The Importance of Creating a Slick User Interface

A good user interface (UI) is what leads to good user experience (UX). Software lives or dies depending on its ease of use. People will choose a less powerful tool if it’s faster and simpler. A lot of software companies are too familiar with their products and can lose the ability to judge their user interface from the perspective of a new user. First, let’s go over what the benefits of a good UX design actually are. What can one of South Africa’s leading professional UX designers bring to your project? 

  A sleek design: why bother with upgrading user interface?

It can be tempting to go with the bare essentials for your software, in order to save money and maximize profits. However, it is a necessary and worthwhile investment. You’ll see strong, immediate benefits, like the following:

 

Increased recommendations

People are more likely to regard your business highly and recommend you if your user interface is friendly. When people struggle to use a program or navigate a website, they’ll vent those frustrations to everyone who will listen. And after that scenario happens, it can be incredibly difficult to shake off the notion of a bad experience.

 

Increased conversion rate

If your interface is easy to navigate, comfortable and polished, you’ll see an increased conversion rate. You’ll continue to see the benefit to conversion rates long after your interface has been optimized.

 

Fewer complaints

Complaints and questions require staff and money to make sure your customer service department is handling all the queries that come in. A convoluted or unhelpful user interface is a common source of complaints and questions. With a well-designed one, you’ll see a dramatic drop in reported issues, freeing up your business’s time and resources for other projects. 

  Characteristics

The best user interface is going to depend on the software you’re creating. There is no one template that will fit all projects. However, the basic UI design principles remain the same.

 

Colours

Picking the wrong colours can confuse users and result in errors. You wouldn’t want your confirmation button to flash red or your back button to be a gentle green colour that does not command attention. These missteps will only confuse users.

 

Shapes

People are predisposed to like certain shapes; therefore, the shape of your buttons actually matters very much. In fact, the principle of contour bias means that people favour rounded shapes. Naturally, this applies to web and software design. 

 

Consistency

Above all else, remain consistent. Changing up designs in the middle of a user session is going to lead to confusion and exasperation. Colors, shapes and placements should remain identical across screens. 

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