Collecting UI inspiration is a key part of the creative design process. It helps them stay current with design trends, find innovative solutions to common design challenges, and explore different aesthetics that could improve the user experience. Popular sources for UI inspiration include platforms like Dribbble, Behance, Awwwards, and Pinterest, where designers share and discover creative examples of interface design.

UXPin is the go-to platform for designers seeking UI inspiration that’s both creative and practical. With pre-built design systems and interactive, real-code components, UXPin lets you explore and prototype with production-ready elements. Test animations, user flows, and conditional logic to bring ideas to life, all within one seamless tool. Spark your creativity—try UXPin for free today.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is UI Inspiration?

UI inspiration refers to sources, ideas, and examples that designers use to spark creativity and inform the look and feel of user interfaces. It’s a way for designers to explore new layouts, color schemes, interactions, typography, and design patterns that can enhance usability and visual appeal. UI inspiration can come from websites, apps, design galleries, or even non-digital sources like art, nature, and architecture.

Why You Should Seek Inspiration as UI Designer

UI design is a blend of science and art: while one part of the process relies on principles like usability, structure, and function, the other part thrives on creativity, emotion, and visual storytelling.

Seeking UI inspiration is essential because it nurtures the artistic side of design, helping designers cultivate a unique, creative flair that resonates with users. By exploring various color palettes, typography choices, layout patterns, and interaction styles, designers can experiment with new visual directions that make their work stand out.

Inspiration serves as a catalyst for creativity, allowing designers to see how others have balanced function with aesthetics. This not only brings fresh ideas but also expands the designer’s toolkit, offering diverse ways to infuse emotion, energy, and personality into their designs.

Studying UI inspiration from different sources helps designers break out of rigid design patterns and develop a more refined, artistic eye. This approach leads to UI designs that are not only scientifically sound in terms of usability and accessibility but also compelling and memorable. In the end, seeking inspiration enriches a designer’s creative palette, allowing them to merge function with artistry, creating experiences that engage users on multiple levels.

How UXPin Helps Get UI Inspiration

UXPin helps designers gather UI inspiration by providing a platform that combines prototyping, real-code components, and a vast library of interactive elements to experiment with and draw ideas from. Here’s how UXPin supports UI inspiration:

1. Pre-built Design Systems and Component Libraries: UXPin offers access to libraries like Material Design and Bootstrap, enabling designers to explore established UI patterns and see how various components work together. This helps designers get inspired by standardized elements and speeds up the design process.
2. Merge with Real Code Components: With UXPin’s Merge technology, designers can pull in real, code-based components from existing design systems, enabling them to see how actual, functioning UI elements work within a prototype. By experimenting with these components, designers can find inspiration for how different UI patterns function in a realistic context.
3. Interactive Prototyping: UXPin’s interactive prototyping capabilities allow designers to test out UI ideas in real-time, including micro-interactions and complex animations. This hands-on experimentation with functionality and interactions provides a new layer of inspiration that goes beyond static visuals.
4. Collaboration with Design Systems: UXPin allows designers to create and reuse shared design systems. By centralizing UI components, designers can explore and get inspired by elements used across projects, ensuring consistency while also sparking new ideas for reusable patterns.
5. Inspiration from Accessible and Inclusive Design: With built-in accessibility features, UXPin helps designers get inspired to create a UI that’s visually appealing while also being usable by all audiences. Accessibility tools encourage design choices that are both functional and visually inspiring, balancing creativity with inclusivity.

Where to Get UI Inspiration From?

These brands and platforms serve as invaluable resources for UI designers, offering a blend of structured design thinking, fresh creative ideas, and exposure to current trends across different industries.

Other Designers’ Work and Design Thinking

Platforms like Dribbble, Behance, and Awwwards feature designs shared by other professionals. Here, designers showcase their work and often describe the design thinking and process behind it, giving insights into creative approaches and trends.

• Dribbble: A popular social platform for designers to share small snippets or “shots” of their work, such as UI elements, branding, and illustrations. It’s known for highly visual inspiration and creative experimentation.
• Behance: A portfolio platform by Adobe where designers, photographers, and creatives share full projects and case studies. It’s ideal for seeing detailed design workflows and cohesive project presentations.
• Awwwards: A website awards platform that recognizes outstanding web design from around the world. It’s a go-to resource for cutting-edge trends and examples of innovative design.

Networking Meetings for Designers

Design meetups, networking events, and online communities connect designers to share feedback, insights, and solutions to design challenges.

• Meetup: A global platform where designers can join local or virtual groups for networking, workshops, and collaborative sessions. It’s widely used for design meetups around UI/UX.
• ADPList (Amazing Design People List): A free mentorship platform where designers connect for one-on-one or group sessions, sharing feedback and insights on design projects and career development.

Conferences

Design conferences offer sessions and workshops led by experts, covering the latest tools, techniques, and trends in UI/UX design.

• UXDX: A conference focused on the entire product lifecycle, from UX and design to development, with sessions on UI trends, design systems, and user experience strategies.
• Smashing Conference: A hands-on conference by Smashing Magazine that dives deep into UX/UI design, front-end development, and accessibility.
• Adobe MAX: Adobe’s annual creative conference, featuring sessions on everything from design tools and UI trends to interactive design, branding, and illustration.

Looking for Inspiration Outside of Design

Observing the world beyond screens, such as nature, art, and architecture, reveals patterns, colors, and textures that inspire unique, non-digital elements for UI design.

• Architecture: Architectural design, with its emphasis on structure, space, and form, can inspire layouts and spatial relationships in UI.
• Fine Art and Museums: Museums and galleries, featuring classic and contemporary works, provide ideas for color schemes, contrast, and texture that enhance visual appeal.

Reading Fiction

Fictional narratives in books, poetry, and films inspire creativity and emotional depth, which can lead to more engaging, story-driven UI designs.

• Books: Novels and short stories can spark ideas for storytelling in user journeys, helping designers create emotionally engaging experiences.
• Films: Film visuals, narrative pacing, and cinematography offer inspiration for crafting user flows and immersive digital experiences.

Inspiration Websites and Galleries

Websites like Pinterest, Muzli, and SiteInspire offer curated design galleries showcasing UI and UX inspiration from across the web.

• Pinterest: A visual search engine where designers save and share inspiration boards, covering everything from color palettes to UI patterns.
• Muzli: A Chrome extension and website that curates the latest design trends and inspiring work, including UI, UX, branding, and illustration.
• SiteInspire: A showcase of well-designed websites, categorized by style, type, and industry, helping designers explore UI ideas for specific website themes or industries.

Unlock UI Inspiration with UXPin

UXPin is more than a prototyping tool—it’s a platform that fuels creativity and brings UI inspiration to life. With access to pre-built design systems like Material Design and Bootstrap, UXPin provides an inspiring foundation of components and patterns ready to use and customize. Designers can explore real, interactive code components with UXPin’s Merge technology, allowing them to prototype with production-ready elements that mimic the final product’s look and feel. This feature enables designers to experiment, innovate, and refine, breaking away from static design and diving into fully interactive ideas.

UXPin also brings together design and development in one place, creating a seamless flow where designers can try out ideas in real time without limits. Advanced prototyping features allow you to test animations, interactions, and conditional logic, providing endless inspiration for user flows and experiences. For designers looking to keep up with the latest in UI, UXPin’s design system integrations, accessible UI patterns, and collaborative tools offer a dynamic space to explore and implement cutting-edge ideas, making it a go-to platform for both creativity and functionality. Try UXPin for free today.

The post UI Inspiration – Where to Get it From? appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

Retool lets teams build internal tools quickly without extensive coding. It speeds up development and reduces resource costs for companies needing fast, functional internal tools. What if you want another tool that has a drag-and-drop interface, and enough flexibility to create dashboards, CRMs, and admin panels efficiently? Here are top alternatives to Retool that you should consider. Let’s explore them.

UXPin Merge is perfect for creating polished, customer-facing applications with minimal design handoff issues. By bridging design and code, the tool enhances collaboration, speeds up development, and maintains design consistency across all project stages. Try UXPin Merge for free.

Reach a new level of prototyping

Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.

Discover UXPin Merge

UXPin Merge

UXPin Merge allows designers to create high-fidelity, code-based prototypes that feel like the final product, enhancing collaboration with developers and ensuring faster, more accurate releases.

With access to pre-built and custom components, designers can mimic real user interactions, providing an authentic user experience. Once approved, the design’s auto-generated specs and production-ready code streamline the development process, saving time by reducing the need for translating designs into code.

Retool is tailored to data-driven workflows rather than full product design. UXPin Merge’s focus on production-quality prototypes makes it the superior choice for companies needing robust, design-to-development alignment for customer-facing applications.

Appsmith

Appsmith is a powerful alternative to Retool for building internal tools, particularly for developers seeking an open-source, highly customizable solution. With Appsmith, users can drag and drop components, connect to various data sources, and apply custom JavaScript, offering flexibility similar to Retool but with more control and adaptability.

Appsmith’s open-source nature allows teams to fully customize and self-host their applications, making it ideal for organizations that need control over deployments and advanced custom features.

Budibase

Budibase enables teams to rapidly create custom internal tools with interactive components and flexible data integrations. By leveraging pre-built templates and UI elements, teams can build high-fidelity prototypes that closely resemble final applications, improving collaboration and accelerating the release cycle.

Budibase connects the finished tool to databases, APIs, and other data sources, reducing the development time by simplifying data handling and minimizing the need for repetitive code—making it an efficient solution for fast, production-ready deployments.

Budibase stands out over Retool for teams looking for an open-source, self-hosted platform with more control over customization and deployment. Unlike Retool, which is more focused on data-driven internal tools, Budibase allows users to build internal apps with more flexibility, including custom workflows, form creation, and even user-facing portals.

Additionally, Budibase’s open-source foundation makes it adaptable and cost-effective, giving organizations greater control over security, scalability, and extended custom features without vendor lock-in.

Bubble

Bubble empowers non-developers to build interactive, high-fidelity web applications without coding. By using its drag-and-drop editor and extensive library of components, teams can create prototypes and functional applications that mimic the final product experience. Bubble’s seamless data management and workflow automation allow for realistic interactions, speeding up the development process from idea to launch. 

Bubble applications are production-ready, offering a smooth path to deployment without needing translation from design to code, making it an ideal tool for quickly launching customer-facing applications.

UI Bakery

UI Bakery is a no-code/low-code platform that enables users to create custom internal tools and business applications using a visual interface. With a drag-and-drop editor, pre-built UI components, and integration capabilities for databases and APIs, teams can quickly prototype and build interactive applications that feel like the final product. 

UI Bakery simplifies deployment, supporting efficient handoffs and enabling production-ready applications with minimal coding, making it ideal for businesses that need rapid internal tool development without extensive engineering resources.

DronaHQ

DronaHQ empowers teams to build custom internal tools and applications with a no-code/low-code approach. With its drag-and-drop interface and a library of ready-to-use components, teams can create functional, high-fidelity prototypes that replicate the final user experience.

DronaHQ integrates seamlessly with databases and APIs, allowing teams to connect data sources directly and manage workflows efficiently. This streamlines the transition from design to production, making it ideal for rapidly deploying business tools that are user-ready without extensive back-end development.

Plasmic

Plasmic allows teams to create custom, high-quality front ends visually, combining the ease of no-code with full-code flexibility.

With a rich library of components, seamless integrations, and responsive design capabilities, Plasmic enables the rapid creation of pixel-perfect prototypes and applications that can connect directly to APIs and data sources. This approach streamlines collaboration and allows developers to add custom logic, making it ideal for quickly deploying production-ready web experiences or user-facing applications with full design control.

Which Retool alternative is best for collaboration?

