tools to build advanced prototypes; most leading design tools simply can’t!
Don’t take our word for it! Sign up for a free 14-day trial and test UXPin’s powerful prototyping features for your next project.
Material UI, developed and maintained by MUI, is a popular React component library that implements Google’s Material Design guidelines. It offers a comprehensive set of reusable and customizable components, such as buttons, cards, menus, form elements, predefined styles, and themes.
The library promotes a modular and structured approach to building user interfaces, enabling developers to create visually consistent and responsive designs. With Material UI, developers can streamline their front-end development process and deliver intuitive and visually appealing web apps.
Use Material UI’s React components for prototyping and testing your design without the need of translating pixels into code. Discover how smooth prototyping can be. Try UXPin Merge for free.
Ant Design
Best for: web applications, cross-platform applications, native apps
The Ant Design library is a comprehensive UI component library developed by Ant Design that offers a wide range of reusable and well-documented components for building high-quality applications. It follows the principles of the Ant Design system, emphasizing a clean and minimalist design aesthetic with a focus on usability and accessibility.
The library also provides powerful features like internationalization support, theming capabilities, and responsive design, making it a popular choice among developers for creating professional and user-friendly interfaces.
Developers can quickly create consistent and visually appealing interfaces by leveraging its extensive collection of components, including forms, tables, navigation menus, and more.
The Ant Design system also offers libraries for mobile and charts, giving product teams a comprehensive set of components and patterns for a wide variety of cross-platform applications.
React-Bootstrap
Best for: web applications
React-Bootstrap is a widely used React UI library for building responsive web applications with React. It combines the power of React’s component-based architecture with Bootstrap’s flexibility and styling capabilities, offering a comprehensive set of pre-designed and customizable components.
React-Bootstrap provides a range of UI elements such as buttons, forms, modals, navigation menus, and more, allowing developers to rapidly create visually appealing and functional interfaces.
React-Bootstrap’s detailed docs and active community support simplify web development by providing reusable and well-tested components, enabling developers to focus on building robust and user-friendly applications.
Fluent UI is a robust and comprehensive design system developed by Microsoft that provides reusable components and styling options for building cross-platform and mobile apps. The library follows the principles of Fluent Design, focusing on clarity, content prioritization, and smooth animations.
It offers a consistent and cohesive experience across different platforms and devices, making it suitable for many cross-platform and mobile projects.
With its extensive documentation and active community, Fluent UI empowers teams to build intuitive and accessible user interfaces that align with Microsoft’s design language. From buttons and forms to complex data grids and charts, Fluent UI provides the necessary tools to deliver delightful and user-centered experiences.
Best for: web applications, iOS & Android applications, native apps, cross-platform applications
Built on the principles of IBM’s design philosophy, Carbon focuses on simplicity, clarity, and purposeful interactions. It provides a range of components, from buttons and forms to data visualizations and icons, enabling designers and developers to create intuitive and visually appealing interfaces.
The Tailwind CSS library enables developers to rapidly build custom user interfaces using a utility-first CSS framework. It provides a comprehensive set of pre-defined utility classes, eliminating the need for writing custom CSS styles.
The library supports React, Vue, and HTML. Developers can easily apply these utility classes to HTML elements, giving them granular control over the appearance and behavior of their UI components.
Tailwind CSS promotes a modular approach to styling, where devs can combine classes to create unique and responsive designs. It offers utilities for layout, typography, colors, spacing, and more, allowing developers to create consistent and visually appealing interfaces with minimal effort.
Semantic UI
Best for: web applications
Semantic UI is a versatile front-end framework that offers a wide range of semantic and intuitive components for creating user interfaces. It provides a comprehensive collection of pre-designed UI elements for web applications, including buttons, forms, menus, cards, and modals.
The framework follows a natural language naming convention, making it user-friendly and easy to understand. Developers can leverage Semantic UI’s extensive set of CSS classes to build visually appealing and responsive designs quickly. The library supports React, Meteor, Ember, and Angular front-end frameworks.
Semantic UI supports theming and customization, allowing developers to customize the appearance of their UI components to align with their project’s branding. With its intuitive syntax and detailed documentation, Semantic UI is a valuable tool for designing and developing modern web interfaces.
Foundation
Best for: web applications, email templates, landing pages
Foundation is a responsive front-end framework with CSS and JavaScript components for building modern, mobile-friendly websites. It offers a comprehensive toolkit with a modular approach, allowing developers to customize and tailor their designs to meet specific project requirements.
Devs can easily create responsive grids, navigation menus, forms, buttons, and other UI elements that adapt seamlessly across different screen sizes. The framework also includes a powerful JavaScript library that enables interactive features and smooth animations.
With its extensive documentation and active community support, Foundation empowers developers to create visually appealing and highly functional web interfaces.
Chakra UI
Best for: web applications
Chakra UI is a modern and accessible React component library for streamlining user interface development. The library supports several frameworks, including React, Next.js, Meteor, and Gatsby, to name a few.
The project was founded by Segun Adebayo of Nigeria, making it one of the most prominent open-source component libraries to come out of Africa.
Chakra UI provides pre-designed components and utility functions, allowing developers to create visually appealing and responsive websites. Developers can leverage Chakra UI’s customizable and reusable components, such as buttons, forms, cards, and navigation elements, to design intuitive and accessible user interfaces.
The library also focuses on accessibility by adhering to WCAG standards, ensuring that the created interfaces are usable by individuals with disabilities. Chakra UI’s simplicity, flexibility, and robust documentation make it a popular choice among developers looking to build efficient and visually stunning React applications.
Bulma
Best for: web applications, landing pages
Bulma is a lightweight and modern CSS framework based on Flexbox, providing a flexible and responsive grid system and a set of ready-to-use UI components. The framework’s intuitive class naming convention supports quick and efficient styling, while its modular architecture ensures scalability and customization.
Bulma’s simplicity, extensive documentation, and community support make it a popular choice for projects of all sizes. Whether you’re building a landing page, a dashboard, or an eCommerce site, Bulma provides a solid foundation for building aesthetically pleasing and functional interfaces.
Styled Components
Best for: web applications, landing pages
Styled Components is a popular JavaScript library that allows developers to write CSS directly in their JavaScript code using tagged template literals. It provides a way to encapsulate styles within components, making them more maintainable and reusable.
Styled Components is widely used in the React ecosystem and offers seamless integration with popular UI frameworks and libraries. Developers can create dynamic and responsive styles by leveraging the power of JavaScript, including the ability to access component props and states. The library offers many features, including support for CSS-in-JS, automatic vendor prefixing, and theme management.
PrimeReact
Best for: web applications, landing pages
PrimeReact is a comprehensive UI component library for React applications, offering ready-to-use components and advanced features. It provides a wide range of UI elements, including buttons, inputs, tables, modals, and charts, for various digital products.
PrimeReact follows a responsive design approach, ensuring components adapt well to different screen sizes and devices. The library also offers powerful features, such as data binding, filtering, sorting, and pagination, making it suitable for building data-intensive applications.
By leveraging PrimeReact’s pre-built components and features, developers can save time and effort, resulting in faster development cycles and improved user experiences. The library is regularly updated, ensuring compatibility with the latest React versions and providing ongoing support and bug fixes.
High-Quality Prototypes with UXPin’s Code-to-Design Methodology
UXPin’s Merge technology enables product teams to import these and other open-source design systems into UXPin’s design editor so designers can prototype and test using code components.
Use the same components in the design process as you would use to develop the final product. Build immersive prototype experiences for user testing and stakeholders, providing meaningful feedback to iterate and improve concepts. Share a single source of truth across the product development environment, from early-stage design to development and the final product. Try UXPin Merge for free.
Collaboration doesn’t end at the design handoff stage, right? Yet, seldomly is it discussed what happens next. We’re inviting you to a webinar that will show you how enterprise teams like Porsche, IBM, and Salesforce collaborate to boost their design system adoption and scale consistency.
Spoiler alert! You can replicate those strategies to amplify collaboration at your organization. Join us on Wednesday, May 29th, for a free webinar: “Removing Friction from Design System Workflows.”
Wanna ship products faster? Then, you need to master processes and tools that will get you there. This webinar will give you first-hand experience on what you can do to keep the speed of action in a multi-disciplinary team of engineers, designers, and stakeholders.
You’ll learn:
How to empower developers and designers to communicate using live examples
How to increase the adoption of your design system with interactive documentation
How to streamline efficient bug reporting and updating the design system library
We invited Tomek Sułkowski to host this webinar. He’s a DevRel and a founding engineer of StackBlitz – an in-browser dev environment for building web apps. He helps teams optimize the browser development environment by utilizing a variety of built-in, open-source, and commercial tools.
Prototyping, working with design systems, AI-generated Tailwind components, opening in StackBlitz… this Product Hunt launch from UXPin has it all 🤌 pic.twitter.com/yq38x6i5oe
On its most basic level, dark mode turns white backgrounds with black text into black backgrounds with white text. The more you explore dark mode, though, the more design opportunities you will discover.
Why should you bother learning about dark mode designs? Here are a few important reasons to get you motivated.
Discover the power of dark mode with UXPin, the ultimate tool for transforming your design ideas into dynamic, fully functional prototypes. UXPin allows you to effortlessly explore dark mode concepts, bringing them to life in a way that closely mimics the final product. This real-time interaction provides invaluable insights, enabling you to fine-tune your designs to enhance aesthetic appeal and user comfort.
Begin your UXPin journey today with a free trial and see how seamlessly you can convert your dark mode visions into interactive prototypes. Experience the potential of UXPin for yourself — start for free now.
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Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.
What is dark mode?
Dark mode is a color scheme that uses light-colored text, icons, and user interface elements on a dark background. It’s a popular feature in many apps and operating systems.
Dark mode can often be toggled on and off based on user preference, and some operating systems and applications can automatically switch between dark and light mode based on the time of day or ambient light conditions.
Many popular apps and operating systems have embraced dark mode, incorporating it into their user interface options due to its benefits like eye strain reduction and battery saving. Notably, major operating systems like Windows 10 and 11, macOS, iOS, and Android all offer system-wide dark modes. This setting influences everything from system menus and taskbars to app interfaces, providing a seamless experience across the device.
Dark mode reduces blue light that can interrupt sleep
When it gets dark, your brain naturally begins to produce more melatonin, the chemical that makes you sleepy. Any type of light can disrupt the melatonin levels, so people should ideally avoid all types of light as bedtime approaches. Although no one has found enough evidence to prove it, some studies link exposure to light at night to increased risks for health problems like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.
Blue light disrupts melatonin secretion more than other types of light. Unfortunately, computer and smartphone screens bathe your eyes in blue light. Comparative research at Harvard shows that exposure to blue light suppresses melatonin for twice as long as other green light.
Harvard says that people should avoid using bright screens about three hours before bed. Considering that many people look at their phone before going to bed, though, few consumers follow this advice.
Night mode produces significantly less blue light than standard screen settings. Ideally, you shouldn’t use any screens leading up to bedtime. If you do, using dark mode should disrupt sleep much less than standard screen modes that use blue light.
As screentime grows, eyes need more rest
If people only used websites and smartphone apps for short periods during the day, they probably wouldn’t need the benefits of dark mode. Studies show that the amount of time that people spend focused on screens keeps growing, though. Dark mode could serve an important role in curbing the negative health effects without telling consumers to put down their devices—designers and developers don’t want to do that for obvious reasons!
On average, people pick up their phones 58 times per day. Most of the interactions are rather brief:
70% of sessions last less than two minutes.
25% are between two and 10 minutes.
Only 5% of sessions last more than 10 minutes.
Cumulatively, though, all of those interactions add up to 3 hours and 15 minutes of screen time.
These statistics only apply to smartphone use during workdays. Now that more people use computers during work, you can safely assume that many of them can add at least 6.5 hours of screen time to the 3 hours 15 minutes that they spend looking at their phones. Even a conservative estimate shows that people expose themselves to the bright, blue light of computer screens for more than half of the waking day.
Dark mode extends battery life
Smartphone and laptop sellers often use long battery lives as selling points that will convince consumers to spend more money on devices. Battery life certainly matters in a mobile device, but users probably have much more control than they think about how long charges will last.
When testers compared the battery life of iPhones, they found that they could play video for 15 hours on the phone using light mode while the dark mode phone kept working for 20 hours. They got a 33% increase in battery life just by switching to dark mode.
The researchers point out that only smartphones with OLED screens will get the benefit of extended battery life. LCD screens use about the same amount of energy regardless of the type of light they use, so they probably won’t work longer while in dark mode.
You can explore more design options with dark mode
Dark mode gives designers more opportunities to explore design options for their products. A white screen can make it difficult to view certain colors. Light blue, for example, may force you to concentrate on text much carefully against a light background than a dark one.
The move toward darker designs has been much more prevalent in mobile apps than websites. Many app designers like to dim the lights because the darker environment:
Increases contrast between backgrounds, oversized images, and text.
Makes it easier for image-heavy designs to look professional.
Younger people who play a lot of video games have gotten used to dark color schemes, so they expect to find a similar aesthetic used by apps.
Finally, there’s no denying that a black background makes certain colors pop! When you dim the background—or start using completely black backgrounds—you can make light blue, pink, yellow, and other colors stand out. These colors would blend into a white background, but they look stunning against black.
Consumers want the option to choose dark mode
Maybe you don’t care a lot about the effects of blue light, extending battery life, or exploring designs that work better on a black background. All of those points aside, you still care about making your products popular. Unpopular products don’t survive, which could mean that your job title doesn’t survive long, either.
Over the last few years, there has been a significant trend toward dark mode. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, YouTube, Apple, and Twitter have adopted dark mode options, creating an important trend within the design industry. About 70% of software engineers prefer working in Dark Theme IDEs, so it seems natural for them to create tools with dark backgrounds and colored text.
Ultimately, though, the consumer matters most. As more people start watching videos online, dark backgrounds have become standard on websites like YouTube. In August 2019, 2.08 billion people worldwide said that they watched videos on their smartphones. When it comes to viewing videos on computers, 1.87 billion people admitted to it during the same month. Interestingly, a much smaller number (1.64 million) said that they watched online videos via their smart TVs.
Both modes have their place depending on user preferences, the ambient environment, and specific use cases. Many modern devices and apps offer the ability to switch between modes based on the time of day or user settings, providing optimal comfort and usability across different scenarios.
Light Mode Benefits
Better Readability in Bright Conditions: Light mode tends to work better in brightly lit environments, making it easier to read text on a stark white background.
Familiarity and Preference: Many users find light mode more visually appealing and easier to use during the day due to its resemblance to daylight conditions.
Better Color Accuracy: Light mode displays colors more vibrantly and accurately, which is particularly important for tasks that require precise color discrimination.
Dark Mode Benefits
Reduced Eye Strain in Low Light: Dark mode is easier on the eyes in low-light conditions, reducing glare and helping to minimize eye strain during nighttime use.
Energy Efficiency on OLED Screens: On OLED and AMOLED screens, dark mode can significantly reduce power consumption as these displays turn off black pixels completely.
Aesthetically Pleasing: Many users find dark mode stylish and modern, offering a different visual experience that is often perceived as less harsh than light mode.
Potentially Better Sleep: Reducing exposure to bright screens, especially in the evenings, can help decrease blue light exposure, which may improve sleep quality.
Explore more design concepts with UXPin prototypes
Dark mode isn’t the perfect solution for every product’s design. Since consumers and developers like having the option to switch to dark mode, though, it makes sense for more designers to test dark mode concepts.
UXPin gives you an easy way to explore dark mode concepts by turning designs into fully functional prototypes. UXPin prototypes respond to interactions just like their final products will, giving you opportunities to tweak your dark mode versions to make sure they look attractive and make users more comfortable. Start your free UXPin trial to see how easily you can turn your dark mode designs into interactive prototypes. Try UXPin for free.
A blog layout refers to the structure and organization of content on a blog — a webpage that features various types of content, from paragraphs of text to high-quality images or eye catching graphics. Blog content can be about company updates, how-to manuals, personal stories, and more.
From a design perspective, a blog is often optimized for readability and navigation, with features such as categories, tags, archives, and search functionality to help users find content of interest. Additionally, blogs often incorporate images, videos, and animations to make user experience more enjoyable and unique.
In this article, we will go through the most important elements of the blog layout and we will show you a list of best blog designs that you can copy.
Create a well-optimized and user-friendly blog layout with UXPin Merge – drag-and-drop UI builder that makes web design extremely easy. Choose components, arrange them on the canvas, and then, change their properties to create a unique UI that reflects your brand. Try UXPin Merge for free.
Design UI with code-backed components.
Use the same components in design as in development. Keep UI consistency at scale.
What is a blog?
A blog is a type of website or section of a website that is regularly updated with new content, typically in the form of articles, posts, or entries. These entries are often displayed in reverse chronological order, with the newest content appearing first.
Blogs can cover a wide range of topics and purposes, including personal journals, professional insights, news updates, tutorials, reviews, and more. They often provide a platform for individuals or organizations to share their thoughts, expertise, or experiences with an audience.
Overall, blogs play a significant role in web design as they provide a dynamic and engaging way for creators to connect with their audience and share content online.
What to include in a blog layout?
A blog layout can have various design elements that influence navigation and user experience. Le’s go through some of them.
Header
The header is situated on the top of the page. It usually contains the blog title or logo, along with navigation menu that features links to other pages of the blog, such as blog homepage, about page, contact page, and blog categories.
By appearing at the top of the page, the header provides a consistent visual element throughout the blog. This consistency helps users orient themselves and reinforces the blog’s brand identity across all pages.
Additionally, the header is often the first thing visitors see when they land on the blog. A well-designed header creates a positive first impression, drawing visitors in and encouraging them to explore further.
Blog content area
This is where the blog articles are displayed. Each post typically includes a title, the author’s name, publication date, content (text, images, videos), and social sharing buttons.
A well-designed content area enhances the overall user experience by making it easy for visitors to read and engage with the blog posts. Clear typography, appropriate use of white space, and sufficient contrast between text and background contribute to readability.
Moreover, content areas are important for boosting search engine optimization. Including relevant keywords in the content areas, such as in the body text, subheadings, and meta descriptions, helps search engines understand the topic of the blog post. This increases the likelihood of the blog post appearing in search engine results pages (SERPs) when users search for those keywords.
Search engines prioritize content that provides value to users and is well-organized. Content areas that offer insightful, informative, and well-structured content are more likely to rank higher in search results. Additionally, well-organized content makes it easier for search engine crawlers to index and understand the content, which can positively impact SEO.
Sidebar
The sidebar is located either on the left or right side of the main content area and often contains additional elements such as:
Blog categories and tags — Help users navigate and filter content based on topics or themes.
Recent articles — Lists links to the most recent blog posts.
Featured articles — Highlights links to the blog’s most popular or trending content.
Call to action links — Allows users to perform an action that’s desired by the blog owner, such as subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed or email newsletter, located here to maximize conversions.
Social media links — Links to the blog’s social media profiles for users to follow or share content.
Footer
The footer typically contains links to important pages, such as the privacy policy, terms of service, copyright information, and contact details. It may also include additional navigation links or widgets.
Footers contribute to the overall design consistency of the blog by providing a uniform layout and visual style across all pages. Consistent placement of elements such as navigation links, copyright information, and links to other pages reinforces the blog’s brand identity and professionalism.
5 Examples of blog layouts
We gathered a collection of successful blog designs to show you how to create your own blog design.
Animalz
A perfect example of a minimalist design a business blog of content marketing agency — Animalz. With a black and white color scheme, this blog is structured like an online newspaper (matrix web structure). It has a prominent blog post with a featured image at the center of the page, and the rest of the articles are positioned as cards.
You can use MUI components that are built-in UXPin if you want to create a similar blog. Take a menu component and put it on the canvas, then arrange a couple of cards in responsive layout structure.
Zen habits
This is a lifestyle blog example that knows well its target audience — individuals interested in personal development, mindfulness, simplicity, productivity, and minimalism. Zen Habits, founded by Leo Babauta, focuses on helping people cultivate habits and lifestyles that promote mindfulness, and overall well-being.
The blog structure reflects those values. With an ample use of white space, elegant typography, and minimalist color scheme, the website design evokes the feelings of serenity, focus, and peace.
Our trial kit contains a similar blog card template that you may use as a landing page of your blog. Like in Zen habits, it features the most recent article. You can quickly add a button with a call to action at the end that makes readers see more articles from the author.
Huberman Lab
A blog can also feature a list of podcasts and Huberman’s Lab is a great example of that. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University who is known for his work on brain plasticity, neuroscience, and optimizing human performance.
Besides its minimalistic color palette, you should note an excellent search option on this blog. It’s very user-friendly and helps you find the right information without scrolling through the entire archive. The blog has also well-thought-out categories to make the target audience focus on the topics they’re interested in.
Travelfloss
People write travel blogs for various reasons, often driven by personal passion, professional interests, or a combination of both. That’s why we included a well-known travel blog in this article. Travelfloss is a blog with travel tips and gear reviews. It’s a great blog for anyone who wants to learn about real travel experience.
They have a well-made navigation menu that features their social media accounts and a great footer with the best links that make the site easy to consume. Every blog entry has lots of eye-catching photographs that make reading more enjoyable.
What also stands out as a design element are tags that also aid navigation. Travelfloss is easy to replicate if you’re looking for a user-friendly blog template.
Sixteen Ventures
Here’s another example of a business blog. Lincoln Murphy, the author behind Sixteen Ventures is a Customer Success expert who consults the teams wanting to improve their customer experience. At first, his blog looks like any other WordPress theme, but it a well-designed sidebar that we haven’t seen so far.
If you want to advertise other ventures to your audience, a sidebar is a great solution. You can promote your newsletter there, invite people to listen to a podcast or sign up for your course.
Blog layout best practices
Here are seven best practices for blog layout design:
Clear and intuitive navigation: Make sure that visitors can easily find their way around your blog. Use a clear and intuitive navigation menu that prominently displays categories, tags, and other important sections.
Mobile responsiveness: With an increasing number of users accessing websites from mobile devices, it’s crucial to ensure that your blog layout is responsive and looks good on smartphones and tablets. Opt for a responsive design that adjusts seamlessly to different screen sizes and orientations.
Readable typography: Choose a legible font for your blog posts, headings, and navigation elements. Pay attention to font size, line spacing, and contrast to ensure optimal readability, especially on smaller screens. Aim for a font size of at least 16 pixels for body text.
Visual hierarchy: Use visual cues such as headings, subheadings, bold text, and bullet points to create a clear hierarchy of information. This helps readers scan your content quickly and find the most important points. Employ whitespace generously to enhance readability and create a sense of balance.
Engaging multimedia content: Incorporate multimedia elements such as images, videos, infographics, and interactive widgets to enhance your blog posts and make them more engaging. Visual content can break up long blocks of text, illustrate concepts, and capture readers’ attention.
Consistent branding: Maintain a consistent visual identity across your blog, including colors, typography, imagery, and logo placement. Consistent branding helps reinforce your blog’s identity and makes it easier for visitors to recognize and remember your brand.
Optimized loading speed: Optimize your blog layout for fast loading times to provide a smooth user experience. Minimize unnecessary elements, use efficient coding practices, and optimize images and multimedia files to reduce page load times. A fast-loading blog not only improves user satisfaction but also contributes to better search engine rankings.
By following these best practices, you can create a blog layout that not only looks appealing but also provides a user-friendly experience, encourages engagement, and supports your blogging goals.
Create a blog layout in UXPin
A well-designed blog prioritizes readability and navigation, offering features like categories, tags, and search functionality to guide users seamlessly through the content. By incorporating multimedia elements such as images, videos, and animations, blogs enhance the overall user experience, making it both enjoyable and engaging.
For those looking to streamline the design process, tools like UXPin Merge offer intuitive drag-and-drop functionality, allowing you to create custom UI designs with ease. With the ability to select components, arrange them on the canvas, and customize their properties, UXPin Merge empowers you to bring your vision to life effortlessly.
Begin your journey towards a well-optimized and user-friendly blog layout today with UXPin Merge. Try it for free.
With the fierce competition on the market, hiring top design talent is no easy feat. However, bringing a group of experienced, skilled people into one place is only part of success. Among others, to build a thriving product design team you must also invest in design operations (also known as DesignOps).
We’ve written a whole ebook about DesignOps that will help you understand the role and see if you would be great as a DesignOps leader. Get it here: DesignOps 101: Guide to Design Operations.
In this article, we’ll explain what DesignOps is and how you can use it to improve the digital design system in your organization. We’ll discuss areas such as cross-team collaboration, goal setting, and information exchange systems, along with using the right DesignOps software.
A great software piece that supports your design operations is UXPin. Together with its Merge technology, it helps you scale design to the extraordinary level. Start building prototypes by dragging and dropping real building blocks of your app and streamline design. Check out UXPin Merge.
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What is DesignOps?
You may have heard about DevOps, but what is DesignOps?
DesignOps (short for Design Operations) is the optimization of design processes, people, and technologies to streamline product design and add business value. Among others, it circles around:
DesignOps is a relatively new term, which is why you might be wondering – how did it come to life?
In the past, designers used to wear many hats. They did the UX research, wrote UX stories, wireframing, and more. While this approach might still work well for some teams, it is unproductive at scale. Here’s where DesignOps comes in, helping orchestrate teamwork and building clear structure and roles.
That being said, DesignOps isn’t an isolated, ‘design-team-only’ exercise reserved for design organizations. It requires lots of information sharing with other stakeholders (especially, software developers). By following a set of practices, your designers can enhance the quality of these interactions, focus on effective goal completion, and free the time for other initiatives.
Why is design operations gaining more ground?
For starters, both business and user requirements are becoming more complex (which also means that clients are also becoming more unforgiving). According to a report by PwC, one in three customers will leave a business after just one bad customer experience. Unsurprisingly, the challenge to keep up with client expectations also accelerates product development life cycles. And, as teams try to keep up with a growing workload, there’s the risk of miscommunication among designers and between designers and developers.
Teams might work in isolation on the basis of inconsistent requirements, which negatively affects the delivery timelines and, ultimately, the UX. DesignOps practices help companies overcome these bottlenecks and create harmony between design and development teams.
Let’s now take a closer look into the role of DesignOps Management.
The Role of DesignOps
The main role of design operations management is to protect the time of the design team so that they can focus on doing their jobs without obstacles or distractions. You can read more about it in our DesignOps 101 ebook. Here is how a DesignOps role plays out day-to-day:
Operations management
This role involves creating a clear design roadmap of what the long-term goals of the design team are and how they can be achieved. It is also their job to assess the headcount of the design team and identify any skill gaps.