For collaboration, UXPin Merge stands out as the best option. It allows designers and developers to work with the same production-ready code components, ensuring design consistency and reducing handoff friction. This makes it highly effective for teams that need to stay aligned on complex projects and design systems.

Plasmic also ranks highly for collaborative design, allowing designers and developers to work together on flexible front ends while accommodating custom code.

Retool and DronaHQ support collaboration for internal tools but primarily focus on data integration rather than design-development collaboration.

Which Retool Alternative is Best for UI Exploration?

For UI exploration, Plasmic and UXPin Merge are excellent Retool alternatives. Plasmic offers a flexible visual editor that’s ideal for exploring various UI layouts and designs with pixel-perfect control, making it especially useful for front-end designers seeking creative freedom.

UXPin Merge, while not no-code, allows designers to experiment with real production components, so it’s powerful for high-fidelity UI exploration within the constraints of a design system. Both tools enable iterative design, bridging creativity with functionality for more polished UI exploration.

Which is Best for Building Apps Quickly?

For building apps quickly, Bubble, and DronaHQ are among the best options.

• Bubble is great for non-technical users creating full web applications, including customer-facing ones, without writing code.
• DronaHQ offers a no-code/low-code environment with drag-and-drop components, making it a solid choice for rapid internal tool and business app development.

Each has strengths for specific app types, but all prioritize fast deployment.

Which Retool Competitor is Best for Rapid Prototyping?

For rapid prototyping, UXPin Merge, Plasmic, and Bubble are top choices:

• UXPin Merge: Ideal for high-fidelity prototypes using real code components, making it perfect for quickly testing realistic UI designs.
• Plasmic: Offers flexible UI exploration with a visual editor, great for quickly iterating on complex front-end designs.
• Bubble: Allows non-developers to rapidly build functional prototypes of full web applications, including both front-end and back-end elements, without coding.

Each tool supports fast iteration, enabling teams to test ideas and gather feedback quickly.

Why Should You Give UXPin Merge a Chance?

Considering tools like Retool, Appsmith, Budibase, or Bubble makes sense if you’re exploring options for building internal tools, dashboards, or simple apps quickly, especially when low-code or no-code functionality is needed.

While these tools can help teams create data-driven internal applications without extensive coding, UXPin uniquely empowers teams focused on high-fidelity, customer-facing product design. UXPin provides a streamlined design-to-development process using production-ready components, ensuring that prototypes match final product quality—ideal for polished, consistent user experiences. Discover UXPin Merge.

The post Retool Alternatives for 2025 appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

Designers use carousels to showcase multiple pieces of content in a compact, engaging way without overwhelming users. Carousels allow them to highlight key content—such as promotions, product images, or featured stories—while saving screen space. Read about carousels in UI design, when not to use them, and how to create them in UXPin.

UXPin makes it easy to create carousels that highlight products, promotions, or content in a sleek, space-saving format. Whether you’re using UXPin’s intuitive design tools, AI Component Creator, or powerful Merge capabilities, you can build fully customizable, responsive carousels that look and feel production-ready. Try UXPin for free.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is Carousel UI?

A carousel is an interactive component used to display multiple pieces of content within a single section, allowing users to navigate through images, text, or other media one at a time. Typically, carousels are horizontally scrolling panels that users can control by clicking navigation arrows or swiping (on mobile devices).

Key Features of a Carousel in UI

1. Multiple Slides: A carousel can contain several slides, each showcasing a different image, product, or message.
2. Navigation Controls: Carousels include left and right arrows or other controls that allow users to move back and forth between slides.
3. Auto-Rotation (Optional): Some carousels automatically advance to the next slide after a short delay, though this can sometimes be optional or user-controlled.
4. Pagination Indicators: Dots or other indicators often show the number of slides available, helping users understand their position within the carousel.

When to Use a Carousel?

Carousels are commonly seen on homepages, galleries, product showcases, and promotional sections to save screen space and visually highlight important content.

Instead of stacking multiple images or promotions vertically, carousels allow users to view content in a controlled, engaging way without overwhelming the screen. They’re especially useful for:

• Showcasing Products: In e-commerce, carousels display multiple product images or related products.
• Highlighting Features or Promotions: Carousels often spotlight key promotions or updates on homepages.
• Creating Visual Flow: Carousels guide users through content sequentially, which can help with storytelling or leading users to the next action step.

While carousels can add visual appeal and functionality, they need to be designed thoughtfully to ensure they enhance the user experience rather than distracting from it.

What to Use Instead of a Carousel?

While carousels look appealing, they often create usability issues and may not be the best choice for achieving your design goals.

Here’s why and what to use instead:

Why Avoid Carousels?

1. Low User Engagement: Studies show that most users don’t interact with carousels as much as designers expect. Often, they view only the first slide and ignore the rest. This means important information on later slides may go unseen.
2. Distractions and Cognitive Load: Auto-rotating carousels, in particular, can be distracting. They shift content automatically, which can interrupt users and make it harder to focus on the information.
3. Slower Decision-Making: Carousels hide content until the user actively clicks or waits for the next slide. This can make it harder for users to quickly scan available options and make a choice, slowing down decision-making.
4. Accessibility Issues: Carousels can be challenging for users with disabilities, especially those who rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation. Poorly implemented carousels might make navigation frustrating or impossible for these users.

What to Pick Instead?

1. Grid or Card Layout – With a grid, users can quickly scan through options without needing to click or wait for slides to change. This format is great for showcasing multiple products, articles, or visual content.
2. Tabs – They are ideal for categorizing content when you have a few distinct options. They provide an instant way for users to switch between sections without extra animations or waiting times.
3. Lists– Lists allow users to control the pace of browsing, which feels more natural and keeps information accessible. It’s especially useful for mobile designs where scrolling is second nature.
4. Accordions – Accordions are perfect for structuring content-heavy pages, like FAQs or product specs, without overwhelming the user. Unlike carousels, they allow users to navigate to specific sections without waiting.
5. Content Block with Supporting Links – This is an ideal solution when you want to spotlight one piece of content but still make additional options available without hiding them behind a carousel. It’s often used for news articles or promotional sections.

How to Create Carousel UI in UXPin

Creating a carousel UI in UXPin is a great way to display multiple items or images in a single interactive component. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building a basic carousel:

• With UXPin
• With AI Component Creator
• With UXPin Merge

Method 1: Using UXPin

This setup creates a basic, interactive carousel in UXPin, allowing you to showcase multiple slides in an engaging way. With UXPin’s advanced prototyping features, you can further customize each slide with animations, clickable elements, and interactions.

Step 1: Set Up Your Carousel Container

1. Create a Container: Start by creating a rectangle (or any shape you prefer) to act as the container for your carousel. This container will hold your images or content slides.
2. Set Size: Adjust the container size to fit the area where you want the carousel to appear.

Step 2: Add Carousel Content

1. Add Images or Content Blocks: Inside the container, place images or content blocks (text, icons, buttons) you want to showcase in the carousel. Position them side-by-side in a horizontal line.
2. Group Content: If each slide has multiple elements (e.g., image and text), group them so each slide remains cohesive.

Step 3: Create States for Each Slide

1. Add States: With the container selected, go to the Properties Panel and select Add State. This feature allows you to create multiple versions of the container, where each state represents a different slide.
2. Duplicate and Adjust: For each new state, adjust the content so that only one slide is fully visible within the container. For example, in State 1, only the first image is centered and visible, while in State 2, the second image is centered, and so on.

Step 4: Add Navigation Controls

1. Create Navigation Buttons: Add left and right arrows (or other navigation icons) outside the container to allow users to navigate between slides.
2. Set Up Interactions:
   • Select the right arrow, then go to Interactions in the properties panel.
   • Choose On Click as the trigger, and select Set State as the action.
   • Link the right arrow to advance the container to the next state (i.e., State 2 → State 3).
   • Repeat this process for the left arrow to go back to previous states.

Step 5: Add Auto-Transition (Optional)

1. Auto-Transition: To make the carousel auto-slide, add a Timer interaction on the container itself.
2. Set Time: Define the time delay (e.g., 3 seconds) and link it to trigger the next state automatically. You can also set it to loop back to the first state when the last slide has displayed.

Step 6: Preview and Test

1. Preview: Click Preview to test your carousel and ensure each interaction works smoothly.
2. Adjust as Needed: If the timing or transitions feel too fast or slow, adjust the time in your interactions for the desired effect.

Method 2: Using AI Component Creator

The AI Component Creator in UXPin lets you generate basic components with functionality quickly using ChatGPT. The AI Component Creator is a quick way to prototype, but for more complex or tailored functionality, consider using UXPin Merge. Here’s how to create a carousel:

1. Open AI Component Creator:
   • In UXPin, open the AI Component Creator and enter a prompt that describes your carousel. For example, “Create a responsive image carousel with left and right navigation arrows that cycles through images automatically.”
2. Define Carousel Specifications:
   • When prompted, specify details like the number of slides, timing for auto-transition, and whether you want looping or manual navigation only.
3. Customize Generated Component:
   • The AI Component Creator will generate a carousel component with the specified features.
   • Customize the component’s styles, size, and transition speed as needed by adjusting the component’s properties in the Properties Panel.
4. Preview and Test:
   • Once generated, preview the carousel in UXPin’s Preview Mode. Test the navigation buttons and ensure the auto-transition and looping work as expected.

Method 2: Using UXPin Merge

Using UXPin Merge allows you to work with real code, making it the perfect choice for enterprise teams who need pixel-perfect, production-ready components. It also offers the flexibility to adapt the carousel as your design needs evolve, ensuring consistency between design and development.

With UXPin Merge, you can import ready-made React components (or create new ones) and customize them to behave as a carousel. Here’s how to do it:

Step 1: Prepare or Import a Carousel Component

• Option 1: If you already have a React carousel component, import it into UXPin using Merge. The component should include all necessary props for images, auto-transition, looping, and navigation.
• Option 2: Use a popular React component library like Material-UI or Swiper.js, which includes pre-built carousels. Customize the component in your code editor (e.g., Visual Studio Code) as needed.

Step 2: Configure Props for Customization

• Once imported, configure the carousel’s props in UXPin Merge to control options like:
  • Image Array: Add a prop to let you easily swap out the carousel images.
  • Auto-Transition: Enable a prop for timing (e.g., 3-second delay).
  • Looping: Set a boolean prop to turn looping on or off.
  • Navigation Controls: Customize left and right arrows or pagination dots.

Step 3: Add Carousel to Your UXPin Project

• In UXPin, drag the imported carousel component from the Merge Library to your canvas.
• Adjust the component size, styling, and layout within UXPin as needed. Since it’s a coded component, the design will match your production-ready UI exactly.

Step 4: Preview and Test in Real Time

• Go to Preview Mode in UXPin to test the carousel’s behavior.
• Verify that the navigation arrows, looping, and timing function as intended. Make any final tweaks in your React code if needed for more precise control.

Best Practices for Creating Carousel

By following these best practices, you can create a carousel that not only looks appealing but also delivers a smooth, engaging, and accessible experience for all users:

1. Use auto-rotation sparingly – While auto-rotation can attract attention, it can also be frustrating if slides change too quickly. Apply a delay of at least 3-5 seconds per slide. Provide users the option to pause or manually navigate if desired.
2. Include strong Calls-to-Action – CTAs guide users to take the next step, whether it’s exploring more content or making a purchase. A clear CTA on each slide ensures the carousel is purposeful and engaging.
3. Optimize for responsiveness – Mobile users often have less patience for interactive elements that are difficult to use. Responsive design ensures the carousel is usable on both desktop and mobile devices.
4. Test the carousel’s usability – Run usability tests to see how users interact with the carousel and gather feedback on navigation and content. It’s an essential step for validating design effectiveness.
5. Use clear navigation controls – Include visible left and right arrows for manual navigation, and consider adding pagination dots or a progress indicator.
6. Make the carousel accessible – Ensure slides are keyboard-navigable and compatible with screen readers. Add descriptive alt text for images and consider using HTML <button> elements for navigation.