Process design
DesignOps plan and manage the design process by creating design systems and mapping out the design tools that the team needs. They create the frameworks of how the design team should collaborate with product teams and any other team within the entire organization.
Project management
They are in charge of design workflows, assign projects, set timelines, and remove any bottlenecks. The DesignOps team schedules daily standup meetings to find out the progress of design projects. They also organize and run design sprints.
Creating a communication strategy
The design operations manager acts as the liaison between the design team and the rest of the organization. They evangelize the value of design and set team meeting agendas.
The design leader ensures communication flow with product managers and a product development team. DesignOps creates a system for storing all the files and resources that the design team needs for easy retrieval.
Onboarding new hires
They orient new staff, train them, and ensure that they fit into the design team. Hiring new design staff, such as UI or UX designers, is also part of their mandate.
Building the culture of the design team
The DesignOps team organizes workshops and training for the professional development of the design team. They also provide professional and emotional support for designers within their team and organize team-building activities to create a sense of community in the design team.
Budget allocation and control
DesignOps establishes how much it costs to run the design team and justifies these costs. Once the budget is approved, they are in charge of how it is distributed within the design team.
Legal
Working with the legal team to create NDAs and participant release forms that are used during user testing.
Managing the procurement process
Liaising with the procurement department to streamline how the design team makes purchasing decisions.
IT and Security
Coming up with the technological roadmap of the design team and working with the IT department to ensure the compatibility and security of design tools.
Tips to improving your design workflow and operations
With the above in mind, let’s now discuss some tips that will help you improve design operation practices in your organization.
1. Let your designers focus on designing
While it might seem like a no-brainer, as mentioned earlier, some companies still expect designers to play multiple roles. Sometimes, a single designer conducts user research, designs the information architecture, UI, and handles UX writing.
While this approach might be effective if you’re a small team or an early-stage startup, bear in mind that it’s not a scalable approach. In the long run, burdening designers with other tasks may hamper the quality of their work.
2. Check the efficiency of your design process
Organizations use various product design and development methods. Some organizations might follow the Design Thinking process, while others might focus primarily on Google’s Design Sprints.
The bottom line is making sure you’re applying the best methodology out there.
With DesignOps, you can find and eliminate inefficiencies in the design workflow. This lets your design team achieve more with less time and resources. As a result, by optimizing work and team performance, you might avoid unnecessary hiring.
3. Use tools for effective remote product design collaborations
While, at small organizations, collaboration between designers might happen organically, it’s not the case with larger (and, especially, remote) teams. To collaborate effectively, it’s important to equip your designers and other product development team members with the right set of tools. Here’s where DesignOps software brings immense value.
UXPin’s Merge is one such tool. For starters, your designers can use UI components imported from your software developers’ Git repo or Storybook. Instead of spending time on creating prototypes from scratch, they can design directly with elements made with real-life code. This way, your team can focus more time on the actual design and maintain consistency with the coded product.
That being said, tools are just part of the puzzle – the remaining element is following the right communication practices, which we discuss next.
4. Establish collaboration routines
Collaboration routines, such as daily standups or weekly meetings, which are usually performed by agile teams, encourage your designers to share regular status updates and – if needed – ask for support.
An example of how you can instill effective collaboration routines comes from none else but Google. Sophia Chiu, who started off as an intern and now works as an Interaction Designer for the tech giant, says that routines helped her find common ground with the rest of the team
Each week, UX specialists have the opportunity to present their design iterations in front of others and engage in a brainstorming and feedback session. After working in a modest group, they are then given the option to share their designs with the entire, cross-functional product development department.
This is just one of the many ways you can create an open communication flow among your team members.
5. Make sure that all designers have a clear career path for progression
While hiring people with the right skillset is not an easy task, retaining them is even harder. Fortunately, DesignOps practices can help to tackle these challenges by creating clear career development paths. As the design process matures, the team can feature more specialized roles which will enable designers to acquire new skills. All the while, more experienced individuals will get the opportunity to be promoted to more senior roles.
6. Encourage designers to work collaboratively
Pair programming is frequently used among developers as a way to reduce bugs and errors. In DesignOps, designers can adopt similar models to enhance the efficiency of the design work.
In this model, two designers are paired together to try to generate as many designs as they can. At the same time, they evaluate and synthesize them to create the best one. One designer, i.e., the ‘navigator’, focuses on brainstorming and generating ideas. Meanwhile, the other designer acts as the ‘synthesizer’, and analyzes and raises questions to validate the designs. This approach can help the pair of designers to come up with ideas and evaluate them effectively.
Cross-disciplinary pairing
This method is appropriate for product development team members who specialize in different disciplines. It can be used by both designers and non-designers. For example, when designing for an extremely specialized sector, the designer can pair with a domain expert who can provide valuable insights for the design.
A designer can also pair with a front-end engineer in the so-called cross-disciplinary pairing. Such a cross-functional team exercise will provide the designer with an opportunity to experiment with the real-life, coded UI rather than a wireframe.
Pair sketching
Designers can use the pair sketching method to develop wireframes together. In this model, one designer takes the role of the navigator and describes the concept, while the other creates the sketches accordingly. Next, they can switch roles and repeat the same process.
7. Set clear goals for the design team
Clearly communicating the company’s or project’s goals can act as a great motivator for the design team. After all, it helps them to understand the significance of their contribution.
Individual (i.e., per-employee) OKRs will help your designers see how their work objectives fit as an element of the greater design puzzle. As a result, they’ll know how their work contributes to the overall outcome of the project.
That being said, it’s also important to measure goals’ achievement progress. A metrics dashboard displaying progress within the team will help keep team members motivated and understand where they might be falling behind.
8. Create a cross-team information sharing system
Removing silos is arguably the top most important reason for building out information sharing systems as part of your DesignOps strategy. To illustrate its importance, let’s once again refer to an analogy from the software development operations’ (DevOps) world.
Michael Mazyar of Samanage makes a great point of stating that “within silos, the development team might not report a software bug to operations out of fear of being reprimanded. Without an honest and open information sharing system, workflow is not only delayed, but the potential for misinformation increases.”
The same could potentially happen within your design team, who might not inform others of an ongoing situation. For instance, if they were to encounter a usability glitch, your developers, designers, and operations should all get together to discuss a number or areas, for instance:
Does it cause financial loss?
How does it affect the overall UX?
Is there a risk of user drop-off?
How long would it take to fix & how much would it cost?
With a clear cross-team information communication system, you’ll be able to proactively identify and rectify problems with minimum impact on the end-users.
9. Consider creating a shared vocabulary
A typical content marketing team has a set of editorial guidelines they follow which helps them communicate effectively, and retain the right communication standard. Similarly, design teams should adopt a set of guidelines and a common design language to retain consistency across all their projects.
As an example, Airbnb has adopted a DLS (Design Language System). It consists of a set of components that comply with clearly established principles and patterns. DLS enables all employees to use a shared vocabulary understood by all departments within the organization. This greatly enhances the quality of communication while eliminating ambiguities and discrepancies.
Scale DesignOps with UXPin Merge
The number of challenges that companies face today is growing; customers become more demanding, new products are launched faster, while product life cycles shorten. One of the ways to tackle these challenges is by introducing DesignOps. Not only will it improve your design workflow, but it will also let designers focus on what they do best i.e. design digital products.
All of this will help you build products and services that perfectly correspond to clients’ needs and that are intuitive to use which will positively impact the user experience. If you’re looking for a tool that will improve your design workflow by making collaboration between your designers and software engineers smoother then check out UXPin Merge.
As UX/UI designers, we have to keep in mind that we’re creating a product for real people. A user persona is a perfect tool to humanize our research data. We’ll look at some UX persona examples later.
When we say the target user is women 35-60 years of age, our brains read it as numbers and not people.
But if we say that 42-year-old Martha is married, has two teenage sons and one adult daughter, our brains recognize her as a person.
Build interactive user interfaces with UXPin, an end-to-end prototyping tool that will supercharge the way you design and build UI design. Use features like variables, states, and interactions to design clickable and high-fidelity interfaces that streamline design handoff. Try UXPin for free.
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What is a user persona? UX persona basics
In user experience and user interface design, a persona is a fictional character that represents a typical user of an app, website, or other product, so that designers can clarify their target user and empathize with them.
A user persona contains critical details about a hypothetical user who will interact with the user interface. And therefore, it provides designers with a nuanced understanding of user behavior, shedding light on the motivations, tendencies, and decision-making processes that influence how users interact with a product. This insight empowers designers to anticipate user actions and design interfaces that seamlessly align with user expectations, ultimately enhancing the overall user experience.
These personas are crafted based on extensive research and data collection, allowing designers to empathize with their target audience and design experiences that resonate with them. Let’s see how they are created.
How to build a user persona
Building a user persona in UI design involves creating a fictional representation of your target users to better understand their needs, preferences, behavior, and goals. But before you can create a persona, you’ll need to put a lot of thought and research into it. You want to be sure it accurately reflects real-life users.
Step 1: Give the persona a name
When naming your persona, give the character a first name and combine it with their function. This makes the persona memorable.
A SaaS product for CPAs could have a persona named “Artie the Accountant.” “Millie the Mom” could be a persona for a daycare website.
An app for a pet care business might have a persona named “Pam the Pet Groomer.”
Tip: Add a stock photo or drawing that represents your persona. This helps you identify with the persona and aids memory.
Step 2: Add demographics and interests
Here you give the personal data:
Age
Gender
Marital status
Occupation
Location
Have a summary of the character’s personality. You can condense it into a quote that represents attitudes and feelings.
Step 3: Identify frustrations
Here we look at what the user wants to move away from. What kinds of problems does the user want to solve with your product?
Step 4: Identify wants and aspirations
This helps us find what kind of experience the user wants from the product.
Step 5: Review and update frequently
As we mentioned earlier, you’ll need to refine your persona during the user testing phase of the project. After the product launch, user feedback will help you keep the persona up to date.
4 Persona examples for UX or UI design
UX persona example #1: mobile website for a supermarket
A local supermarket has its store inventory on a mobile website. This allows shoppers to see what items are in stock and in which aisle they can be found. Users can log in and make a shopping list.
Persona name: Helen the Homemaker
Age: 35
Gender: Female
Marital status: Married
Children: Two girls, ages 7 and 9
Occupation: Stay-at-home mom
Education: Associate’s degree
Income: Husband makes $65,000/year
Location: Joplin, Missouri
Quote: “Family comes first.”
Influencers: Oprah, Church leaders
Sources of info: Blogs, Facebook groups, TV, radio
Goals: Get quality groceries for her family and stay on budget
Values: Holds traditional family values
Frustrations: Juggling many tasks
Aspirations: Wants her family, friends, and church acquaintances to see her as a successful homemaker
UX persona example #2: university website
Both the mobile and desktop versions of the site give students access to class schedules, course syllabi, student events, sporting events, fraternity and sorority mixers, and more.
Persona name: Freddie the Freshman
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Marital status: Single
Children: None
Occupation: Student
Education: High school diploma
Income: Allowance from his parents of $500/month on prepaid debit card
Location: Austin, TX
Quote: “Enjoy life while you’re young.”
Influencers: Professors, fraternity brothers
Sources of info: TV, the university newspaper, blogs
Goals: To be well-liked by his peers
Values: Good grades are important, but it’s also important to have a good time
Frustrations: He has to choose which college activities are going to let him keep up with his studies
Aspirations: To get the most out of the college experience
UX persona example #3: rental car virtual concierge
The app lets users reserve a car and check in when they arrive. Their car has a card inside with a scannable code to confirm they picked up the car. The app sends a confirmation that the user shows it to the security person at the exit. It makes dropping off the car convenient as well.
Persona name: Business Class Ben
Age: 43
Gender: Male
Marital status: Married
Children: Three girls, ages 13, 15, and 16
Occupation: Manufacturing equipment salesperson
Education: MBA
Income: $140,000/year
Location: Home in Gary, Illinois – travels all over the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.
Quote: “You gotta make sacrifices to get ahead in life,”
Influencers: Gary Vaynerchuk, Aaron Ross, Trish Bertuzzi
Sources of info: The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, finance blogs, sales blogs
Goals: To earn enough to have a comfortable retirement
Values: Providing good things for his family is the most important
Frustrations: Frequent travel is exhausting and wants to get hotels and rental cars without the hassle
Aspirations: Wants his business travel to be more enjoyable
UX persona example #4: trucking dispatch system
This enterprise software is the next generation in trucking dispatch. It’s designed for trucking companies that specialize in oversize freight that requires a permit.
The system lets dispatch communicate load details, including pickup and drop-off locations, permits required, and appointment times. The driver can accept the work assignment and confirm the completion of pickup and drop-off.
As oversize loads may have route restrictions, the system assists the driver in finding the safest route. It helps the driver find the fueling locations with the best prices.
Persona name: Heavy Haul Henry
Age: 51
Gender: Male
Marital status: Divorced
Children: One daughter, age 22
Occupation: Truck driver, oversize load specialty
Education: Some college
Income: $112,000/year
Location: Home in Tulsa, OK – travels all over the U.S. and Canada
Quote: “Six days on the road and I’m a-gonna make it home tonight.”