Create Carousel and Other Interactive Elements in UXPin

A carousel is a dynamic UI component used to showcase multiple pieces of content—like images or text—in a limited space. With UXPin, creating an interactive carousel is easier than ever, whether you’re highlighting products, features, or stories. UXPin offers flexibility for building and testing carousels through its standard editor, AI Component Creator, or UXPin Merge, allowing designers to experiment with advanced prototypes that feel like real products. Try UXPin for free.

The post Carousel UI – What is a Carousel in Web Design? appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

A sitemap in UX is more than just a visual representation of a website’s structure; it’s a foundational tool that helps designers and developers at enterprise-level organizations plan and optimize the user journey from the ground up.

Sitemaps play a critical role in ensuring that complex sites or applications are intuitive, efficient, and aligned with both user and business goals. Enterprise sites often have vast amounts of content, detailed workflows, and layered access levels, making a clear, well-structured sitemap essential to creating a seamless experience for diverse user groups.

UXPin’s interactive capabilities let you create dynamic sitemaps that go beyond static visuals. Simulate real navigation paths and interactions, allowing stakeholders to experience the user flow firsthand, making it easier to identify areas for improvement. Try UXPin for free.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is a Sitemap in UX?

A sitemap in UX is a visual representation of a website’s structure, outlining how different pages connect and relate to each other. It acts as a blueprint for the content hierarchy, showing how users will navigate through the site to reach various sections. UX sitemaps help designers plan the user flow and organize content in a logical, user-friendly way.

Think of it as the “architect’s blueprint” for a website or app: just as a blueprint maps out each room and pathway in a building, a sitemap shows how different sections and pages connect, guiding users to key information with ease.

A sitemap is often represented as a flowchart or tree diagram, giving stakeholders a big-picture view of the website’s structure, hierarchy, and main navigation paths.

UX Sitemaps vs Information Architecture

While sitemaps and information architecture both play critical roles in organizing content for a website or app, they each serve distinct purposes in the design process.

UX Sitemap

A sitemap visually maps out the website’s page structure, showing an overview of all primary pages and how they interlink. Sitemaps are primarily focused on the layout and structure:

• What pages exist on the site (home, about, products, services, etc.)
• How these pages are connected to one another
• The hierarchical levels of content (main sections, sub-sections, etc.)

This makes the sitemap a tool for planning the navigation structure and content flow, helping ensure that all essential sections are accounted for and logically organized.

Information Architecture delves deeper into organizing, categorizing, and labeling content in a way that aligns with how users think and interact with information, often based on user research and behavioral insights.

While a sitemap shows what pages exist, Information Architecture, IA for short, defines how content is grouped, labeled, and arranged to support intuitive navigation. It involves:

• Understanding user needs and mental models: IA is shaped by research into how users expect to find information, ensuring that the structure aligns with their natural thought processes.
• Contextual relationships and categorization: IA considers the context and relationships between content items, grouping them in a way that makes sense to users and reflects their goals and expectations.
• Labeling and taxonomy: Clear, consistent labeling ensures that users can easily recognize where they are and where to find what they need.

For example, in an e-commerce site, the sitemap might simply outline main categories like “Men’s Clothing” or “Women’s Shoes” and subpages under each. IA would go further to define whether “Women’s Shoes” should be organized by type (sneakers, heels, boots) or occasion (casual, work, formal), based on user research showing how shoppers think about and search for products.

How They Work Together

In short, while sitemaps give a high-level structure, information architecture provides the details that make that structure usable and logical. In complex, enterprise-level websites or applications, IA ensures that content is accessible and intuitive for diverse audiences, with a navigation structure that aligns with how users expect to find information.

Together, sitemaps and IA lay the groundwork for a seamless user experience, balancing the organization of content with the needs and mental models of real users.

What Should be Included in a Sitemap?

A comprehensive sitemap is essential for organizing large, complex websites or applications. It provides a clear structure that helps users navigate efficiently, ensuring they find the information they need quickly and without frustration.

Here’s a breakdown of what should be included in an effective sitemap:

1. Main Pages

• These are the top-level sections of the website, such as the homepage, main product or service categories, user dashboards, and primary landing pages.
• Main pages act as starting points for users, providing a broad overview and often linking to more specific areas. For instance, a homepage might direct users to products, services, support, and contact information, making it essential for creating a coherent first impression.
• In enterprise contexts, main pages often reflect core business goals, such as leading with solutions for B2B audiences or providing quick access to employee resources in an internal portal.

2. Subpages and Nested Content

• These pages allow users to drill down into more specific information within each main section. For instance, a “Product” main page may include subpages for each product, detailed features, pricing information, FAQs, or customer testimonials.
• Nested content may also include role- or department-specific resources in intranet sites, where different levels of detail are required to support the unique needs of various employee groups.
• By including these subpages in the sitemap, you ensure the organization is clear, allowing users to understand the depth of content available and where to find it.

3. User Flows

• User flows are predefined paths that users might take to achieve specific goals. Including these flows in the sitemap highlights how users will move through the site, from start to finish, for key tasks.
• For example, in a customer-facing e-commerce site, a user flow might outline the steps from the homepage to the checkout page. For an enterprise HR platform, a flow might show how an employee navigates from the dashboard to the benefits page.
• Mapping out these flows in the sitemap helps designers and developers ensure that users encounter a logical progression, making it easier for them to complete their objectives without unnecessary steps or confusion.

4. Hierarchy and Relationships

• The sitemap should clearly represent the hierarchical relationships between main pages, subpages, and nested content, effectively grouping related pages together.
• This hierarchy provides an intuitive structure where users can quickly grasp how different sections connect. For instance, within a “Products” category, users should immediately see links to specific product pages, and within each product page, links to supporting resources like guides or FAQs.
• Visualizing these relationships also helps to avoid redundant pages or overlapping content, creating a streamlined, efficient structure that guides users seamlessly.

5. Permissions and Access Levels

• In enterprise environments, access to specific content is often role-based. For instance, certain sections may only be visible to managers or specific departments, such as HR or finance.
• The sitemap should indicate which content is accessible to different user groups or permission levels to prevent accidental access to sensitive information and to help users know exactly where they can navigate within their permissions.
• Including access levels in the sitemap is essential for ensuring that users only see content relevant to their roles, creating a more efficient experience and maintaining security in enterprise settings.

By incorporating these elements into the sitemap, your team can create a well-organized, logical site structure that addresses the unique needs of your users. A strong sitemap not only enhances usability but also ensures that the site structure aligns with business goals, providing a clear path for each type of user—whether they’re customers, employees, or stakeholders.

Why is site mapping important in navigation design?

Site mapping is crucial for defining user paths and ensuring users can easily find information. By mapping the structure, designers ensure that the most important pages are accessible and logically connected.

This process helps identify any redundancies or gaps in the content flow, leading to a more cohesive navigation experience. A well-thought-out sitemap improves usability, supports user goals, and reduces the chances of users feeling lost within the site.

What are the two types of sitemaps?

Designers should be aware of two main types of sitemaps, each serving distinct purposes:

1. HTML Sitemaps: linked pages that help locate sections.
2. XML Sitemaps: back-end sitemaps created for visibility in search results.

HTML Sitemaps

These are on-site, user-visible pages that list links to primary sections of the site. They’re a fallback tool for users who may struggle to navigate through traditional menus and are also helpful for accessibility.

XML Sitemaps

XML sitemaps are for search engines rather than users. Submitted to search engines like Google, they ensure all pages, particularly newer or lesser-linked ones, are found and indexed. For large enterprise sites, XML sitemaps are crucial for improving SEO and keeping the site visible in search results.

How to Create an Effective Sitemap?

Creating an effective sitemap helps you structure a website in a way that’s easy for users to navigate. Here’s a beginner-friendly guide, complete with tools and tips:

1. Define Objectives

• What to Do: Start by understanding the main purpose of the site. Ask yourself, “What are the site’s goals?” For example, is it to sell products, share information, or provide tools for employees? Also, identify the target audience (e.g., customers, employees, or partners) and the primary tasks they’ll need to perform.
• Why It Matters: This step sets the foundation for your sitemap by helping you focus on content that directly supports user needs and business goals.
• Tools: You can use a simple document, spreadsheet, or a tool like Notion to list objectives and brainstorm tasks.

2. Gather Content

• What to Do: Make a list of all existing content, like pages, articles, or tools, and decide what to keep, update, or remove. Identify gaps in content that you may need to add to fulfill user needs.
• Why It Matters: Knowing what content is available and what’s needed helps you plan a comprehensive sitemap.
• Tools: Airtable or a spreadsheet is useful for organizing content and adding notes about each item’s status.

3. Organize Hierarchically

• What to Do: Group similar content together under main categories. Think about creating sections like “Products,” “About Us,” “Services,” etc., with subcategories beneath them. For example, under “Products,” you might add subcategories like “New Arrivals” or “Top Sellers.”
• Why It Matters: A clear hierarchy makes it easy for users to understand the layout and find what they’re looking for.
• Tools: Use a visual tool like Miro, Lucidchart, or UXPin to create a flowchart showing the site’s structure with main categories and subcategories.

4. Map User Flows

• What to Do: Sketch out pathways users would take to complete specific tasks. For example, if a customer wants to buy a product, they’d start at the homepage, go to “Products,” select a product category, and proceed to checkout.
• Why It Matters: Mapping user flows ensures the sitemap supports easy access to important sections, aligning with the actual ways users will navigate.
• Tools: Whimsical or UXPin are great for mapping out user flows visually, making it easy to share and gather feedback.

5. Test and Revise

• What to Do: Share the sitemap with team members or a small group of real users and gather feedback on whether the structure makes sense. Are they able to find content easily? Does the flow feel natural?
• Why It Matters: Testing validates your design, allowing you to make adjustments based on real feedback before the site goes live.
• Tools: Use UXPin for creating interactive sitemaps or Maze for gathering feedback on navigation flow.

What are Sitemap Best Practices?

Creating an effective sitemap requires thoughtful planning and a user-centered approach to ensure easy navigation, scalability, and optimal search engine visibility.

1. Keep Critical Pages Accessible – Ensure important pages are reachable within 2-3 clicks to streamline navigation and improve user experience.
2. Use Descriptive, Clear Labels – Label sections clearly, avoiding jargon, so users can easily understand and navigate the site.
3. Organize for Scalability – Structure the sitemap to allow easy additions as the site grows, ensuring a flexible, future-proof design.
4. Highlight SEO-Relevant Pages – Emphasize high-value content in the sitemap to improve search engine indexing and visibility.
5. Regularly Update the Sitemap – Keep the sitemap current to reflect changes in content and structure, maintaining efficient navigation.
6. Limit Depth and Minimize Navigation Effort – Keep essential pages within 2-3 clicks to reduce navigation complexity and avoid user frustration.
7. Align with SEO Objectives – Structure the sitemap around SEO priorities to boost search visibility and align with user intent.

Unlock the power of seamless sitemap and information architecture design with a free UXPin trial! UXPin provides designers and developers with intuitive, powerful tools to create structured, interactive sitemaps that mirror the real user experience. Try UXPin for free.

The post What is a Sitemap in UX? appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

We’re excited to introduce our latest eBook, a comprehensive guide for designers and developers looking to master interaction design patterns in UXPin. This free resource will help you design and reuse essential interaction patterns, with clear guidance on the best practices, tools, and techniques that make these patterns effective.

Here’s a closer look at why interaction design is crucial to user experience, why patterns matter, and what to expect from each chapter of the eBook.