Influencers: Radio talk show hosts
Sources of info: Mostly radio, some television, newspapers
Goals: Find the safest routes, get the right permits
Values: Has a strong work ethic
Frustrations: Inaccurate map programs, satellite link dead spots
Aspirations: Find routes, fuel stops, and overnight parking easily
Build prototypes based on your UI deliverables
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Prototyping is one of the most useful UX practices available. Rather than showing your static design, prototypes are the living design.
Luckily, there’s no shortage of advice online, so if you’re looking for some quick reads on prototyping, check out our favorites below.
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This clever and thought-provoking piece better explains the heart of prototyping through three novel metaphors. A great read for UX practitioners of any level of experience, Matt Yurdana’s article helps understand the point of prototyping by seeing it from a new light.
Our own Ben Gremillion explains straightforward why prototyping is not just helpful, it’s practically necessary. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, or new to designing in general, this is a good piece to start
In this helpful piece, Javier Cuello gives an overview of a basic prototyping process, exclusively for apps. Because app prototyping has different goals, even prototyping veterans would find this article helpful in translating the process to this new format.
Many designers ignore prototyping because they view them as wasteful. This is a misconception, as, with the right tools, prototypes can be built from existing documents and later progressed into new documents. We explain how to build interactive, testable prototypes in UXPin.
Shawn Medero discusses everything a UX practitioner needs to know about paper prototyping. While this style has its obvious limitations, for certain purposes nothing is better. This all-inclusive guide explains how, when, and why to use paper over digital mediums.
Heather Daggett’s perspective on prototypes is something all UX practitioner’s can learn from. Her article gives a good examination of the theory of prototypes, and why she prefers high fidelity. While she suggests coding, even designers who aren’t familiar with this can still learn from topics like “The Prototyping Mindset.”
One of the most reliable voices in UX design, Jared Spool pens an article that lives up to his reputation. His calculated analysis of prototyping reveals how to use it to explore the three dimensions of the problem spaces (technology, business, and users), plus breaks up prototype design into four phases.
Marek Bowers wrote an excellent piece for our blog all about user flows, including how to make them and why they’re important. The article also goes into detail about creating user flows for prototyping, and if implemented can increase low-fidelity prototypes.
Getting philosophical about prototyping, Ian Schoen not only gives a concise description of the prototyping practice, he also analyzes its role in the future of design, and how modern prototypes are making more traditional deliverables obsolete.
Daniel Pataki explains a very specific process of prototyping, using WordPress templates. While this process isn’t for everyone, he makes a few good points to support his favorite method, as long as you’re familiar with WordPress templates and emphasize the rapidity of prototyping.
Another piece from our team, this practical article by Jerry Cao dissects the 3 best methods for the common website prototype. This clear-cut article lists out the theory, process, and pros & cons of the most effective ways to build website prototypes, with real-life examples.
This article gives ten standalone pieces of advice for prototyping in general. Almost common sense in their simplicity, and yet neglected enough to warrant reminding, these tips range from “make user interactions as simple as possible” to how to design for a prototype for a specific audience.
For designers that know code, building coded prototypes can save a lot of time and manpower when it comes time for development. David Verba explains what to pay attention to when building a prototype in code.
If designers don’t know how to code but they want to enjoy the benefits of coded prototypes, they can use visual design tools to build their design with React components. Check out what tools make it possible.
In the age of Agile and Lean UX, designers are making more prototypes, and faster. Lyndon Cerejo’s classic article explains the rapid prototyping process: why making and testing more prototypes will ultimately have a better effect on the final product, and how to reduce waste at the same time.
More Comprehensive Guides
While these articles are nice for quick tips and refresher lessons, to fully understand all the nuances of prototyping, as well as the other documentations like wireframing and mockups, a more complete guidebook works better.
If you’d like to know the finer details, download our UX Design Builder’s Bundle. This package offers 3 of our most popular design ebooks, the complete guides to Wireframes, Mockups, and Prototypes. Over 350 pages and notable real-life examples like Google Ventures and Apple are available in this single free bundle. Download it now.
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As a developer, you definitely heard about Angular, React, and Vue and the constant discussions and comparisons around which one is better. Of course, all three of them are used for building web, mobile apps, and fast development of UI through the use of components.
However, that doesn’t mean they are the same as Angular offers a wide range of pre-built features available to the user, React is really minimalistic in terms of features whereas Vue stands somewhere in the middle.
So, in that regard, if you are a UI developer who wants to learn one of these technologies, but can’t decide which framework to learn, a detailed comparison might help.
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Market Popularity and Demand
Each one of the mentioned technologies have their own purpose in regards to how to approach and handle a specific project.
For example, Angular is an extensive front-end framework that lets you develop dynamic single-page web apps, suited for large-scale enterprise projects. However, Vue and React are also capable and flexible enough to be used in both enterprise or start-up level projects when developing UI through the use of components.
Talking simply from a pure job-market aspect, React and Angular are probably the more popular and in-demand when compared to Vue. Vue is the newer one among the three, but slowly taking over, with major companies moving to Vue.
Community and Ecosystem
When choosing a framework you want to learn, an active community and development are part of a growing and stable ecosystem. All of the mentioned frameworks are under active development and maintenance while being used by thousands of developers. That means there are people willing to help you out and share their knowledge with you.
Angular Ecosystem
Angular is the oldest of the three frameworks, and it has been around since 2010. Being developed and maintained by Google, Angular offers a lot of ready-made components for any new and aspiring UI developers who are looking to start building mobile and web apps.
It features a lot of pre-built components from Google’s Material Design visual design language to CSS themes.
React Ecosystem
Developed by Facebook back in 2013, React is the second oldest framework on our comparison list. Since then it has grown massively in popularity and amassed a big community.
When compared to Angular and Vue, React may be the winner in terms of overall ecosystem maturity and component availability as well as community. Also, it offers integrations with other platforms and tools like Git or UXPin.
Vue Ecosystem
Developed in 2014 Vue is the youngest when compared to the other two frameworks, but has grown a lot in popularity.
When it comes to data binding, Vue made a lot of things easy for developers. Speeding up mobile and web app development with Vue means using the most popular open-source projects within the ecosystem so you can take advantage of input components.
Ease of Use
Let’s take a look at the complexity of Angular, React, and Vue, their syntax and which one is the easiest to learn.
Syntax
When it comes to syntax and structuring your code, it’s probably a matter of personal preference. Some developers like to use TypeScript while others stick to JavaScript and there’s really no argument here because syntax doesn’t impact anything in terms of performance.
However, in terms of complexity as to which framework is easiest to learn and which one has the steepest learning curve, we pit Vue against Angular since React is the least demanding.
And if you really don’t like the way a certain library handles the code in terms of syntax, you should probably not work with that framework on a daily basis.
So in terms of syntax and structure complexity, Angular will be the most demanding because projects in Angular use TypeScript, the JavaScript superset and it’s something you’ll have to learn additionally.
As a component-based framework, Vue utilizes single file components and plain JavaScript so you’ll probably find code written in JS only although it offers TypeScript support too.
Compared to Angular, Vue syntax is the easiest to learn and to grasp for any newcomer dev and UI developer since it doesn’t mix HTML and JavaScript.
When talking about components, the main premise behind their use is speeding up the development process by reusing code since that’s the most important aspect in open-source, component-based libraries like Angular, React, and Vue.
React
You can think of components as the building blocks in React. They help you reuse pieces of code, modify behavior or render parts of the webpage in a different way without too much hassle through the use of input properties.
Furthermore, they go well with objects called props which store valuable object attribute data and they also have the ability to pass that data from one component to another.
With that being said React components are really powerful in terms of composition, and reusing code between components.
Angular
Angular is also a component-based framework where the components or directives (Angular components are called directives) utilize templates to define basic parameters.
So, the directives or components in Angular usually contain the basic behavior parameters like metadata within a template. It is advised to use TypeScript with Angular for the best experience when working on projects.
Vue
Being a highly customizable component-based progressive framework, you can create amazing, modern-looking, intuitive UI systems with flawless component behavior. It’s based around View components.
Which One is the Best – Vue, React or Angular?
When comparing the three most popular JavaScript frameworks, there is no absolute best when it comes to UI development since all three are under a very active development.
However, based on many aspects that we’ve covered, like community and ecosystem, syntax, ease of use, or components, you should make your choice based on both the projects you want to work on and the team you’re going to be a part of.
What are the differences between React and Angular?
Summing up, here are the differences between React and Angular:
Architecture: React is a JavaScript library for building UI components, while Angular is a comprehensive framework offering features like two-way data binding and dependency injection.
Language: React primarily uses JavaScript (or JSX), while Angular uses TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript.
Syntax: React uses JSX for defining components, while Angular uses HTML templates with Angular-specific syntax.
Data Binding: React primarily uses one-way data flow, while Angular supports both one-way and two-way data binding.
Size and Performance: React’s core library is smaller, allowing for more control over bundle size, while Angular’s framework includes more features out-of-the-box, potentially resulting in a larger bundle size.
Learning Curve: React has a smaller API surface, making it easier for developers to learn, while Angular has a steeper learning curve due to its comprehensive nature and additional concepts.
Community and Ecosystem: Both React and Angular have vibrant communities and extensive ecosystems of libraries and tools to support web development.
What are the differences between React and Vue?
Here’s a quick comparison of React and Vue.js:
Architecture: React is a JavaScript library focusing on UI component development, while Vue.js is a progressive framework for building user interfaces, offering a more structured approach out-of-the-box.
Language: React primarily uses JavaScript (or JSX), while Vue.js supports both JavaScript and JSX, but its official documentation often uses plain JavaScript to demonstrate concepts.
Syntax: React uses JSX for defining components, while Vue.js uses a template syntax that closely resembles HTML, making it more approachable for developers familiar with HTML.
Data Binding: React primarily uses one-way data flow, while Vue.js supports both one-way and two-way data binding, providing flexibility in managing component data.
Size and Performance: React’s core library is relatively small, allowing for efficient bundling, while Vue.js has a slightly larger core size but offers great performance optimization and flexibility in bundle size.
Learning Curve: React has a smaller API surface, making it easier for developers to grasp, while Vue.js is known for its gentle learning curve, making it suitable for beginners and experienced developers alike.
Community and Ecosystem: Both React and Vue.js have active communities and extensive ecosystems, but React’s ecosystem tends to be larger and more mature, while Vue.js’ ecosystem is growing rapidly with a focus on simplicity and flexibility.
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Front-end engineers play a crucial role in shaping the visual and interactive aspects of software applications, contributing to the overall success of the product. They are the ones who develop the user interface and user experience of websites and web applications, ensuring they are visually appealing, interactive, and optimized for performance across various devices and browsers.
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What is a front-end engineer?
A front-end engineer is a professional who specializes in developing the UI and UX design of websites, mobile and web applications. Their primary focus is on creating visually appealing, interactive, and responsive interfaces that end users interact with.
That’s why they often collaborate closely with designers, back-end developers, and stakeholders to understand project requirements and integrate front-end components with back-end systems. They may also be involved in tasks such as prototyping, testing, and maintaining code quality to ensure a seamless user experience.
Front-end engineer vs front-end developer
While both front-end engineers and front-end developers work on web development, a front-end engineer may be expected to have a deeper understanding of the technical aspects and may take on more responsibilities beyond just implementing user interfaces. However, the exact distinction between the two roles can vary depending on the specific requirements of the job and the organization.
A front-end developer typically focuses on implementing the user interface and the user experience of a website or web application. They primarily work with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the visual and interactive elements that users interact with directly in their browsers. Front-end web developers are concerned with ensuring that the website or application looks good, functions correctly, and provides a smooth user experience across different devices and browsers.
A front-end engineer may have a broader skill set and a deeper understanding of the underlying technologies and principles involved in front-end development. They might also be involved in more complex tasks such as optimizing performance, architecting scalable solutions, integrating with back-end systems, and collaborating closely with designers, product managers, and other team members. Front-end engineers may also be responsible for setting up development workflows, maintaining code quality, and ensuring adherence to best practices and standards.
Front-end engineer vs software engineer
While a front-end engineer focuses specifically on developing the user interface and user experience of applications, a software engineer may work on various aspects of software development across different layers of the technology stack. The distinction between the two roles lies in their specific focus and responsibilities within the broader field of software engineering.
A software engineer is a broader term that encompasses professionals who design, develop, test, and maintain software systems. While some software engineers may specialize in front-end development, others work on back-end systems, databases, infrastructure, or even specialize in areas like machine learning, data science, or embedded systems. Software engineers typically have a strong foundation in computer science principles and may work with a variety of programming languages and technologies depending on the requirements of their projects.
What is a front-end engineer job description?
A front-end engineer job description typically includes responsibilities such as developing user interfaces, as well as implementing interactive features and functionality using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They are asked to ensure the technical feasibility of UI and UX designs and optimize them for maximum performance and responsiveness.
Front-end engineers may be required to conduct usability testing and gather feedback to continuously improve how user-friendly the end product is. And sometimes, they need to design user interfaces by themselves instead of collaborating with designers.
It’s a great career path for those of you who are proficient in front-end web development technologies, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and experienced in front-end frameworks and UI libraries such as React, Angular, or Vue.js.
What is a front-end engineer skill set?
To create visually appealing, interactive, and user-friendly interfaces for websites and web applications, front-end engineers use a combination of soft and hard skills.
Soft skills
Communication: Front-end engineers need strong communication skills to effectively collaborate with designers, back-end developers, and other team members. Clear communication ensures that everyone is on the same page regarding project requirements, timelines, and expectations.