Download the free eBook here →

Why Interaction Design is Important

Interaction design is at the core of user-centered design. It’s what allows users to navigate, interact, and achieve their goals within an interface, and it determines whether that experience is smooth and intuitive or frustrating and cumbersome. Great interaction design guides users subtly and effectively, using visual cues and feedback to create a dialogue between the user and the interface.

When executed well, interaction design can:

1. Enhance Usability: Clear, interactive elements help users know where to go, what to do, and how to complete tasks without confusion.
2. Increase Engagement: Well-designed interactions are engaging and satisfying, encouraging users to spend more time with a product and return to it.
3. Reduce Errors: Thoughtful interactions can prevent mistakes by guiding users or offering timely feedback that prompts corrections.
4. Build Trust: Consistent interactions create a sense of reliability. Users trust interfaces that behave predictably and provide clear feedback.

Our eBook provides a toolkit of interaction patterns that are effective, reusable, and adaptable to different contexts, helping designers build user experiences that feel effortless and intuitive.

Understanding Interaction Design Patterns: Why They Matter

Design patterns are tried-and-tested solutions for common design problems. They simplify the design process by offering established solutions that are known to work, allowing designers to focus on higher-level design decisions rather than reinventing the wheel

In interaction design, patterns are essential for creating familiarity and consistency. When users encounter familiar elements—like input forms, navigation bars, or alerts—they know what to expect, and the interface becomes easier to use.

What do you get by using patterns?

1. Increases Efficiency: Patterns provide a foundation, allowing designers to move more quickly by reusing proven layouts and interactions.
2. Enhances Consistency: By applying standardized patterns, designers ensure a cohesive experience across screens and components, which is critical for user confidence and ease of navigation.
3. Improves Usability Testing: Because patterns are established solutions, they’re easier to test and optimize, as users are already accustomed to them.

Our eBook dives into the specifics of these patterns, covering the context of use, tools to build them, and scalability tips to help you design polished, user-friendly prototypes.

Download the free eBook here →

What’s Inside: Key Benefits and Insights

With this eBook, you’ll gain key insights into:

• When and Where to Use Each Pattern: Contextual guidance on each pattern’s best use, helping you select the right interaction style based on user needs.
• Tools and Techniques: UXPin provides powerful tools to build each pattern accurately, with tips for enhancing realism in your prototypes.
• Scalability: As your design evolves, learn how to adapt patterns to scale for different contexts, from small screens to complex interfaces.
• Best Practices: Each chapter includes dos and don’ts on feedback, visual clarity, and interactive flow to ensure a refined, effective user experience.
• Creating Realistic Prototypes: Build prototypes that look and feel like the end product, using tools and techniques that make your designs production-ready.

Download the free eBook here →

What’s Inside the Chapters?

Here’s what each chapter covers:

• Chapter 1: User Input Patterns
  This chapter explores patterns for capturing user data, such as form fields, rating systems, comments, and buttons. You’ll learn how to design these elements to feel seamless and engaging, guiding users through data entry and interaction smoothly.
• Chapter 2: Data Display Patterns
  Visualizing information is essential for user understanding. This chapter covers data tables, pie charts, graphs, and lists, equipping you with methods to display data clearly and interactively.
• Chapter 3: Progress Tracking Patterns
  Keep users informed of their progress with structured components like wizards, helpboxes, and progress indicators. These patterns are essential for guiding users through multi-step processes without confusion.
• Chapter 4: Navigation Patterns
  Navigation elements are crucial for creating a logical, user-friendly layout. This chapter focuses on icons, breadcrumbs, app bars, and footers, providing tips to make navigation intuitive and accessible.
• Chapter 5: Account Management Patterns
  Protect and manage user access effectively with patterns for permissions, hiding sensitive information, and granting role-based access. These elements enhance user security and privacy without sacrificing usability.
• Chapter 6: Alerts Patterns
  Error messages, popups, modals, and snackbars are used to communicate critical information without disrupting the user experience. This chapter covers best practices for alerting users at the right moments, keeping them engaged and informed.

Ready to Build Hyper-Interactive Prototypes?

With this eBook, you’ll have everything you need to design and implement interaction patterns that are realistic, scalable, and ready for production. Master the dos and don’ts of UI and UX design, optimize feedback, and build highly polished prototypes that feel like the real product—all in UXPin.

Get your free eBook now and take the first step towards designing more engaging, interactive, and user-friendly interfaces.

Download the free eBook here →

The post Get our Latest eBook – Interaction Design Patterns appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

To build a Tailwind Design System in UXPin, begin by leveraging the built-in Tailwind UI library, customizing foundational components for brand alignment. Use UXPin’s AI Component Creator for unique elements, set global and local themes for consistent styling, and add icons with Heroicons and patterns with Hero Patterns.

Document each component to maintain accessibility and scale. For handoff, UXPin exports HTML with Tailwind classes, ensuring a streamlined design-to-development process. This approach creates a flexible, consistent, and production-ready design system. Try UXPin and build your design system today.

Reach a new level of prototyping

Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.

Discover UXPin Merge

What is Tailwind Design System?

Tailwind design system leverages Tailwind CSS’s utility-first approach to create a cohesive and scalable collection of design elements, such as colors, typography, spacing, and components.

By organizing and styling components with Tailwind’s utility classes, a Tailwind design system promotes consistency, flexibility, and rapid development across projects. It simplifies the implementation of UI elements directly in code, ensuring that designers and developers work seamlessly together while maintaining a unified look throughout the product.

Why use Tailwind for a Design System?

Using Tailwind for a design system offers several advantages:

1. Consistency Across UI: Tailwind’s utility classes enable a consistent styling approach, ensuring every component and element follows the same design rules.
2. Scalability and Flexibility: Tailwind’s modular structure allows you to build reusable, adaptable components that scale well across projects.
3. Rapid Development: Utility classes make it easy to create and maintain design elements directly in code, reducing custom CSS and streamlining collaboration between design and development teams.
4. Customization: Tailwind’s configuration options allow for tailored themes and responsive design, supporting brand-specific needs within the design system.

Tailwind CSS can be a powerful choice for companies looking to create fast, scalable, and cohesive design systems across their digital products. OpenAI uses Tailwind CSS for its marketing site, leveraging its quick styling capabilities and utility classes for building a cohesive, clean interface.

GitHub Next and Shopify also integrate Tailwind into their marketing and SaaS platforms, benefiting from Tailwind’s modularity, which aids in maintaining a consistent brand aesthetic across a variety of complex pages.

Building a Tailwind Design System in UXPin

Creating a design system with Tailwind CSS in UXPin leverages the power of code-backed components and UXPin’s Tailwind UI integration. This guide outlines the process step-by-step, helping you build a robust, responsive design system.

Start with the Tailwind UI Library in UXPin

UXPin offers a built-in Tailwind UI library integrated via Merge. Begin by exploring the 18 pre-built components available, including essential UI patterns and layouts. These built-in components are fully customizable, providing a solid foundation for your system.

Create Custom Tailwind Components with UXPin’s AI Component Creator

For unique elements, UXPin’s AI Component Creator streamlines the process. Describe the component you need in simple language (e.g., “responsive card with hover effects”), and the AI will generate it using Tailwind classes. Once generated, save it to your component library to expand your design system.

Customize Components and Patterns

Tailwind’s utility-based styling allows for flexible customizations. Tailor colors, sizes, and typography directly within UXPin to align with your brand’s visual guidelines. Use these foundational components as the building blocks for more complex elements in your design system.

Set Up Global and Local Themes

Tailwind UI in UXPin supports global and local theme management, allowing you to establish a consistent color palette, typography, and spacing across your design system. For consistent branding, use global themes. For tailored component variations, apply local themes to specific pages or elements.

Add Iconography and Patterns with Heroicons and Hero Patterns

Enhance your design with Tailwind’s Heroicons, high-quality SVG icons perfect for interactive elements. Hero Patterns provide seamless SVG background options, adding polish to your UI without heavy custom CSS work. These elements can be added directly within UXPin, making them available across your design system.

Documentation and Testing for Consistency

Ensure your components align with Tailwind principles and meet accessibility standards. Document each component, its purpose, and usage, using UXPin’s Design System Library. This makes it easy to share and scale the system with your team.

Developer Handoff with Spec Mode and HTML Export

One of the biggest advantages of Tailwind in UXPin is the streamlined design-to-development process. Once your design is complete, UXPin allows you to export HTML with Tailwind classes or share the design in Spec Mode for detailed, production-ready handoff. This minimizes manual coding and ensures your design matches the final product.

Use Tailwind Design System in UXPin

Using UXPin and Tailwind together empowers your team to create a flexible, scalable design system. From building foundational components to handing off production-ready HTML, this approach brings consistency, speed, and clarity to the design-to-development workflow. Discover UXPin Merge.

The post Tailwind Design System – How to Start appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

Tailwind CSS has transformed web design by simplifying styling with utility-first classes. Designers are increasingly looking for ways to integrate Tailwind directly into their design tools to streamline workflows. Here, we’ll explore the different ways Figma and UXPin handle Tailwind CSS and how each tool fits into design and development processes.

Bring your Tailwind components to life with UXPin Merge. Sync code-backed components straight from your repo, adding real interactivity, responsive layouts, and dynamic states—all in true Tailwind style. Hand off developer-ready HTML with Tailwind classes intact, minimizing rework and keeping fidelity high from prototype to deployment. Request access to UXPin Merge.

Reach a new level of prototyping

Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.

Discover UXPin Merge

Tailwind CSS in Figma

Figma’s integration with Tailwind CSS primarily relies on community-made UI kits like TailGrids and Tailwind UI Components for Figma. These kits provide a variety of pre-styled, Tailwind-inspired components, which designers can use to quickly prototype and design consistent UIs.

What are the Advantages of Using Tailwind in Figma?

• Fast Prototyping: Designers can drag-and-drop pre-designed Tailwind-styled elements, enabling a swift visual representation of a Tailwind-based design system.
• Customization: While the components are pre-styled, Figma’s design flexibility allows for modification within the platform, enabling customizations to fit specific design requirements.
• Consistency in Visuals: Since these kits use Tailwind’s design principles, they provide a high level of visual consistency for UI projects that will eventually be styled with Tailwind.

What are the Limitations?

• Static Design: Figma’s Tailwind components are static, lacking interactivity and states. This makes it challenging to represent responsive behaviors or component interactions accurately.
• Developer Handoff: Unlike UXPin, Figma doesn’t export HTML with Tailwind classes, requiring developers to manually interpret and translate designs into code.

How to use Tailwind in Figma

Here’s a step-by-step walkthrough for using Tailwind in Figma:

1. Install Tailwind UI Kit: Start by importing a Tailwind CSS UI kit, like TailGrids or Tailwind UI, from the Figma Community. This gives you access to pre-designed components that follow Tailwind’s styling principles.
2. Customize Components: Use Figma’s tools to adjust colors, sizes, and layouts within the components, matching your project’s specific needs while maintaining Tailwind’s utility-based approach.
3. Arrange and Prototype: Build screens by arranging these Tailwind-styled components. Use Figma’s prototyping features to link screens, though interactions will remain static without dynamic states.
4. Handoff to Development: When ready, provide annotated designs or style guides to developers. Since Figma lacks HTML export, developers will need to manually translate the designs into Tailwind classes for production.

Tailwind CSS in UXPin

UXPin integrates Tailwind CSS using UXPin Merge, allowing direct integration of code components. This setup means that the Tailwind components you use in UXPin can match production-ready code exactly, bridging the gap between design and development.

Advantages of Using Tailwind in UXPin:

• Live, Code-Backed Components: With UXPin Merge, designers work directly with production-ready components that use Tailwind classes, ensuring that prototypes match the final build.
• Interactive Prototyping: UXPin supports interactive components with states, responsive design features, and conditional logic, allowing designers to test and demonstrate real-world functionality within the prototype.
• Developer Handoff with Code: UXPin exports HTML with Tailwind classes intact, allowing for a smoother transition from design to development and reducing the potential for misinterpretation of designs.
• AI Component Creator. This AI tool allows designers to generate components with Tailwind styles directly, bypassing manual coding. By typing prompts, UXPin quickly generates Tailwind UI elements.

Disadvantages of UXPin Tailwind Setup:

• Community size: It isn’t as large or robust as Figma’s. This limits the available resources, plugins, and peer support, making it harder to find ready-made solutions or community-built Tailwind components, unlike Figma’s vast ecosystem.
• Learning curve: Figma has many tutorials while UXPin offers just a couple of videos on using Tailwind UI to build a full-fledged app.

How to use UXPin and Tailwind

To use UXPin with Tailwind CSS, follow these steps:

1. Built-in Tailwind UI Kit: UXPin provides a pre-built Tailwind UI kit, making it easy to start with Tailwind-styled components directly in your design environment.
2. Customization and Prototyping: Customize and arrange these components to build interactive prototypes. UXPin supports full interactivity, allowing you to add component states and responsive behavior, which is especially valuable for Tailwind-based designs.
3. AI Component Creator: Use UXPin’s AI Component Creator to generate new Tailwind components quickly. This feature allows you to prompt the AI to create unique components that follow Tailwind’s styling principles.
4. Code Export for Development Handoff: When your design is complete, UXPin can export HTML code with Tailwind classes intact, allowing developers to seamlessly implement the design into production without extensive manual coding.

This streamlined process helps ensure your Tailwind-based designs in UXPin are consistent, interactive, and ready for development handoff. For more details, check UXPin’s documentation.

Choosing the Right Tool for Tailwind CSS

Figma uses static Tailwind UI kits, allowing designers to create Tailwind-style visuals quickly but lacking interactivity or component states. UXPin, on the other hand, provides live, code-backed Tailwind components through UXPin Merge, supporting full interactivity, component states, and responsiveness.

While Figma’s Tailwind designs visually match the end product, UXPin achieves exact fidelity with production code, exporting HTML with Tailwind classes for seamless developer handoff. Figma designs require more manual coding interpretation, whereas UXPin directly connects design to development.

When Should You Use Figma’s Tailwind Kits?

Figma is ideal if you’re focused on quick, visual prototyping without the need for code-backed components. It’s best suited for teams who need a visual representation of Tailwind styling but will handle coding separately. Figma’s simple drag-and-drop UI can also work well for less complex projects or for creating marketing visuals.

When Should You Use UXPin Tailwind UI Kit?

UXPin is the better choice if your project requires interactive prototypes that closely match production code. It’s especially useful for design systems, high-fidelity prototyping, and projects where design and development need to align perfectly. UXPin’s code-backed components make it a powerful tool for complex applications or teams aiming for seamless design-to-development workflows.

Conclusion

Both Figma and UXPin have unique strengths when working with Tailwind CSS. Figma excels in rapid visual prototyping, while UXPin offers a more dynamic, production-aligned approach. Your choice will depend on your project’s complexity, fidelity requirements, and whether your design process demands a high level of interactivity and alignment with final code.

Using UXPin Merge with Tailwind CSS transforms the design process, especially for teams that want production-ready, interactive prototypes. With Merge, you can sync Tailwind-styled components directly from your codebase into UXPin, ensuring that your designs are accurate representations of the final product. Request access to UXPin Merge.

The post Figma Tailwind vs UXPin Tailwind – Best Tailwind Kits appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

There are many important UX design principles organizations must consider when building products. These UX principles complement the design thinking process, placing the user at the center of all decision-making.

This article looks at 16 UX design principles organizations can use to build better products. 

UXPin’s advanced prototyping and testing features allow design teams to minimize usability issues to create better user experiences. Sign up for a 14-day free trial today!

Focus on the User

While it might seem obvious to focus on the user, many designers still make decisions based on personal preference or bias rather than fully understanding their users.

Designers also get sidetracked with design and technical innovation that doesn’t always solve users’ problems or add significant value to the product.

The best design decisions come from understanding your users and fulfilling their needs. Why?—because you’re designing products for people!

Many experienced UX professionals believe focusing on users rather than humans creates a disconnect where designers forget they’re dealing with human beings.

Reframing the term to human-centered design helps UX teams shift from solving design and technical issues to helping people.

Building a framework based on design thinking principles will always keep the user front and center:

1. Empathy—know your humans (end users)
2. Define the problem
3. Generate ideas
4. Prototype
5. Test and iterate

You can read more about human-centered design here.

Be Consistent

Design consistency is a vital ingredient to providing a good user experience. An inconsistent user experience means people will have trouble using parts of a product or might have to relearn how to use it with every feature release or update!

A designer’s goal is to build a product that fulfills users’ needs without worrying about inconsistencies, ultimately building trust and loyal customers.

Creating a design system can help develop consistency, so designers, product teams, and developers always use the same elements, typography, colors, components, assets, etc.

Don’t have a design system? Check out our 7-step process for building a design system from scratch.

Easy to Digest

Create content and experiences that users can easily digest. Designers must recognize that people will always look for the easiest route. If you don’t provide something easy to use in this highly competitive tech landscape, someone else will!

If your product requires onboarding, ensure your documentation is easy to understand with step-by-step instructions.

The UXPin documentation is a perfect example. Firstly, we categorize instructions, so it’s easy to find what you’re looking for. Next, we organize content with subheadings, step-by-step instructions, and explainer videos, making the information easy to follow and digest.

Don’t Make Users Think

Information architect and user experience professional Steve Krug states in his book, Don’t Make Me Think, “As a user, I should never have to devote a millisecond of thought to whether things are clickable or not.”

UX designers must follow design standards for product, app, and web design. For example, don’t hide navigation where users wouldn’t expect to find it. Make sure buttons, CTAs, and links are obvious to find and take users to their intended destination.

Creativity and innovation come from solving problems competitors haven’t thought of, not creating experiences where users have to relearn fundamental standards and processes.

How human psychology and cognitive load relate to UX design is something every designer must learn. Optimizing product design to minimize cognitive load will foster better user experiences and trust in the brand.

Understand Visual Grammar

First defined by the Bauhaus school in the early 1900s, the building blocks of all design comprise of three core elements: points, lines, and planes.

The best UX designers understand how to use these three elements to minimize design complexity, making products easier to navigate thus creating better user experiences.

If you feel your designs are getting too complex and complicated, return to the basics and figure out how to create the same user experience using simple design elements.

Identify the Problem First

Identifying problems comes from thorough UX research and testing—not designer intuition. 

UX researchers should keep asking why a problem exists to understand the root cause and find the right solution. Testing and iterating prototypes play a crucial role in helping to identify and solve problems.

If you don’t have proper prototyping and testing tools, you might get inaccurate results or even create problems that don’t exist!

UXPin is the world’s most advanced prototyping and testing tool. Designers can use a design system to build high-fidelity prototypes for testing quickly. Share prototypes straight from UXPin to identify problems through testing, make changes, and iterate! 

Sign up for a 14-day free trial to discover how UXPin can identify and solve user problems better than any other design tool.

Simple Language Is Best

Language should be as simple as possible, and designers should avoid using jargon or insider terms that people won’t understand. Alienating people through complicated language is a quick way to lose customers!

Readability can have a significant impact on cognitive load, even for highly educated users. It goes back to point four, Don’t Make Users Think. 

According to the widely-used writing aid Grammarly, you should use eighth-grade language (13 years old in the United States) for written content.

Have Empathy for Your Audience

Empathy is the heart of human-centered design—taking designers beyond understanding to connect with users on a deeper level. Designers use empathy so they can relate with users, their struggles, and their environment.

An empathy map is a UX research tool that helps designers empathize by identifying what users:

• See
• Hear
• Think
• Feel

Teams use empathy maps during initial research and usability testing to identify different feelings and emotions. Understanding users on a deeper level can help identify problems they might not express or verbalize.

Provide Feedback

Use microinteractions and animations to communicate with your users to provide feedback and context for their actions.

For example, if your product needs time to process an action, use a throbber or loading icon to let the users know to wait. Ensure error messages help users correct the problem, like highlighting missed required form inputs.

Use consistent feedback that aligns with brand messaging to ensure you always provide a positive user experience.

Don’t Forget the Business Value

Designers must satisfy two entities, users and the brand. While focusing on users is vital to building a successful product, designers must also ensure designs create business value.

Business value and human-centered design often overlap. For example, a smoother, faster eCommerce checkout experience will improve the user experience (user-centered) while increasing conversion rates (business value).

Whenever you’re trying to solve user problems, always look for opportunities to create business value simultaneously.

Ewelina Łuszczek from the Polish-based agency, HERODOT, summarizes a designer’s obligation to business value in one concise sentence, “A great UX designer will manage to link user goals with business goals so that both users and the company reap benefits.”

Here are four great examples from a 2014 INFRAGISTICS study, The Business Value of User Experience:

Bank of America

• Designer action: user-center redesign of the registration process
• Result: registration up 45%

Anthropologie (clothing company) 

• Designer action: UX redesign of the checkout process
• Result: sales up 24%

GFK (consulting firm)

• Designer action: buy button redesign
• Result: sales up $500 million

United Airlines 

• Designer action: user research
• Result: online ticketing up 200%

You can read INFRAGISTICS’ complete 12-page study for more information about creating business value through UX design here.

User testing

Like point six, Identify the Problem First, user testing is crucial for designers to understand real user issues rather than making educated guesses.

Usability testing provides UX teams with valuable feedback and user insights, including:

• Validating design concepts to solve users’ problems
• Exposing usability problems to fix
• Discovering opportunities for improvement
• Learn more about the users
• Identifying business value opportunities

Teams should test from conceptualization to final design handoff—constantly looking for problems to solve and validating their solutions.

Learn more about testing in this article: What is Usability Testing and How to Run It.

Visual Hierarchy

Visual hierarchy helps organize a product or screen layout so users can identify important elements and quickly scan to find what they need.

Designers create visual hierarchy by using distinct variations in color, contrast, scale, and grouping.

An excellent example of visual hierarchy is how writers use header tags to structure and organize content in an article—as we’ve done with this blog post!

Check out this informative article from the Nielsen Norman Group, Visual Hierarchy in UX: Definition.

Accessibility

Accessibility is an important design consideration to make products inclusive for users with impairments or disabilities. Accessibility should also consider who Google calls the “Next Billion Users” (people using technology for the first time).

Some key accessibility considerations include:

• Ensuring screen readers can interpret content and instructions
• Ensuring colors and contrast don’t impair readability
• Using a combination of icons and text so that all users understand links and navigation
• Using legible fonts and text sizes

UX designers often forget about these considerations because design tools don’t provide accessibility checker functionality. 

At UXPin, “We believe no one should feel excluded from digital experiences because of their visual disabilities.” So, we built Accessibility Features into our design editor.

Sign up for a 14-day free trial and start building more inclusive products with UXPin!

Give the User Control

Where possible, always make it easy for users to change their minds or edit the information they submit. For example, providing a back button on every screen in a checkout flow gives the user control to fix errors or make changes.

Never force people to commit to a decision they’ve made, and always ensure your product does not mislead users—whether it’s intentional or not.

Many organizations intentionally make it difficult for users to cancel a subscription by hiding the option in settings or making them contact support (where they usually try to offer incentives to continue the subscription).

Limiting the controls users have to change their minds or edit information creates distrust in the brand and pushes customers to find other solutions.

Design Handoff

Although it’s an internal process, a poor design handoff can adversely affect users by causing unnecessary delays or introducing technical errors. 

UX teams, product designers, and developers must work together to develop processes and protocols, so design handoffs run smoothly with minimal errors.