Problem-solving: Front-end engineers encounter various challenges while designing and developing user interfaces. They should have excellent problem-solving skills to troubleshoot issues, debug code, and find creative solutions to technical problems.
Attention to Detail: User interfaces require pixel-perfect precision and attention to detail. Front-end engineers should have a keen eye for design and be meticulous in ensuring that UI elements are accurately implemented according to design specifications.
Adaptability: The front-end landscape is constantly evolving, with new frameworks, libraries, and best practices emerging regularly. Front-end engineers should be adaptable and open to learning new technologies to stay up-to-date with industry trends.
Time Management: Front-end development projects often have tight deadlines and shifting priorities. Effective time management skills are essential for front-end engineers to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality work under pressure.
Hard skills
HTML: Proficiency in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is fundamental for front-end engineers to structure the content of web pages and applications.
CSS: Strong skills in Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are necessary for styling and formatting HTML elements, creating layouts, and implementing visual designs.
JavaScript: In-depth knowledge of JavaScript is essential for adding interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages, handling user input, and manipulating the Document Object Model.
Front-end Frameworks: Experience with popular front-end frameworks and libraries such as React, Angular, or Vue.js is often required for building scalable and maintainable user interfaces.
Responsive Design: Understanding of responsive design principles and techniques is crucial for creating interfaces that adapt and perform well on different devices and screen sizes.
Cross-browser Compatibility: Knowledge of cross-browser compatibility issues and techniques for addressing them ensures that web applications function consistently across various web browsers.
Version Control: Familiarity with version control systems like Git is important for collaborating with team members, tracking changes, and managing code repositories effectively.
Testing and Debugging: Proficiency in testing frameworks and debugging tools is necessary for identifying and fixing bugs, ensuring code quality, and optimizing performance.
Performance Optimization: Knowledge of performance optimization techniques, such as minimizing page load times and reducing render-blocking resources, is valuable for optimizing the performance of web applications.
Senior front-end engineer vs junior
Junior front-end engineers are still developing their skills and gaining experience by learning coding standards, user experience requirements, architectural design principles, and honing their project management skills.
Senior front-end engineers bring a wealth of expertise, leadership, and problem-solving abilities to the table, making significant contributions to their teams and projects.
Less experienced front-end engineers may lack technical depth, problem-solving skills, and opportunities to collaborate with back-end engineering colleagues.
Having said that, you may still find a lot of entry-level front-end engineering positions that don’t look for programmers with years of experience. Look for startup jobs on LinkedIn or Glassdoor.
Do front-end engineers code?
Yes, front-end engineers do code. In fact, coding is a fundamental aspect of their role. They use languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the structure, style, and interactivity of web pages.
They write HTML to define the content and structure of a webpage, CSS to style and format the elements on the page, and JavaScript to add interactivity and dynamic behavior.
In addition to coding with these core languages, front-end engineers often work with various frameworks, libraries, and tools to streamline development and enhance the functionality of web applications. They write code to implement features such as animations, form validation, client-side routing, and data manipulation, using frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.js.
What are front-end engineer languages?
Front-end engineers primarily work with a combination of languages and technologies to develop products, such as web apps, mobile apps, and more.
HTML
HTML (short for Hypertext Markup Language) is the standard markup language used to create the structure and content of web pages. It defines the elements and layout of a webpage, such as headings, paragraphs, links, images, and forms.
CSS
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a styling language used to control the presentation and appearance of HTML elements on a web page. It defines styles such as colors, fonts, layout, and positioning, allowing front-end engineers to create visually appealing and responsive designs.
JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language used to add interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages. It enables front-end engineers to create interactive features such as animations, form validation, and content updates without needing to reload the entire page.
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Front-end engineers are pivotal in crafting the visual and interactive essence of software applications, contributing significantly to their overall success. They spearhead the development of user interfaces, ensuring they are not only visually captivating but also seamlessly functional and optimized for performance across diverse devices and browsers.
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Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, in engineering are essential metrics used to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of development processes, projects, and teams. By paying close attention to those indicators, engineering teams can assess their performance, identify areas for improvement, and deliver robust, scalable, and secure products that meet user needs and business objectives.
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What are engineering KPIs?
Key Performance Indicators in engineering are specific metrics used to measure the effectiveness, efficiency, and performance of engineering processes, projects, teams, or organizations.
Software engineering KPIs provide valuable insights into various aspects of engineering operations and help in assessing progress towards goals, identifying bottlenecks, streamlining decision-making and making data-driven decisions. Those KPIs can vary depending on the specific business goals and software development objectives.
Why should you track performance metrics?
Tracking engineering metrics is crucial for assessing progress, identifying areas for improvement, making informed decisions, driving accountability, optimizing resource allocation, setting goals, demonstrating value, and promoting continuous improvement within organizations.
Measuring Progress: Performance metrics provide quantitative data that allows you to measure progress towards specific goals and objectives. Without tracking metrics, it’s challenging to assess whether you’re moving in the right direction or if adjustments are necessary.
Identifying Areas for Improvement: By regularly monitoring performance metrics, you can identify areas of inefficiency, bottlenecks, or underperformance within processes, projects, or teams. This insight enables you to take corrective actions and implement improvements to enhance overall performance.
Making Informed Decisions: Performance metrics serve as a basis for making data-driven decisions. When you have accurate and up-to-date information about various aspects of your operations, you can make informed choices about resource allocation, process optimization, and strategic planning.
Driving Accountability: Tracking performance metrics creates accountability within teams and organizations. When individuals know that their performance is being measured and evaluated against specific benchmarks, they are more likely to strive for excellence and take ownership of their responsibilities.
Optimizing Resource Allocation: Performance metrics help you allocate resources—such as manpower, time, and budget—more effectively. By identifying areas of high performance and areas needing improvement, you can reallocate resources to where they are most needed, maximizing efficiency and productivity.
Setting and Adjusting Goals: Performance metrics provide feedback that informs the setting of realistic and achievable goals. By analyzing historical data and current performance trends, you can establish targets that are challenging yet attainable. Additionally, tracking metrics allows you to adjust goals as circumstances change or new priorities emerge.
Demonstrating Value and ROI: Performance metrics enable you to demonstrate the value and return on investment (ROI) of your initiatives, projects, or processes. Whether it’s showing cost savings, productivity gains, or improvements in quality, having measurable results strengthens your case when seeking support or funding for future endeavors.
Promoting Continuous Improvement: Tracking performance metrics fosters a culture of continuous improvement within organizations (something DevOps processes are known for.) By regularly reviewing and analyzing data, teams can identify opportunities for innovation, experimentation, and optimization, driving ongoing enhancements in performance and competitiveness.
Who is responsible for setting engineering KPIs?
Setting engineering Key Performance Indicators typically involves collaboration between various stakeholders within an organization. While the exact responsibility for setting KPIs may vary depending on the organization’s structure and culture, some key roles that are often involved are engineering leaders, engineering managers, project management team or any other team members in leadership positions.
Engineering Manager or Director: Engineering managers or directors are often responsible for setting overarching engineering KPIs aligned with the organization’s strategic objectives. They have a comprehensive understanding of the engineering department’s goals, resources, and capabilities, making them well-positioned to establish KPIs that drive performance and support overall business objectives.
Project Managers: Project managers play a crucial role in setting project-specific KPIs tailored to individual engineering projects. They collaborate with stakeholders to define project goals, scope, and success criteria, and they translate these into measurable KPIs that track project progress and performance. Project managers ensure that KPIs are realistic, achievable, and aligned with project timelines and budgets.
Engineering Leaders: Engineering team leaders are responsible for setting KPIs at the team level. They work closely with their teams to identify key areas of focus, performance metrics, and targets that contribute to overall departmental and project goals. Team leaders ensure that KPIs are relevant to their team’s responsibilities, skillsets, and priorities.
Operations Managers: Operations managers play a key role in setting KPIs related to operational efficiency, resource utilization, and process optimization within engineering operations. They identify opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce costs, and improve productivity by establishing KPIs that track performance metrics such as cycle times, throughput, and resource efficiency.
Executive Leadership or Management Team: Executive leadership, including CEOs, COOs, and other senior managers, play a supervisory role in setting high-level strategic KPIs for the organization as a whole. They provide guidance, direction, and oversight to ensure that engineering KPIs align with broader business objectives and contribute to the company’s long-term success.
Where should you track engineering KPIs?
Tracking engineering Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) requires an effective system that allows for the monitoring, analysis, and visualization of relevant metrics.
Two common tools used for tracking KPIs in engineering are KPI dashboards and scoreboards.
KPI Dashboard
A KPI dashboard is a visual representation of key performance indicators. It provides real-time or near-real-time insights into various aspects of engineering performance, allowing stakeholders to monitor progress, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
Benefits of KPI dashboards
Centralized Monitoring: KPI dashboards centralize performance data in one accessible location, enabling stakeholders to monitor engineering KPIs efficiently.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Dashboards facilitate data-driven decision-making by providing real-time insights and actionable information.
Transparency and Accountability: By making KPI data visible to relevant stakeholders, dashboards promote transparency and accountability within engineering teams and organizations.
Performance Tracking: Dashboards allow for continuous tracking and analysis of engineering performance metrics, enabling timely interventions and improvements.
Scoreboards are physical or digital displays that present a limited set of key metrics in a prominent and easily accessible format. They are often used to track performance in real time.
Benefits of scorecard
Immediate Feedback: Scorecards provide immediate feedback on performance, enabling rapid response to deviations from targets or standards.
Motivation and Engagement: Visible scorecards create a sense of urgency and motivation among employees to meet or exceed performance targets.
Operational Awareness: Scorecards enhance operational awareness by keeping employees informed about current performance levels and priorities.
Alignment with Goals: Scorecards align frontline employees with organizational goals and objectives by emphasizing key metrics that drive success.
Continuous Improvement: Scorecards support a culture of continuous improvement by fostering transparency, accountability, and focus on performance outcomes.
Both KPI dashboards and scorecards play important roles in tracking engineering KPIs, providing valuable insights and facilitating decision-making at different levels of the organization. The choice between the two depends on factors such as the nature of the data, the preferences of stakeholders, and the specific requirements of the monitoring environment.
Examples of engineering KPIs
These KPIs provide insights into the performance and effectiveness of software engineering team and processes, guiding product development teams in optimizing features, functionalities, and overall user experience.
Time to Market
Time from ideation to product launch: Measures the duration taken to develop and launch a new feature.
Product Performance and Reliability
Uptime and Availability: Measures the percentage of time the digital product is operational and accessible to users.
Load Time: Tracks the time it takes for the product or its components to load, ensuring optimal user experience.
Error Rate: Monitors the frequency of errors encountered by users during interactions with the product.
Error Resolution Time: Measures the time taken to identify and resolve errors reported by monitoring tools or users.Scalability and Reliability
System Downtime: Tracks the amount of time back-end systems are unavailable or non-operational, aiming for high availability and reliability.
Load Testing Results: Evaluates the performance and scalability of back-end systems under simulated load conditions.
Capacity Planning: Anticipates future resource allocation and capacity needs based on usage patterns and growth projections.
Product Development Efficiency
Agile Metrics (e.g., sprint burndown): Tracks the progress and efficiency of development teams using Agile methodologies.
Change Failure Rate: Assesses the success of changes implemented within a system, process, or product. It measures the percentage of changes that result in an unsuccessful outcome, such as causing incidents, defects, or disruptions to operations.
Time to Resolve Bugs or Issues: Measures the time taken to identify and resolvea number of bugs or issues reported by users or detected through testing.
Feature Implementation Time: Measures the time taken to implement new front-end features or user interface enhancements.
Sprint Velocity: Tracks the amount of work completed by the front-end development team within each sprint or iteration.
Release Burndown: A chart tool used to track the progress of completing tasks or user stories within a release or sprint. It helps visualize how much work is remaining to be done over time and whether the team is on track to meet the release or sprint goals.
Bug Fixing Time: Measures the time taken to identify and resolve front-end bugs reported by QA or users.
Deployment Frequency: Tracks the frequency of front-end deployments to production or staging environments, indicating development and release cadence.
Customer Satisfaction
Net Promoter Score (NPS): Measures user satisfaction and likelihood to recommend the product to others through surveys.
Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score: Tracks user satisfaction levels based on feedback collected through customer support interactions or post-interaction surveys.
Design Consistency Score
Assesses the degree of consistency in design elements, styles, and patterns maintained across different products or features.
Can be evaluated through automated tools or manual reviews to identify deviations from established design system standards.
Indicates the efficiency of the design system in promoting component reuse and reducing redundant design efforts.
Code Quality
Code Review Feedback Time: Measures the time taken to provide feedback on pull requests or code reviews.
Code Coverage: Tracks the percentage of code covered by automated tests, ensuring comprehensive testing of front-end functionality.
Code Maintainability: Assess the maintainability of front-end codebase using metrics such as cyclomatic complexity or Maintainability Index.
Static Code Analysis Violations: Monitors the number of violations identified by static code analysis tools, indicating potential code quality issues.
Technical Debt: Monitors the accumulation of technical debt in the back-end codebase, which may impact maintainability and scalability.
Performance Optimization
Page Load Time: Measures the time taken for web pages to load in users’ browsers, optimizing for faster loading times.
Time to Interactive (TTI): Tracks the time it takes for web pages to become interactive and responsive to user input.