UXPin Merge can help bridge the gap between design and development. Firstly, Merge allows designers to sync components with a repository (via Git or Storybook integrations) so design teams can build fully functioning high-fidelity prototypes—improving testing and reducing usability issues.

Secondly, UXPin’s Spec Mode facilitates an easy handoff process where developers can get detailed information about designs.

• Inspect properties: grab CSS for elements and components, including sizing, grids, colors, and typography
• Distance measurement: hover over elements for the distance between elements and the canvas edge
• Style guide: a summary of the product’s design system with the option to download assets when applicable

Explore the power of UXPin Merge and how to connect your preferred technology, either through our Git integration for React or Storybook for other popular front-end libraries.

Reevaluate and Revise

One of the beautiful things about UX design is that it’s constantly evolving, allowing organizations to improve products and user experiences continuously.

Once you launch a new product or release, the work of analyzing data and reviewing designs begins. 

• How does the product perform when thousands or millions of people use it? 
• Do users use the product as intended?
• Do users take shortcuts that you can use to improve their experience?
• What do heat maps tell you about user behavior?
• Where do users drop off on signups or checkouts?

When analyzing a product’s performance, teams should always look for ways to improve the user experience while exploring avenues to increase business value.

Summary

Hopefully, you can use these 16 UX design principles to improve workflows and create better product experiences for your users. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so we recommend you always look for ways to improve your processes.

UXPin is a collaborative design tool that can help foster healthy UX design principles for your company. It’s the only design tool that successfully bridges the gap between designers, product teams, and developers to improve every aspect of the UX design process.

Get started with a 14-day free trial to explore a new world of design with UXPin!

The post UX Design Principles for 2024 appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

“The success of a design system hinges on its adoption. Until you have users using your product, it’s not successful.” – Amber Jabeen. A while back, UXPin hosted Amber Jabeen, DesignOps Director at Delivery Hero MENA (talabat), for a webinar titled: Enterprise Design System – How to Build and Scale. This article covers the second half of Amber’s talk, which focuses on Delivery Hero’s design system adoption strategy.

Achieve greater design system adoption, consistency, and cohesion with UXPin Merge. Sync your design system’s component library to UXPin’s design editor to create a single source of truth across the organization. Request access and experience Merge technology today.

Reach a new level of prototyping

Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.

Discover UXPin Merge

What is Design System Adoption?

Design System Adoption is the process by which a design system is accepted, implemented, and actively used by an organization’s design, product, and development teams. A design system is a comprehensive collection of reusable components, guidelines, and standards that ensures consistency and efficiency in product design and development.

Adoption involves making sure that these components, patterns, and guidelines are integrated into daily workflows and are embraced by everyone involved in the product lifecycle.

Delivery Hero’s Design System Adoption

After trying many initiatives, Amber and her team developed a three-component design system adoption strategy for Delivery Hero:

• Gamify
• Socialize
• Celebrate

A “Consistently Delightful” Vision

Amber’s team recognized that they had to treat their design system like any other product to increase adoption. The first step was defining a vision–a Northstar to guide their strategies.

Using input from stakeholders and team members, the team came up with: “Deliver a consistently delightful user experience across all platforms.” 

The design system team emphasized consistently delightful to highlight the vision’s motto and principles.

Consistently (motto):

“Always…without exceptions. Don’t make me think.” The idea is that design consistency creates a more intuitive user experience where users don’t need to learn the UI or its features.

Delightful (principles):

• talabat cares: Product experiences must show we care about our users–both design system users and the product’s end-users
• Made for me: A personalized experience
• Fast: As a delivery company, they want to deliver fast
• Simple: Intuitive user interfaces
• Fun: An enjoyable user experience

With a clear vision, Delivery Hero’s design system team developed its three-component adoption strategy.

Step #1 Gamify DS Adoption

One of the team’s successful strategies was gamification. They realized to adopt the new design system; many team members would have to abandon their existing templates and start from scratch. So, Delivery Hero’s gamification strategy made switching to the design system fun and competitive.

Adoption Tiers

The design system team designed gamified adoption tiers aligned with the system’s vision. The aim was to get team members to start small and scale their usage. Once they completed a “level,” the DS team encouraged users to pursue the next target–as you would in a video game.

• Bronze: Foundations (design tokens)
• Silver: Consistent and cohesive (components)
• Gold: Delightful experience (voice & tone, microinteractions, haptics, transitions)
• Platinum: Premium experience (motion, dark theme, voice UI)

The team created a poster of the design system’s tiers and associated UI patterns and posted them around workspaces to remind people of the “game” and its “levels.”

Design System Dashboard

It was important for team members to visualize their progress to know what they had to do to progress. The DS team created a Discovery Squad dashboard to visualize the user’s adoption and progress towards the next tier.

Step #2: Socialize to Boost Adoption

The second component of the design system’s strategy was “socializing the design system with community-driven initiatives to keep people invested and interested.”

You’ll notice a consistent theme of fun and inclusion with Delivery Hero’s socialize initiatives, which aligns with the design system’s vision.

Design system naming competition

Amber’s team invited everyone to take part in naming Delivery Hero’s design system. They sent out a company-wide mailer asking team members to submit names.

They narrowed the options down to two and voted for the “Marshmallow Design System.” Delivery Hero employees feel a sense of ownership for Marshmallow because they were part of the naming process.

The strategy was a success for the design system team because they immediately had team members invested and engaged.

Marshmallow’s avatar, hashtag, and emoji

To solidify Marshmallow’s identity and raise further awareness, the DS team created an avatar, hashtag, and emoji, which they use across internal communications.

Open design system showcase event

The team hosted events to engage with users and asked questions to encourage live feedback and discussions:

• How are we [design system team] doing?
• How do you find working with the design system?

The aim was to gather new insights and ideas from users to improve the design system. When people feel they’re being heard and see their contributions added to the design system, they take ownership and become advocates, ultimately leading to further adoption.

They even served marshmallows to team members to keep events lighthearted and fun.

Feedback surveys

The DS team used surveys to engage further and gather feedback about different parts of the design system.

Design system guild

The Marshmallow Design System Guild included team members across Delivery Hero’s brands to discuss challenges and share ideas. The aim is to learn from each other and grow the Marshmallow community.

Newsletter

A Marshmallow email newsletter helped the design system team share updates and information with users while keeping stakeholders informed and part of the conversation.

Step #3: Celebrate the Adoption

In her talk, Amber says celebrating process is the most important adoption strategy component. The Marshmallow team acknowledges and celebrates every small win as a symbol of progress towards 100% adoption.

“We celebrated our small wins, which led us to really big wins.” – Amber Jabeen.

The team was “very good at celebrating,” as Amber puts it. When they reached an important milestone, like completing 70% of Marshmallow’s design language, they celebrated. They gave acknowledgments for various achievements across company channels. They used photos and videos to share celebratory moments across the organization.

Amber notes in her presentation:

• We celebrated adoption tiers for each of our squads in monthly newsletters, All Hands, Slack channels, etc.
• Celebrating adoption tiers motivated teams to keep making progress towards bigger goals and encouraged contribution.
• The next step is to start rewarding contributions to the design system. For example, making it part of the organization’s performance reviews would encourage adoption and contributions.

“You can build a design system, but you can’t scale it without a healthy dose of organic contributions. A great way to do that is by rewarding people who contribute to the system.” – Amber Jabeen.

Showing Impact

Marshmallow’s team measured growth and used graphs to present the results to team members and stakeholders. Some of the DS team’s key wins include:

• Marshmallow reduced design debt by approx. 20% month over month. The DS team was able to measure this impact from their initial experiments. Read about getting buy-in for Delivery Hero’s design system here.
• By designing 80% of the product’s component library, the DS team left room for creativity and new components. Marshmallow’s component library reduced front-end effort by approx. 40% in new features.
• Component adoption = consistent and coherent experience. Developers reach out to the Marshmallow team when they notice a component not in the library, asking for advice, which drives conversations around scaling the design system.

Marshmallow’s Successful Strategies

• It takes a tribe to build and run a design system. Build cross-functional partnerships. Even with a dedicated design system team, you can only achieve success with help and advocacy from stakeholders, leaders, and team members.
• A sustainable adoption strategy is community-driven. When you want to scale a design system, find ways to include the organization by designing strategies that rally everyone around its growth and success. Always be available. Reach out to team members. Deliver five-star service to your design system users.
• Give recognition and celebrate small wins. As we outline in “Component Three,” celebrating small wins leads to bigger wins and wider adoption. People like to be recognized, so celebrate and encourage progress.
• Quantify success and communicate 360. Base success on your value proposition and what you set out to achieve. Use metrics to showcase progress towards achieving your design system’s goals. Communicate this progress 360 degrees to everyone in the organization, including stakeholders, partners, sponsors, team members, etc.
• Rinse and repeat! Amber says it’s crucial to find what works and repeat this strategy to scale adoption across the organization.

Watch Amber Jabeen’s talk, “Enterprise Design System – How to Build and Scale,” for the complete story about Delivery Hero’s journey to creating the Marshmallow Design System.

Scaling a Design System With UXPin Merge

As we’ve learned from Delivery Hero’s story, scaling a design system and achieving organization-wide adoption is a challenge.

The DS team must encourage designers to use a UI kit and engineers to use a component library. No matter how good your design system is, designers and engineers still speak different languages.

With UXPin Merge, designers and engineers use the exact same component library. Merge syncs components from a repository to UXPin’s editor, giving design teams the same interactive code components to build prototypes as engineers use for the final product. 

The design system team can program each component’s props (or Args for our Storybook integration), including interactions, so designers only have to focus on building products. An easier workflow and less work mean greater enjoyment and wider adoption.

Find out how to scale your design system while enhancing cross-functional collaboration with the world’s most advanced code-based design tool. Request access to Merge.

The post Design System Adoption – 3-Step Strategy appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

A CRUD app is an application that performs the basic operations of Create, Read, Update, and Delete on data. That’s why it’s abbreviated into CRUD. The four operations represent the fundamental actions that can be performed on most database management systems and are essential for managing data within an application.

CRUD operations are most commonly used in cases where there is a need to manage and manipulate data. Its use spans across various industries, such as task management tools, booking and reservations systems, CMS platforms, and more.

Build an interactive prototype of admin panels, internal tools or any other user interface without a designer. Drag and drop pre-built components on the canvas and create beautiful interfaces that are ready for development. Discover UXPin Merge.

Design UI with code-backed components.

Use the same components in design as in development. Keep UI consistency at scale.

Try UXPin Merge

What is a CRUD app?

A CRUD application is a foundational software app designed to perform fundamental operations on data that form the basis of data management in various platforms, providing end users with the ability to interact, organize, and maintain data efficiently.

The acronym CRUD stands for Create, Read, Update and Delete — four actions that represents the core operations performed on data. In the acronym, “Create” involves adding new data, “Read” focuses on retrieving and displaying existing data, “Update” allows for modifying existing data, and “Delete” provides the capability to remove unwanted or obsolete data.

From content management systems to e-commerce websites, CRUD apps empower end users to interact, organize, and maintain data efficiently, forming the backbone of dynamic and responsive user experiences.

In essence, a CRUD app is the engine driving data interactions, enabling users to systematically and intuitively create, retrieve, update, and delete information. Understanding these fundamental operations is key to grasping the essence of data management in the digital realm.

What are 4 CRUD operations?

Here’s a breakdown of each CRUD operation:

1. Create Operation: Adding new data or records to the system. In a CRUD app, this could be, for example, creating a new user account, adding a new product to an inventory, or creating a new post in a blogging platform.
2. Read Operation: Reading or retrieving data from the database is the second operation. This includes fetching and displaying information. In a CRUD app, reading may involve displaying a list of all user accounts, showing details of a specific product or presenting a feed of posts.
3. Update Operation: Modifying existing data in the system to keep it current. This could include editing user information, changing the details of a product, or updating the content of a post.
4. Delete Operation: Removing unwanted or obsolete data from the system. This could be deleting a user account, removing a product from inventory, or deleting a post.

Breaking CRUD operations into distinct categories enhances front-end and back-end development practices by promoting clarity, modularity, reusability, and maintainability. It aligns with best practices in software engineering and contributes to the overall efficiency and robustness of a software application.

Each operation has a clear and specific purpose, making it easier for fullstack developers and stakeholders to comprehend the system’s functionality. They all can be implemented independently, allowing for easier maintenance, updates, and scalability.

What’s more, developers can create standardized functions or components for each CRUD operation, making it possible to reuse these elements across different parts of the application or in future projects.

Breaking CRUD into discrete operations also makes sense from the end user’s perspective. It allows for granular control over user permissions. Different roles or users can be granted or restricted access to specific CRUD functionalities based on their responsibilities and requirements.

Plus, CRUD operations help users easily grasp the distinct actions they can perform—create, read, update, or delete. It contributes to creating more user-friendly applications with clear and intuitive interfaces.

Breaking Down the CRUD Functions in Design

Based on the article by Tanya Anokhina, here are CRUD functions explanations for designers:

1. Create: This involves designing ways for users to add new content. Think of “+” buttons or “New” prompts that lead users into a smooth content-creation experience. Entry points should be easy to spot and accessible, and actions like autosave can prevent accidental data loss.
2. Read: Design readable displays of user-generated content, like lists or grids, with helpful previews or thumbnails. Users should be able to easily navigate, sort, or filter content to quickly find what they need.
3. Update: Updating or editing content should feel natural. Inline editing, undo functions, and clear “Save” and “Cancel” options protect users from making accidental changes. Consider modal dialogs for focused editing, especially for content that’s crucial or complex.
4. Delete: Since user-generated content is often valuable, design deletion workflows that help users avoid mistakes. Use “Recently Deleted” sections, confirmation prompts, or undo options to allow recovery of deleted data.

What are examples of CRUD apps?

Here are some common examples of CRUD applications that most of us heard about.

WordPress

• Type of application: Content Management System
• CRUD Operations:
  • Create: Authors can create new blog posts, pages, and media content.
  • Read: Users can read published content on the website.
  • Update: Authors can edit and update existing posts and pages.
  • Delete: Unwanted or outdated content can be deleted.

Salesforce

• Type of application: CRM System
• CRUD Operations:
  • Create: Sales representatives can create new customer records.
  • Read: Users can view customer profiles and interactions.
  • Update: Sales teams can update customer details based on new information.
  • Delete: Remove records for customers who are no longer relevant.

Shopify

• Type of application: eCommerce platform
• CRUD Operations:
  • Create: Merchants can add new products to the inventory.
  • Read: Shoppers can view product listings.
  • Update: Merchants can update product details, prices, and availability.
  • Delete: Remove products that are discontinued or out of stock.

Facebook

• Type of application: Social Media Platform
• CRUD Operations:
  • Create: Users can create new posts, upload photos, and add comments.
  • Read: Users can view posts, photos, and comments from their friends.
  • Update: Users can edit or update their own posts and profile information.
  • Delete: Remove posts, comments, or even the entire account.

Trello

• Type of application: Task Management Application
• CRUD Operations:
  • Create: Users can create new tasks, boards, and cards.
  • Read: Team members can view tasks, boards, and project progress.
  • Update: Users can edit and update task details, due dates, and assignments.
  • Delete: Tasks that are completed or no longer relevant can be archived or deleted.

What are the equivalents to CRUD operations?

In the world of web development, equivalents to CRUD exist with slight variations in function names and operations. For instance, SQL, a widely-used language for interacting with databases, refers to these functions as Insert, Select, Update, and Delete.

In NoSQL databases (MongoDB, Cassandra, and CouchDB), however, the expressions corresponding to CRUD operations are based on the specific database and its query language. For example, in MongoDB, you have insertOne, find, updateOne, and deleteOne.

Cassandra uses CQL (Cassandra Query Language) with INSERT INTO, SELECT, UPDATE, and DELETE FROM. CouchDB employs HTTP methods like POST, GET, PUT, and DELETE.

While the specific names and syntax may vary across different databases and programming languages, the basic CRUD actions performed—creating, reading, updating, and deleting data—are essentially equivalent or analogous.

What are the steps of building CRUD apps?

Here is an overview of developing a crud app. The process involves prototyping phase – a very important step. Why is that? Prototyping ensures that the app will be a user-centric, reliable, and scalable solution that stands the test of time.

Gather requirements

Before you will build a Crud app, sit down with your team and decide what your app needs to do, outlining the specific information you intend to handle through each CRUD operation. This initial step lays the foundation for a robust and efficient application that seamlessly manages data interactions.

The easiest way of gathering requirements is design thinking workshop, a structured meeting during which you discuss what needs to be built and how, imagining user journeys and user requirements, as well as technical constraints and business objectives. In design thinking, user, business, and technical requirements are translated into desirability, feasibility, and viability.

Learn about design thinking workshops here.

Design a Prototype of a Crud App

An aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly interface is the face of any successful CRUD app. Leverage UXPin Merge to build prototypes that function like an end-product. Craft screens that cater to each CRUD operation—creation, reading, updating, and deleting data.

Why would you start with a design? The design-centric approach ensures that you can test the design before committing resources to building it. It allows you to check if what you want to design is intuitive to the end-users. What’s more, it helps you make sure you’re creating an app that you actually need. Lastly, it ensures that your design is feasible as UXPin Merge is a design tool for designing with real React components that will be building blocks of your app.

Set Up Database

Are you happy with your design? Great! The next step is installing and configuring a database based on your data model. Let’s say you picked MongoDB. It’s high time to install and configure it

Build API endpoints and Connect them with UI

Develop dedicated routes and controllers to facilitate smooth communication between the user interface and the database. Embed proper validation and error-handling mechanisms, ensuring the reliability and security of your app as it processes data through each CRUD functions.

Then, build a front-end based on your design and connect the interface with API endpoints.

Test your Crud app

Validate each CRUD operation extensively to ensure they function as anticipated. This testing phase also encompasses ensuring data integrity and addressing potential edge cases. Rigorous testing guarantees that your app is not only user-friendly but also robust, resilient, and capable of handling various scenarios.

Deploy the app

The final step in the journey of crafting a CRUD app is its deployment. Make your app accessible to the public by deploying it to a server or a cloud platform. This ensures that users worldwide can benefit from the functionality you’ve meticulously designed. Deployment is the culmination of your efforts, transforming the app from a local development environment into a valuable asset in the digital realm.

How tools like AI Component Creator streamline CRUD UI creation?

Tools like UXPin’s AI Component Creator can streamline CRUD app design by automating repetitive UI elements, such as buttons, forms, and modals, for creating, updating, and deleting data. This automation enhances prototyping speed, allowing designers to focus on user experience rather than manual component setup.

Additionally, the AI ensures that all CRUD components adhere to design system standards, maintaining visual consistency across the app. For designers, this means faster, more cohesive CRUD interfaces that are ready for real-world testing and deployment.

Build an interface of a CRUD app with UXPin Merge

Time to build your own CRUD app. Start by planning its interface. Use UXPin Merge to quickly assemble an interactive, fully functional prototype of a Crud app that you can test and show to other team members. Try a design tool that’s made with developers in mind. Discover UXPin Merge.

The post What is a CRUD App? appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

We truly live in the future. One in which we can power our home lights, sound systems or even security with our voices or from a phone app while miles away. Much like the one predicted in the cult classic, Back to the Future:  

You’re now able to build such prototypes in UXPin! Until now, it was impossible to do this using prototyping tools or without coding.  What is this sorcery?! Or as Doc Brown would say: Jumpin’ Gigawatts!

UXPin’s latest feature, API request, allows you to create app prototypes to “talk” with your products. For e.g. as a car manufacturing company, you could build a prototype that communicates with the car. You can even save data from a prototype to a spreadsheet! Or you’ll be able to simulate changing the colors of your smart lights via a prototype created in UXPin. Just like so:

Technically speaking, it allows you to send HTTP requests to an external API. This is now part of Interactions as a new type of action called API request.

What Are API Requests?

API requests are a way for UXPin to pull in and display dynamic information directly from external sources or databases within a prototype.

An API request is a message sent from UXPin to an Application Programming Interface (that’s what API stands for), asking for specific data or actions. APIs act as intermediaries that allow two systems—like UXPin and a database or web service—to communicate with each other. When UXPin sends an API request, it retrieves real data, such as product details, user profiles, or inventory information, which can then be displayed in the prototype.

Here’s how API requests work in this context:

• Connecting to External Data: By using API requests, UXPin prototypes can access live or up-to-date information from systems such as CRM databases, product catalogs, or content management systems.
• Dynamic Prototyping: This feature enables UXPin prototypes to display real-time data, making the prototype experience closer to the final product. For example, a UXPin prototype of an e-commerce page could use API requests to show current prices, stock levels, and product images.
• User Testing with Real Data: Since prototypes can pull in actual information, teams can conduct more accurate user tests, observing how users interact with real content instead of placeholder text or images.

In UXPin, API requests enhance the power of prototypes by allowing data-driven design, enabling users to experience realistic interactions and ensuring that feedback is based on real-world scenarios.

How Connected Prototypes Enhance User Testing Feedback

Connected prototypes—prototypes integrated with real product data or live APIs—transform the user testing experience by creating a more realistic and dynamic interaction for test participants. This approach not only improves the quality of feedback but also accelerates the validation process, allowing teams to move more confidently from design to development.

Here’s how connected prototypes make a difference in user testing:

Increased Realism for Users

Connected prototypes simulate real-world scenarios by pulling in actual data, content, or user account information. This realism enables users to experience the prototype as they would the final product, providing feedback on interactions, navigation, and design in a way that mirrors real usage. For instance, in an e-commerce prototype connected to live inventory data, users can experience true-to-life shopping flows, offering insights that are far more valuable than hypothetical feedback.

Improved Accuracy in User Feedback

Because connected prototypes present real or simulated data rather than placeholder content, users can respond to the interface as they would in real situations, leading to more accurate and actionable feedback. This reduces assumptions in the design process, as teams can observe users interacting with actual content and understand their genuine reactions and potential pain points.

Validation of Complex User Flows

Prototypes that connect to backend systems or product databases allow for testing of complex workflows, like signing in, checking account details, or completing multi-step processes. Teams can observe whether users intuitively follow intended paths, providing critical feedback to refine and simplify intricate interactions. Testing these flows with connected data also reduces the chance of errors or confusion when the product is fully developed.

Early Detection of Usability Issues

Connected prototypes can reveal usability issues that might go unnoticed in a static or simplified prototype. Since users engage with real data, interactions, and scenarios, they’re more likely to encounter usability challenges that would only appear in the final product. Catching these issues early allows designers and developers to make adjustments before the costly development phase.

Insight into Data-Driven Design Decisions

With connected prototypes, teams can assess how well data elements—such as recommendations, custom content, or personalization—fit into the user experience. Observing users interacting with these elements in real time helps teams validate whether data-driven design decisions are effective or need adjustments, ensuring the final product is both functional and user-friendly.

Faster Iterations Based on Authentic Feedback

Connected prototypes streamline the testing and iteration cycle, as feedback from user testing is based on realistic interactions rather than assumptions. Teams can make confident decisions on what to improve or change, knowing that feedback reflects genuine user behavior. This means fewer revisions during the final build and a more efficient design-to-development process overall.