Performance Budget Adherence: Ensures compliance with predefined performance budgets for front-end assets such as JavaScript file size, image compression, and network requests.
Service response Time: Measures the time taken for back-end services to respond to requests, optimizing for faster response times.
Throughput: Tracks the number of requests processed by back-end services per unit of time, ensuring scalability and performance.
Accessibility Compliance
Accessibility Audit Results: Evaluates the adherence of front-end code and user interfaces to accessibility standards (e.g., WCAG).
Stakeholder Feedback: Collects feedback from product owners, designers, and other stakeholders regarding the quality, usability, and performance of front-end deliverables.
Alignment with Requirements: Ensures that back-end implementations align closely with functional and non-functional requirements specified by stakeholders.
Security and Compliance
Vulnerability Patching Time: Measures the time taken to patch security vulnerabilities in back-end systems and libraries.
Compliance Adherence: Ensures compliance with industry standards and regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA) regarding data privacy and security.
Security Audit Results: Evaluates the results of security audits and penetration testing conducted on back-end systems.
FAQ
What are KPIs for engineering leads?
Engineering leads play a critical role in overseeing engineering teams, managing projects, and driving technical innovation within organizations. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for engineering leads are typically focused on measuring their effectiveness in leading teams, delivering projects, and achieving technical objectives. Here are some common KPIs for engineering leads:
Team Performance:
Team Productivity: Measure the output or throughput of the engineering team, such as the number of features developed, lines of code written, or tasks completed within a given time frame.
Team Efficiency: Assess the efficiency of the engineering team’s processes and workflows, including metrics like cycle time, lead time, and throughput efficiency.
Team Satisfaction: Gauge the satisfaction and engagement levels of team members through surveys, feedback sessions, or retention rates.
Project Delivery:
Project Timelines: Track the adherence to project timelines and milestones, including on-time delivery of features, releases, or project phases.
Project Budget Management: Monitor project budget utilization and cost control measures to ensure projects are delivered within budget constraints.
Quality of Deliverables: Measure the quality of engineering deliverables, such as the number of defects or bugs reported post-release, customer-reported issues, or adherence to quality standards.
Technical Leadership:
Innovation and Technical Contributions: Evaluate the engineering lead’s contributions to technical innovation, such as the introduction of new technologies, development methodologies, or process improvements.
Technical Mentorship and Development: Assess the effectiveness of the engineering lead in providing mentorship and guidance to team members, fostering their technical growth and skill development.
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration: Measure the extent to which the engineering lead promotes knowledge sharing, collaboration, and cross-functional communication within the engineering team and with other departments.
Stakeholder Satisfaction:
Customer Satisfaction: Evaluate customer satisfaction with engineering deliverables, products, or services through surveys, feedback channels, or Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Internal Stakeholder Satisfaction: Assess the satisfaction levels of internal stakeholders, such as product managers, marketing teams, or executive leadership, with the engineering lead’s performance and contributions.
Risk Management:
Risk Mitigation: Track the identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks associated with engineering projects, including technical risks, resource constraints, and dependencies.
Issue Resolution: Measure the effectiveness and timeliness of issue resolution by the engineering lead, including the handling of escalations, critical incidents, or project roadblocks.
Leadership Effectiveness:
Employee Engagement: Monitor employee engagement levels, job satisfaction, and retention rates within the engineering team.
Leadership Development: Assess the engineering lead’s investment in leadership development initiatives, such as training programs, coaching, or succession planning.
Operational Excellence:
Process Improvement: Measure the implementation of process improvements and best practices within the engineering organization, leading to increased efficiency, quality, and innovation.
Resource Utilization: Evaluate the optimal utilization of engineering resources, including manpower, tools, and infrastructure, to maximize productivity and minimize waste.
Business Impact:
Alignment with Business Goals: Assess the extent to which engineering initiatives and projects align with broader business objectives and contribute to the organization’s strategic priorities.
Return on Investment (ROI): Measure the ROI of engineering projects and initiatives in terms of revenue generation, profitability, cost savings, market share growth, or competitive advantage.
Cost Savings from Engineering Initiatives: Cost savings resulting from engineering initiatives, such as process improvements, efficiency gains, or resource optimization, contribute to overall profitability.
These KPIs provide a comprehensive framework for evaluating the performance of engineering leads and ensuring alignment with organizational goals, technical excellence, and effective leadership practices.
What is KPI for engineering director?
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for an Engineering Director are focused on assessing their effectiveness in leading the engineering department, driving strategic initiatives, and achieving organizational objectives.
Team Performance and Productivity
Overall Team Productivity: Measure the overall output and efficiency of the engineering department in terms of projects completed, features developed, or products delivered within a specified timeframe.
Resource Utilization: Assess the optimal utilization of engineering resources, including manpower, equipment, and budget allocations, to maximize productivity and efficiency.
Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Monitor employee satisfaction levels, engagement, and retention rates within the engineering department as indicators of leadership effectiveness and team morale.
Project Delivery and Execution
Project Timelines and Milestones: Track the on-time delivery of engineering projects, adherence to project timelines, and achievement of project milestones.
Budget Management: Evaluate the management of project budgets, including cost control measures, budget utilization, and adherence to financial targets.
Quality of Deliverables: Measure the quality of engineering deliverables, products, or services through metrics such as defect rates, customer satisfaction scores, or adherence to quality standards.
Strategic Leadership and Innovation:
Technical Innovation and Thought Leadership: Assess the Engineering Director’s contributions to technical innovation, adoption of new technologies, and thought leadership within the industry.
Strategic Planning and Execution: Evaluate the development and execution of strategic plans, initiatives, and roadmaps to drive the long-term growth and competitiveness of the engineering department and the organization as a whole.
R&D Investment and Impact: Measure the investment in research and development (R&D) activities and the impact of R&D initiatives on product innovation, differentiation, and market leadership.
Stakeholder Engagement and Satisfaction
Customer Satisfaction: Evaluate customer satisfaction with engineering deliverables, products, or services through surveys, feedback channels, or Net Promoter Score (NPS).
Internal Stakeholder Satisfaction: Assess the satisfaction levels of internal stakeholders, such as executive leadership, product management, sales, and marketing teams, with the engineering department’s performance and contributions.
Operational Excellence
Process Optimization and Efficiency: Measure the implementation of process improvements, best practices, and operational efficiencies within the engineering department to increase productivity, reduce costs, and streamline workflows.
Risk Management and Mitigation: Track the identification, assessment, and mitigation of risks associated with engineering projects, operations, and strategic initiatives.
Talent Development and Leadership Effectiveness
Leadership Development and Succession Planning: Assess the effectiveness of leadership development programs, mentorship initiatives, and succession planning efforts within the engineering department.
Employee Growth and Development: Monitor the professional growth, skill development, and career progression of engineering team members under the Director’s leadership.
Business Impact
Alignment with Business Goals: Evaluate the alignment of engineering initiatives, projects, and strategies with broader business objectives and key performance metrics.
Return on Investment (ROI): Measure the ROI of engineering investments, projects, and initiatives in terms of revenue generation, cost savings, market share growth, or competitive advantage.
These KPIs provide a comprehensive framework for assessing the performance of an Engineering Director in leading the engineering department, driving strategic initiatives, fostering innovation, and delivering business results.
KPI for engineering design department
Key Performance Indicators for an engineering design department typically revolve around efficiency, quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction. Some specific KPIs are included in this article: Design Team Goals.
What is KPI in data engineering?
Key Performance Indicators in data engineering measure the effectiveness and efficiency of data-related processes, systems, and infrastructure. These KPIs help organizations assess the performance of their data engineering efforts and ensure that they are meeting business objectives.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) serve as vital metrics for assessing the efficiency and efficacy of development processes, projects, and teams. By diligently monitoring these indicators, engineering teams can gauge their performance, pinpoint areas for enhancement, and deliver resilient, scalable, and user-centric products aligned with business goals.
To streamline KPIs related to design and frontend engineering, UXPin Merge offers a revolutionary design technology. With UXPin Merge, teams can expedite the creation of stunning and functional layouts by a factor of 8.6, while maintaining coherence between design and development. Experience the power of UXPin Merge firsthand. Try UXPin Merge for free.
Google has always recommended responsive web design (RWD), especially after rolling out a big update on 4/21/15 which ranked mobile-friendly sites higher.
It doesn’t specify in the update that you must use responsive design though, just that a site be accessible on mobile, with good UX and performance.
With that in mind, let’s examine the pros and cons of adaptive and responsive design with regards to performance and UX design.
Looking for a prototyping tool for web design? UXPin is the app for you. You can use the various breakpoints. If you want to play around with them, start a free trial.
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What’s the difference between adaptive and responsive design?
So first up, what are the key differences between responsive and adaptive design?
Responsive vs Adaptive Website Design
Responsive web design is fluid and adapts to the size of the screen no matter what the target device. It uses CSS media queries to change styles based on the target device such as display type, width, height, etc., and only one of these is necessary for the responsive website to adapt to different screen sizes.
Adaptive web design, on the other hand, uses static layouts based on breakpoints that don’t respond once they’re initially loaded.
Adaptive works to detect the screen size and load the appropriate layout for it – generally you would design an adaptive site for six common screen widths:
320
480
760
960
1200
1600.
On the surface, it appears that adaptive requires more work as you have to design layouts for a minimum of six widths. However, responsiveness can be more complex as improper use of media queries (or indeed not using them at all) can make for display and performance issues.
The latter in particular has created a lot of discussion over the past few years as it’s been the case that many sites deliver the full desktop model which, even if it’s not loading on the mobile device, slows sites down considerably. To get around this, you can use media queries–but there will be a few tradeoffs since a responsive site is never going to be as quick as a dedicated mobile site.
How do you tell if a website is responsive or adaptive?
Responsive design offers a more fluid and flexible approach that dynamically adjusts to different screen sizes, while adaptive design provides predefined layouts tailored to specific devices or screen sizes through server-side detection.
To recognize an adaptive website, you might notice that the layout changes abruptly when accessing the site from different devices or screen sizes, as it’s loading predefined layouts rather than fluidly adjusting to the screen size.
Responsive websites use fluid grids, so to identify a responsive website, you can simply resize your browser window or view the site on different devices and observe how the layout and content rearrange themselves to fit the screen size.
Why use adaptive web design?
Adaptive is useful for retrofitting an existing site in order to make it more suitable for mobile phones. This allows you to take control of the design and web development for specific, multiple viewports.
The number of viewports that you choose to design for is entirely up to you, your company, and your overall budget. It does, however, afford you a certain amount of control (for example over content and layout) that you won’t necessarily have using responsive design.
Generally, you would begin by designing for a low-resolution viewport and work your way up to ensure that the UI design doesn’t become constrained by the content, and that usability isn’t lost.
As mentioned previously, it’s standard to design for six resolutions. However, you can make a more informed decision by looking at your web analytics for the most commonly used devices and then designing for those viewports.
If you want to design an adaptive website from scratch, that’s OK too. Start again by designing for the lowest resolution and work your way up. You can then use media queries to expand the layout for higher resolution viewports. However, if you do UI design for different screen sizes, you may find that this causes the layout to ‘jump’ when resizing a window to a smaller or bigger device screen.
It can be extra work designing and developing a site with adaptive for multiple viewports so it’s usually used for retrofitting.
3 examples of adaptive web design
When looking for examples of sites using adaptive web design, you’ll likely find them on the websites of large companies and corporations. Since many of these organizations have been around since before the advent of mobile, it is far easier (and cheaper) for them to retrofit their enormous websites with adaptive web designs rather than more complex responsive re-design options.
Here, we look at how some of the world’s biggest companies have employed adaptive web design solutions in giving their websites the contemporary design elements they need to meet Google’s mobile-friendly rankings factors.
Amazon
The eCommerce titan Amazon quickly found that its website needed an adaptive design overhaul. This would help them ensure that its global customer base would enjoy faster page load speeds (a critical Google rankings factor) and a consistent UX, no matter which device they were accessing the site from.
Amazon’s adaptive web design approach aligns the full-site experience with its branded apps, allowing users to switch between the two and enjoy the same functionality and workflow arrangement, irrespective of the aesthetic web and app design differences. Powered by adaptive design templates that ensure this consistency across all devices, users get to browse, shop, and checkout without having to learn how to navigate differently.
This approach allows Amazon to ensure that page load speeds are optimized and that users are just as likely to access the eCommerce platform from a desktop website as a mobile. With elements like the all-important search bar remaining the focal point of the design layout across all formats, despite various other features optimized for mobile, Amazon’s adaptive design approach is a successful example of how to keep things efficient and consistent.
USA Today
When America’s favorite daily newspaper chose to revamp its website to ensure that its online news source remained prominent, USA Today took a tech-savvy adaptive web design approach – one that responsive web design simply couldn’t replicate.
The newspaper adopted a technology that allows its website and applications to identify the device, operating system, and screen size being used, and adapts the content accordingly. This innovative approach allowed developers to create an experience that isn’t limited to the six common screen widths, ensuring that users received a unique experience.
IHG
When considering adaptive web design approaches, hospitality companies wouldn’t usually be top of mind.
But once IHG realized that its customers were looking for a faster web and app booking experience that allowed them to make reservations faster, irrespective of whether they were doing it on mobile or their PCs, the hotel chain responded accordingly.
IHG employed an adaptive web design approach that took advantage of accessible GPS data and location services – features you find on nearly all mobile devices. This allowed the group to develop an adaptive website interface that encourages on-the-go booking with local hotels, allowing users to review reservations and access available offers quickly and with ease.
Why use responsive web design?
The majority of new sites now use responsive, which has been made easier for less experienced designers and developers, thanks to the availability of themes accessible through CMS systems such as WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
Responsive design doesn’t offer as much control as adaptive, but takes much less work to both build and maintain. Responsive layouts are also fluid, and whilst adaptive can and do use percentages to give a more fluid feel when scaling, these can again cause a jump when a window is resized. For example, in the image below, which shows a fluid layout, the designer is using percentage widths so that the view will be adjusted for each user.
With responsive, you will be designing with all layouts in mind and this, of course, can confuse the process and make it quite complex. This means that you should focus on creating a viewport for mid-resolution and you can then use media queries to adjust for low and high resolutions later on.
So in essence, it’s usually better to use responsive for new projects, and adaptive for retrofits.
Responsive web design is the go-to for newer sites that demand a more fluid experience among users or for Google to pay more attention to. It is also the design approach of choice for many of the leading technology and design firms around the world, owing to the ease with which developers and designers can create and maintain responsive sites.
Next, we look at some of the best examples of responsive web design-based sites and how they affect their sites’ performance and UX. All while delivering on the demands of big brands operating within the eCommerce and messaging space.
Slack
One of the biggest reasons for Slack’s surging popularity among businesses is the ease with which users can adopt and use the messaging app. Boasting a straightforward interface coupled with a raft of integration and optimization features, Slack’s simplicity and ‘human’ feel are reflected in its impressive responsive web design.
The app’s famous adaptability between desktop and mobile is highlighted by how seamlessly the display transitions and rearranges its layout. By using a Flexbox and CSS Grid Layout, Slack’s responsive interface is a step above.
All this means that Slack’s website needs to match the app, allowing users to experience the same simplicity and ease of use on their mobile devices as they do on their work laptops and PCs.
Shopify has taken a different route to its responsive web design. It took the website and app in different directions and chose device-choice optimization over a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach.
Designers at Shopify felt that no matter the screen size, their design elements should match the screen the user was using. So, in order to ensure that all users enjoy a consistent UX (even if that meant changing things up), Shopify designed their site to respond according to the device’s screen size. It also delivered different CTAs and illustrations in different sizes and at different locations on the page.
While PCs and tablets display Shopify CTAs and images to the right of the form, on mobile, you’ll find those elements below it and in the center. This responsive design approach allows users to enjoy a more divergent UX while still being able to experience optimized interaction capabilities, no matter the size of their screen.
Dribbble
Anyone who uses creative design hub Dribbble will likely agree that the self-promotion and social networking platform has aced its responsive web design. The platform’s website represents an excellent example of a flexible space that enhances the browsing experience by actively responding to the device on which it is being viewed.
Dribbble’s website employs a flexible grid layout that works in concert with the screen dimensions. It actively responds to the user’s interactions by adapting the layout into grid columns that shift according to the device. This means that designers can adjust the items displayed on the grid to optimize for visibility and item count. As a result, users can enjoy a balanced experience that doesn’t appear cluttered or disorganized.
Users accessing the site on a 13” laptop or PC screen will see a 4×3 grid configuration, while those using a smaller screen will be able to see the same portfolio presented in a single-column format.
Adaptive vs. Responsive? Consider Site Speed, Content, and UX
As discussed earlier, responsive sites can suffer when it comes to site speed (if they aren’t properly implemented).
Responsive also requires more in the way of coding in order to ensure that the site fits each and every screen that accesses it. However, the extra work is debatable (compared to adaptive design) since adaptive design requires that you develop and maintain separate HTML and CSS code for each layout. Modifying adaptive sites is also more complex since it’s likely you’ll have to ensure that everything is still working sitewide (such as SEO, content, and links) when it’s time for implementation.
You should, of course, also consider the user experience. Because responsive essentially shuffles the content around in order to fluidly fit the device window, you will need to pay particular attention to the visual hierarchy of the design as it shifts around.
According to Nielsen Norman Group, “Responsive design often turns into solving a puzzle — how to reorganize elements on larger pages to fit skinnier, longer pages or vice versa. However, ensuring that elements fit within a page is not enough. For a responsive design to be successful, the design must also be usable at all screen resolutions and sizes.”
So there are no shortcuts to whichever technique you decide to use – both require the work that comes with creating a site that’s essentially one-size-fits-all. Responsive has a slight edge, as you won’t, going forward, need to spend an awful lot of time in site maintenance.
Which is Better: Responsive or Adaptive Design?
When it comes down to it, the key is to consider your audience first and foremost no matter what design technique you adopt. Once you know exactly who they are and what types of devices they tend to access the site on, then it’s easier to design with them in mind when it comes to different layouts, content, and so on.
When it comes down to it, the key is to consider your audience first and foremost no matter what design technique you adopt. Once you know exactly who they are and what types of devices they tend to access the site on, then it’s easier to design with them in mind when it comes to different layouts, content, and so on.
It will also depend largely on whether you have an existing site to work with or you’re starting from scratch. Responsive design has become the go-to design technique and it’s thought that around 1/8 websites now use responsive (while there’s little to no data on how many use adaptive). Adoption rates for responsive are growing quickly too and have almost reached the same level as standalone mobile sites.
With all of that in mind, it’s safe to say that responsive is usually the preferred technique if only because of the ongoing work that adaptive design demands.
However, if a client or company has the budget, then adaptive might be a better choice, according to a test carried out by Catchpoint. They built two web pages in WordPress, one using the standard WP TwentyFourteen responsive theme and the other using a plugin called Wiziapp.
The plugin serves a mobile theme to users depending on the device they’re accessing the web pages from and also offers advanced configuration options so that you can further streamline the process.
The results in load time speak for themselves:
It should be pointed out that no optimization was carried out at all, but this does show that the responsive site is downloading everything that is required for the desktop computer. So right out of the box, the theme doesn’t offer a very good performance at all.
Again, this can be overcome using media queries, but the above serves as a good example of why responsive UX design – whilst being a popular choice – is not always the best for smartphones. Until something better comes along though, it’s difficult to know what we can do about it other than learn how to properly code and implement a great responsive site.
So the conclusion?
Responsive design will remain popular, but that might be because we have not yet found a decent solution to the heavy maintenance that adaptive demands. Adaptive web design hasn’t died out though, despite the web’s apparent love of responsive, so it’s possible – in theory at least – that we’ll see some improvements emerge yet that will blow responsive web design out of the water.
Responsive vs Adaptive Website Design – Common Mistakes
Design is an iterative process, requiring some degree of trial and error before figuring out what works – and what doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean that mastering the responsive vs adaptive web design field requires designers to endure painful failures before nailing it.
We can still count on avoiding some of the most common mistakes that tend to slow the process.
Too much focus on desktop versions
Mobile design is fast hauling in its desktop-based counterpart, delivering an optimized UX on smaller devices that oftentimes beats out design choices seen on PCs and laptops. But most things online began as desktop-based sites, with mobile versions only coming along later. This has left many platforms, tools, and sites leaning towards desktop origins, and mobile seen as a supplementary need.
Designers need to start adapting to a mobile-first work approach, moving away from their desktop-focused mentality and focusing on the potential that design has to work for mobile and how much more of an impact this can have on the evolution of design thinking.
This means transitioning towards an approach rooted in designing for multiple screen sizes, uncoupled from the conventional six that have been touted as the most likely to require a dedicated design, and targeting percentages rather than fixed ratios. This doesn’t mean discounting desktop design altogether, but rather balancing it with mobile.
Not considering gestures
With most of today’s mobile devices boasting touch functionality, it is only a matter of time before users can navigate a website without making contact with any hardware or surfaces. Gestures are an often overlooked responsive web design element with massive potential.
From using gestures to zoom, swipe, scroll, and return to delivering instructions and executing complex commands, responsive design is fertile ground for taking these movements to the next level. Yet designers continue to bypass this potentially revolutionary aspect of design. Primarily, due to the complexity of developing a gesture architecture that allows for consistent navigation across all devices.
One possible solution would be to ensure that a website follows a uniform structure that replicates on other devices and provides ease of use and accuracy.
Buttons are too small
Anybody who has ever dealt with an app that has buttons too small to hit accurately will agree that this is one of the most frustrating design issues on mobile. While desktop versions enjoy the benefit of accurate mouse cursors, thumbs and fingers have a habit of missing their mark on smaller screens and mobile devices.
Sometimes responsive design looking to optimize layouts and available space will tend to bunch clickable elements together or shrink them down as they scale with smaller screens. This can cause frustration among users and even cause a site’s accuracy, navigability, and UX to degrade.
Developers must pay attention to how buttons will be affected by their responsive design approach, considering that not all thumbs, fingers and eyes were created equal.
Putting design over functionality
While a website that looks good on both desktop and mobile is important, a website should, first and foremost, work. Users who access an attractive site will naturally assume that an equivalent amount of effort has been invested in its utility. So, one can imagine the anger at a website that doesn’t work as well as it looks. Anger that can lead to significant drops in traffic and reputation.
The same goes for the level of functionality between desktop and mobile. A desktop site that sets a benchmark for good design and operability only to fail miserably on the mobile front would be better off not even bothering with mobile at all.
Go beyond developer perceptions by testing with different niches and using effective prototyping to ensure that the design matches its functionality.
Having a separate URL for mobile
Making use of separate URLs between desktop and mobile website versions is a design killer, wasting precious time and damaging your search rankings. Aside from frustrating users by ferrying them back and forth between each version, using multiple URLs goes against SEO best practices and are often unnecessary.
In some cases, however, using multiple URLs can allow developers to create lightweight mobile versions of websites that perform better on mobile devices, though only in instances where the desktop version is very anti-mobile.
Not accounting for future maintenance and development costs
Development costs money, and oftentimes, design decisions are taken based on short-term financial considerations without thinking about what the future holds.
While adaptive web design requires higher upfront investment owing to the labor-intensive nature of its development, AWD maintenance costs generally remain stable down the line.
Responsive web design, on the other hand, can lead to unexpected cost implications. However, the rewards stemming from an improved UX may offset those financial risks.
Design UI in UXPin
If you’d like to start mocking up your own adaptive user interface design, you can do so with UXPin. The collaborative platform comes with pre-set and custom breakpoints. Once you’re done, activate Spec Mode to automate your design handoff to developers.
Use UXPin to build prototypes for mobiles, desktops, and everything in between. Try various interactive prototyping features and make your design easy to understand for stakeholders and engineers. Start a free trial.
The transition from design to code is a challenge for many product teams. Figma is the cornerstone of many design processes, but translating its visual elements into interactive React components is a complex and often tense task for designers and developers.
Let’s explore the Figma-to-React conversion process, evaluate top plugins, and unveil an alternative to revolutionize your product development workflow.
Key takeaways:
Transitioning from Figma designs to React code requires multiple painstaking steps.
Figma and React present many challenges in direct code conversion.
Figma-to-React plugins typically need refining before getting to production-ready design.
Despite the allure of plugins, developers sometimes find manual coding quicker.
UXPin’s code-to-design approach offers a promising alternative with its Merge technology.
Have you considered using code components in the design process to eliminate the time-consuming design-to-code workflow? Create a single source of truth between design and development with UXPin’s Merge technology. Discover UXPin Merge.
Reach a new level of prototyping
Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.
Can Figma work with React?
Figma can work with a visual representation of React UI components. You need to translate your functional components into a visual layer and then use it to Figma. Once you are finished with your UI design, you need to use a plugin to translate the visual layer into code.
There are tools that render code from the very start such as UXPin Merge and it is a better design tool for the purpose of creating React-based prototypes.
How Do You Convert Figma to React?
Every product team wishes they could transition from design to code with the press of a button. Unfortunately, going from Figma to React is a meticulous process that demands precision and coordination between design and development.
A typical Figma-to-React workflow looks something like this:
Design Phase in Figma: Designers user interfaces, focusing on aesthetics, user experience, and interactivity.
Layer Optimization: Before the transition, designers ensure each layer in Figma is aptly named and organized. This clarity aids the eventual conversion process.
Design Handoff: Designers share the Figma file and documentation with developers, highlighting key interactive elements and specific design nuances.
Manual Code Conversion: Developers start the time-consuming task of translating Figma designs into React components. To ensure fidelity, they reference design properties from Figma, such as dimensions, colors, and fonts.
Integrating Interactivity: Beyond static components, developers implement interactivity like button clicks, hover effects, and transitions, often necessitating iterative feedback with designers.
Testing and Iteration: Once coded, the design undergoes rigorous QA testing. This UX audit ensures that the React components mirror the Figma design in look and behavior.
While Figma might show a button with a specific style and hover effect, translating this into functional React code requires manual interpretation. This complex process often results in friction between designers and developers because they speak different languages and work within different constraints.
Is it Possible to Convert Figma to React?
You can convert Figma designs into React code, but there are limitations and challenges. Firstly, most plugins use a specific structure and syntax that might not align with your product or developer’s best practices.
React code from plugins is what developers call “starter code.” Starter code isn’t production ready and almost always requires tweaking and refining to make it functional. If you don’t structure your layers or nest components correctly, the plugin might not produce the correct output.
So, if you expect to produce a React app using Figma plugins, you will be very disappointed. Figma-to-React plugins require technical expertise to turn the code into a functional end product. In some instances, devs may prefer to program the React components from scratch as it’s quicker than fixing plugin code.
What are the Alternatives to Using a Figma-to-React Plugin?
Figma-to-React (or any code, for that matter) follows the traditional design-to-code workflow. While this workflow is familiar, it still leaves a significant gap between design and development. Even with plugins and the latest AI tools, converting design files to code never turns out as expected, but there is a better way.
Enter UXPin’s code-to-design approach to digital product development. Instead of converting design files into code, designers import code components into the design process using Merge technology. Designers never see or write code; instead, they use visual elements like building blocks to build user interfaces.
Merge components come from a repository engineers use to develop the final product, effectively bridging the gap between design and development. Design handoffs are seamless because devs already have the same React components designers use during the design process.
Which Plugins Export Figma to React?
We’ve explored the four best Figma-to-React plugins, evaluating their features, pros, and cons. Make sure you check out our alternative to Figma plugins at the end of this article.
1. Anima
Anima is Figma’s most popular code exporter, used by almost 600k people. The plugin streamlines the design-to-development process by allowing users to convert Figma designs into interactive HTML, CSS, React, or Vue code.
Designers can build prototypes with features such as live text inputs, animations, and Google Maps while sharing these prototypes through live URLs for feedback and user testing. Ensuring design consistency, Anima’s CLI syncs with Figma in real-time, translating various code components into Figma elements. The platform produces developer-friendly, reusable code with automatic flex-box layouts and no dependencies, optimizing design and engineering efforts.
The exported code might need optimization for complex projects.
Some learning curve for designers unfamiliar with interactive design principles.
2. Locofy
Locofy is another popular Figma to React plugin. The plugin converts Figma designs to front-end code, supporting React, React Native, HTML/CSS, Next.js, Gatsby, and Vue. Using the Locofy plugin, designers can optimize their designs with Figma best practices, tag interactive layers, integrate with various UI libraries, and even drag and drop pre-built components.
The Locofy Builder writes starter code, saving developers time, and includes features like creating reusable components, customizing code preferences, and exporting or syncing directly with platforms like GitHub. Users can also deploy projects directly with Netlify, Vercel, or GitHub Pages.
Maintains design properties, including colors, typography, and spacings.
Supports CSS-in-JS libraries, such as Styled Components.
Pros:
Intuitive interface; minimal learning required.
Streamlines developer handoff with clean, organized code output.
Direct integration with Figma simplifies design-to-code workflow.
Cons:
Doesn’t support advanced animations or transitions.
May not handle intricate design nuances effectively, requiring manual refinements.
3. QuestAI
QuestAI offers a simple solution to transform Figma designs into ReactJS components using AI, ensuring pixel-perfect and responsive results. The platform supports Figma features like responsiveness and auto layout, integrates with MUI or Chakra UI component libraries, and allows designers to set up properties and triggers without manual coding.
With QuestAI, users can export clean code, clearly distinguish between design and business logic, and use natural language prompts to write functionalities. The plugin supports exports in both Javascript and Typescript.
Features and Capabilities:
Provides a simple right-click option in Figma to generate React components.
Simplifies the conversion process with its no-frills approach.
Maintains a high level of design fidelity during conversion.
TypeScript support aligns with modern development best practices.
Cons:
Lacks advanced interactivity features; more suitable for static components.
Users might need external tools or manual intervention for complex designs.
FigAct
FigAct converts Figma designs into responsive ReactJS source code, achieving a self-proclaimed 80% to 90% accuracy rate. The plugin translates design components to code components, supports React Router for frame navigations, and implements React Hooks for state management.
Automated features include asset management, where images, fonts, and SOLID fills are integrated seamlessly. FigAct offers Airtable integration for dynamic data visualization, allowing designs to dynamically showcase data from APIs or Airtable databases.
Features and Capabilities:
Installation of the plugin leads to the generation of a complete ReactJS project structure zipped for user download.
React Router integrates Figma’s navigate-to interactions, enabling frame navigation similar to Figma’s experience.
Airtable integration provides dynamic visualization of data.
Pros:
Streamlines asset management, including automated image downloads and font integration from Google Fonts.
Enables interactive frame navigation using React Router based on Figma interactions.
Supports state management using React Hooks and offers feature-rich component generation, including recyclable components.
Cons:
Adhering to guidelines is essential for accurate code generation.
Only a subset of CSS properties are fully supported.
Limited to onClick action for page navigation.
Unsupported media types include audio and video.
Try UXPin Merge for designing with React code components
Depending on your needs and circumstances, you have a few options to set up Merge. There are two integrations for importing a complete design system–either yours or an open-source library:
These two integrations require technical assistance and expertise to set up with the help of UXPin’s onboarding team. Merge’s npm integration allows designers to import and manage components without technical assistance via the Merge Component Manager. Designers can bypass any setup and use UXPin’s built-in Merge libraries, including MUI, Ant Design, Fluent UI, and Material UI.
Building interactive prototypes
Whether you import UI components via Merge or use one of UXPin’s built-in libraries, it’s a matter of drag and drop to build interactive prototypes. Each component’s props (or Args from Storybook) appear in UXPin’s Properties Panel so that designers can change properties, states, interactions, and other features.
Enhanced testing
Prototyping with code components gives participants and stakeholders an immersive, realistic user experience.
“It’s been so helpful for us to have these high-fidelity prototypes built with UXPin. We build high-fidelity prototypes much quicker and get immediate feedback after the session. If there’s something we can fix immediately, we make that change before the next participant and get feedback much faster than before.” Erica Rider, Product, UX, and DesignOps thought leader.
Are you still using an outdated, cumbersome design to code workflow?
Switch to UXPin and use Merge technology to bridge the gap between design and development. Visit our Merge page for more details and how to get started.
With hundreds of programming languages, it can be overwhelming for UX and product designers to comprehend or decide which one is worth learning. While learning code isn’t essential for a UX designer’s job, it can help them understand technical constraints and improve collaboration with development teams.
This article explores six programming languages for UI/UX designers and why coders use one over the other. We also explain the difference between programming languages, front-end frameworks, and component libraries and how they influence design projects.
Our proprietary Merge technology will take your design projects to the next level with component-driven prototyping in UXPin. Visit our Merge page for more details and how to access this revolutionary UX technology.
Reach a new level of prototyping
Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.
What are Programming Languages?
Programming languages are the code developers use to write websites, algorithms, and digital products. Each programming language has its own markup, rules, structure, package manager, etc.
There are hundreds of programming languages, most of which product teams will never encounter. We’ve narrowed down a list of essential coding languages, so you know where to start if you wish to research these further.
How do Programming Languages Impact the Product Development Process?
A programming language dictates the product’s technical constraints, significantly impacting product development, including the user experience design process.
Design teams must understand these limitations or risk wasting time designing solutions and features that programmers can’t build.
The programming language also influences other product development decisions which ultimately impact UX, for example:
Time-to-market
Back-end technical infrastructure (impacts budgets and performance)
Engineering talent (human resource availability and cost)
Functionality/scalability through APIs and integrations
Programming Languages vs. Front-End Frameworks
It’s important to distinguish a programming language from a front-end framework. For example, Javascript is a programming language, while React, Angular, and Vue are all Javascript frameworks.
Frameworks are built using programming languages, offering software engineers automation, tools, libraries, functionality, templates, session management, etc., to develop websites and applications more efficiently than coding from scratch.
What is a Component Library?
Component libraries add another layer of confusion for people with a limited code skill set.
Which Programming Languages Will UX Designers Encounter?
This is a tricky question to answer because designers are more likely to encounter front-end frameworks (usually Javascript-based) and component libraries rather than the individual programming languages behind them–which, as we have learned, are entirely different things.
For this reason, we’ve created two categories:
Programming languages
Front-end frameworks
Programming Languages
Here are six programming languages UX designers will most likely encounter during their careers.
1. HTML
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language and is the markup used in web browsers. It’s the foundational language every engineer must learn to build websites and web apps. Whether you use a front-end framework or not, a web browser will always render HTML, along with some CSS and Javascript for styling and interactivity.
Learning basic HTML as a UX designer is never a bad idea, as this will give you a foundational understanding of front-end coding.
2. CSS
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a style sheet language used to style content with color, layouts, fonts, etc. Without CSS, every website would look identical, featuring the basic styling properties rendered by HTML.
CSS is another essential language for user interface designers because it’s relatively simple to comprehend and significantly impacts UI design.
3. Javascript
Javascript is another core internet language for websites and web applications. Its primary role in web development is providing interactivity and functionality alongside HTML and CSS.
Javascript is also widely used for many front-end frameworks, including React, Vue, Ember, and Angular, to name a few. Companies use these frameworks to build many of the web and mobile apps we use every day.
4. Java
Not to be confused with Javascript, Java is a programming language maintained by software giant Oracle, primarily used to build enterprise applications. Java also powers many hardware devices like smartwatches, fridges, SmartTVs, and wearables, to name a few.
5. PHP
PHP is most well known as the programming language behind the popular content management system, WordPress. It was also the original language behind early Facebook before the social media giant developed React, which now powers most of Meta.
Here’s a straightforward stack that will come in handy for web design.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language): HTML will provide the structure of your website, including sections for displaying information about your company, products/services, and a sign-up form.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets): CSS will be used to style your HTML elements, making your website visually appealing and cohesive.
JavaScript: Use JavaScript for client-side validation of the sign-up form to ensure that users enter valid email addresses and any other required information. You can also use JavaScript to enhance user experience with features like smooth scrolling, interactive animations, or displaying notifications.
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) or Node.js: For the backend functionality of collecting and storing sign-up information, you can use either PHP or Node.js. PHP is straightforward and commonly used for handling form submissions, interacting with databases, and sending emails. Node.js, on the other hand, can provide a more modern and scalable backend solution.
SQL (Structured Query Language): Use SQL to interact with a database where you’ll store the collected sign-up information.
With this stack, you can create a simple and functional company website that collects emails and sign-ups effectively. You can start by designing the layout and styling using HTML and CSS, then implement client-side validation and interactivity with JavaScript, and finally, set up the backend functionality for collecting and storing sign-up data using PHP or Node.js and a database with SQL.
What are Front-End Frameworks?
For this article, we’ll focus on four Javascript frameworks commonly used for web and mobile applications.
These frameworks are also compatible with UXPin Merge–a technology that enables designers to use ready-made UI components from a design system to build fully functioning prototypes. Check out our Merge page for more details.
1. React
React is a popular Javascript framework for developing web and mobile applications (iOS and Android)–although organizations typically use React Native for the latter. The component-based markup and flexibility to create cross-platform applications make React a popular choice for product development worldwide.
2. Ember
Ember is a Javascript framework for building web applications. Many popular apps use Ember, including Netflix, Square, LinkedIn, and Twitch, to name a few.
3. Angular
Developed and maintained by Google, Angular is a popular framework for building cross-platform applications. PayPal, GMail, Upwork, and the Forbes website are just a few platforms that use the front-end framework. Angular’s out-of-the-box interactivity and functionality make this framework popular for complex applications.
4. Vue
Vue is a Javascript framework for building single-page web applications. Vue allows you to encompass HTML, making it an easy framework to learn for people with HTML, CSS, and Javascript coding skills. The framework also offers excellent performance and a comprehensive ecosystem to scale applications.
What are the Benefits of Using Programming Languages?
Using programming languages during the design and prototyping process is not uncommon. Designers can create live-data prototypes with code, accurately replicating the final product user experience.
These code prototypes allow designers to test features with the same fidelity and functionality as the final product, thus delivering better quality results and feedback.
The problem with using code for prototyping and testing is it adds time to the design process and requires the skills of a front-end developer or UX engineer–valuable resources that increase the project’s costs.
For this reason, organizations reserve code prototyping for solving complex usability issues and typically build a single screen or user flow to save resources.
UXPin Merge – A Design Tool That Renders Code
With a code-based design tool like UXPin Merge, designers can achieve the same results without writing a single line of code. Merge allows design teams to sync a design system from a repository to UXPin’s editor, so designers and engineers use the same UI elements during the design and development process.
Merge works with many popular front-end frameworks, including React, Vue, Ember, Angular, and more. Designers use these components in any other design tool, but they come ready-made with states, animations, and properties defined by the design system.
Faster Prototyping, Better Collaboration
Component-driven prototyping is significantly faster than image-based design because designers only focus on building UIs rather than designing UI elements from scratch.
This single source of truth improves designer/developer collaboration because everyone speaks the same language and works within the same constraints. Design handoffs in Merge are seamless, almost non-existent because engineers have the same component library–it’s just a matter of matching the designs from UXPin.
Scalable
Merge makes it easy to scale and mature a component library with Patterns. Designers can combine multiple elements to build new UI components and patterns. If their design system doesn’t have what they need, designers can use UXPin’s npm integration to import components from open-source libraries to build new patterns.
Enhanced Testing
Merge allows design teams to create immersive, dynamic prototypes that accurately replicate the final product experience, resulting in meaningful feedback from user testing and stakeholders.
Design teams can send stakeholders a link to the prototype and receive actionable feedback via UXPin’s Comments feature. Stakeholders can even assign comments to specific team members.
With UXPin Merge, design teams don’t need to learn a programming language or collaborate with engineers during prototyping to achieve the benefits of code. Visit the UXPin Merge page to learn more about this revolutionary technology and how it can improve your end-to-end product development process.
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