By connecting prototypes to live or simulated product data, UXPin allows teams to create highly interactive, realistic prototypes that bridge the gap between design and development. This approach not only enhances user testing feedback but also leads to a more refined, user-centered final product.

Key Steps for Connecting UXPin Prototypes to Products

Connecting UXPin prototypes to live product data or APIs enables teams to create realistic, data-driven prototypes that closely resemble the final product. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up a UXPin prototype with real data, allowing for more accurate user testing and feedback.

Step 1: Choose a Data Source

Identify the data your prototype needs to access. This could include user data, product details, inventory, or any content that reflects real usage scenarios.

Step 2: Set Up API Integration

If your data is hosted in an external service (such as a CRM, database, or CMS), ensure it has an API that allows UXPin to pull data. Verify that you have access to API keys or tokens required for authentication.

Step 3: Leverage Merge for Code Components

Use UXPin’s Merge feature to bring real code components into your prototype. These components can be connected to product data via API, making them functional and interactive, closely mimicking the final product.

Step 4: Ensure Component Compatibility

Confirm that the components you’re using are compatible with the data structure from your API. This compatibility allows for seamless data binding and interaction within the prototype.

Step 5: Map Data to Components

In UXPin’s editor, link data fields from the API to corresponding components in your prototype. For example, bind a “product name” field from your API to a text component in UXPin.

Step 6: Create Conditional Logic and Interactions

Set up conditional logic within UXPin to enable interactions like filtering, sorting, or dynamic updates based on real-time data. This brings a more authentic, interactive experience to your prototype.

Step 7: Enable Dynamic Interactions

Define triggers and interactions that use live data, such as form submissions, cart updates, or account settings. These interactions allow users to engage with the prototype as if it were the final product, facilitating realistic feedback on usability.

Step 8: Set Up Real-Time Data Refresh

Configure the API connection to refresh data in real time if applicable. This can be particularly useful for user testing in scenarios involving frequently changing information, like inventory status or live content updates.

Step 9: Test with Realistic Scenarios

With live data integration, allow users to engage with the prototype in realistic workflows, such as testing a checkout process or navigating personalized content.

Step 10: Gather Data-Driven Feedback

During testing, observe how users interact with data-bound components, noting any usability challenges or insights that emerge. This helps validate design decisions early, ensuring that the prototype aligns with user needs.

Step 11: Adjust Components or Data Binding as Needed

Based on feedback, refine your data connections or modify component behavior to address issues uncovered during user testing.

Step 12: Validate Final Changes

Before transitioning to full development, confirm that all adjustments align with product requirements and user-approved feedback in the connected prototype.

Learn how to use this feature by reading our official docs about API.

Welcome to the future.

The post How to Build Prototypes That Talk to Your Products appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

A prototype is a draft or blueprint to explore and refine ideas, while the final product is the completed, fully functional version ready for release. Prototypes and final products serve distinct roles, helping teams move from ideas to a completed, user-ready solution. ~Let’s explore similarities and differences between prototypes vs final products.

By leveraging real code components, responsive design, accessibility features, and seamless handoff capabilities, UXPin enables teams to create prototypes that are nearly indistinguishable from the final product. This reduces the need for costly iterations, minimizes miscommunication, and results in a more efficient and reliable product development process. Try UXPin for free.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is a Prototype vs Final Product?

A prototype is an early model or simulation of a product used to test ideas, designs, and interactions before full development. It often includes basic interactions, layouts, and sometimes simulated data to give a realistic feel, but it’s not fully functional or ready for end-users.

The final product, on the other hand, is the completed version, fully developed and ready for users. It includes all interactions, live data, final visuals, and complete functionality. It’s polished, tested, and built to handle real-world use cases.

In short, a prototype is a draft or blueprint to explore and refine ideas, while the final product is the completed, fully functional version ready for release.

What is their Place in the Design Process?

Prototype in the Design Process

• Purpose: Prototypes are essential for testing and validating ideas before full development. They allow designers, stakeholders, and users to see and interact with a product concept, providing feedback early.
• Stage: Prototyping usually comes after initial research, brainstorming, and wireframing. It’s used to explore layouts, interactions, and functionality in a realistic way without the full cost or time commitment of building a final product.
• Benefits: Prototyping helps identify issues, refine usability, and ensure that the design meets user needs. It’s a key step in preventing costly changes later.

Final Product in the Design Process

• Purpose: The final product is the outcome of all previous design stages. It’s a polished, functional version of the initial concept that has gone through testing, iterations, and feedback.
• Stage: The final product is produced at the end of the design and development process, after prototyping, usability testing, and stakeholder approval.
• Benefits: A finalized product is ready for users and meets all design, functionality, and performance criteria established during the design process. It represents the end goal, where ideas are fully realized and ready for release.

What is the Goal of a Prototype vs Final Product?

The goal of a prototype is to serve as a testing ground for ideas, design concepts, and user interactions before committing to full development. Prototyping allows teams to experiment, gather feedback, and make adjustments to ensure the design aligns with user needs and project goals.

By creating prototypes, designers can validate functionality, interaction flows, and usability in a low-risk environment. This testing phase is critical, as it helps identify potential issues early on, minimizing the chances of costly changes later in the development process. Prototypes focus on essential elements of the user experience rather than technical specifics, enabling teams to iterate quickly and refine ideas.

In contrast, the goal of the final product is to be a fully functional, polished solution, ready for users. The final product includes all technical depth and backend functionality needed for real-world use, such as data handling, performance optimization, and security.

Unlike prototypes, which simulate functionality, the final product delivers a complete experience, optimized for consistent, reliable use by end-users. Every aspect has been carefully tested, validated, and refined to meet the project’s standards and requirements, ensuring that it’s ready for release.

By focusing on interactivity and usability, prototypes don’t need the same level of technical detail as the final product, allowing for flexibility in exploring ideas. The final product, however, must meet rigorous quality standards to support real-world scenarios, bridging the gap from concept to completed, user-ready solution.

Are All Prototypes Exactly like the Final Product?

No, not all prototypes are exactly like the final product. Prototypes vary in fidelity and purpose, and they often focus on simulating certain aspects of the final product rather than replicating it entirely. while high-fidelity prototypes or UXPin prototypes can closely resemble the final product, prototypes in general are simplified versions meant to test and validate ideas before committing to full-scale development.

Here’s how prototypes differ from one another:

1. Fidelity Levels: Prototypes can range from low-fidelity sketches or wireframes that outline structure and flow to high-fidelity prototypes with detailed interactions and visuals that closely resemble the final product. Low-fidelity prototypes are used for early exploration, while high-fidelity prototypes may be created to validate more specific interactions.
2. Functionality and Interactions: Many prototypes include limited functionality. They may mimic certain user flows or interactions but lack complete backend connections or real data. This allows designers to focus on key aspects without building everything from scratch.
3. Design Completeness: Prototypes may not always have the polished look or precise details of the final product. For example, placeholder text or images might be used instead of final content, or the design may be simplified to prioritize testing functionality over aesthetics.
4. Technical Accuracy: Unlike the final product, prototypes aren’t fully developed, so they often don’t include optimized code, data handling, or security features that would be necessary for release.

9 Similarities Between UXPin Prototypes and the Final Product

Real Code Components for Authenticity

• Similarity: UXPin prototypes use code-backed components through Merge, meaning the elements designers use in prototypes are the exact components developers will implement in production.
• Benefit: This approach ensures that all interactions, styles, and functionalities in the prototype are identical to those in the final product, eliminating guesswork during development.

Dynamic, Conditional Interactions

• Similarity: UXPin allows designers to build complex, conditional interactions directly into prototypes, mimicking the final user experience. This includes features like conditional navigation, form validation, and dynamic content states.
• Benefit: By simulating the real logic behind interactions, UXPin prototypes offer a more accurate representation of the user experience, aligning closely with how the final product will behave.

Consistent Design Systems and Libraries

• Similarity: UXPin’s integration with design systems means that components, styles, and themes are consistent from the prototype stage to production. This centralized library of components ensures that updates made in the prototype automatically reflect in the production design.
• Benefit: This results in prototypes that are visually and functionally in sync with the final product, making it easy for teams to scale projects without introducing inconsistencies.

Built-in Accessibility Standards

• Similarity: UXPin incorporates accessibility standards within the prototyping process, allowing designers to check for compliance as they create. Accessibility features in prototypes are carried over to the final product.
• Benefit: Teams can ensure the final product meets accessibility guidelines from the start, saving time and costs associated with post-production fixes.

Production-Ready Code

• Similarity: UXPin’s prototypes can export clean, production-ready code, particularly when using Merge. This makes the handoff from design to development seamless, as developers receive components that are essentially ready to integrate into the final product.
• Benefit: By reducing the need for rework, teams can move from prototyping to production faster, ensuring that what was approved in the prototype phase is accurately translated into the final product.

Responsive and Adaptive Design

• Similarity: UXPin supports responsive design directly within the prototype, allowing teams to test how the product will adapt across devices and screen sizes.
• Benefit: This makes UXPin prototypes functionally close to the final product, as designers can validate responsiveness early and avoid surprises during development.

Interactive Data Integration

• Similarity: UXPin allows teams to integrate real or sample data within prototypes, helping to simulate dynamic content and user-driven changes in real time.
• Benefit: By seeing how data interacts with the UI, teams can confidently align the prototype with the data-driven features of the final product.

Usability Testing Integration

• Similarity: UXPin prototypes are functional enough to support usability testing, allowing real users to interact with the design and providing feedback that’s directly applicable to the final product.
• Benefit: This feedback loop ensures that user-centered design decisions made during prototyping are maintained in the final product, minimizing discrepancies post-launch.

Full Design-to-Development Workflow in One Platform

• Similarity: UXPin offers a single platform for the entire design-to-development workflow, from initial wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes and handoff.
• Benefit: By using one platform, UXPin keeps everything aligned, ensuring that each stage reflects the final product as closely as possible.

How UXPin Speeds up Prototyping to Final Product Transition?

Using UXPin speeds up the translation from prototype to final product by creating a seamless, integrated workflow that connects design and development. Here’s how it accelerates the process:

1. Real Code Components with Merge: UXPin allows designers to use real code components in their prototypes. With Merge, designers and developers work with the same coded elements, meaning the prototype is already built with production-ready code. This eliminates the need to recreate components from scratch, speeding up the transition from prototype to final product.
2. Dynamic Interactions and Logic: UXPin supports complex interactions and conditional logic directly in prototypes, allowing designers to test and refine real product functionality. This lets teams validate interactive elements early, so developers don’t need to interpret design intentions or manually code interactions, reducing back-and-forth between design and development.
3. Consistent Design Systems: UXPin integrates with design systems to ensure that design elements, styles, and components used in prototypes are the same ones used in the final product. By centralizing libraries and maintaining consistency, UXPin minimizes design-to-code translation errors and ensures that prototypes align with production standards.
4. Built-in Documentation and Accessibility Checks: UXPin includes documentation and accessibility features within the prototyping process, meaning design guidelines and accessibility standards are already embedded when handing off to developers. This minimizes additional work post-prototyping and ensures the final product meets accessibility requirements from the start.
5. Seamless Handoff with Production-Ready Code: Unlike traditional tools where prototypes are static, UXPin’s prototypes can export clean, usable code that developers can implement directly. This significantly cuts down on development time, as the code is ready to use rather than needing to be recreated from scratch.

By combining design and development elements in one platform, UXPin bridges the gap between prototype and final product, reducing rework, minimizing translation errors, and accelerating the overall development timeline. Try UXPin for free.

The post Prototype vs Final Product — A Deep-Dive appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

Successful products aren’t just built—they’re designed and managed with precision and collaboration. Two of the most crucial roles in this process are the product designer and the product manager. While both professionals work toward a common goal of delivering a product that meets user needs and drives business value, their roles, skill sets, and day-to-day responsibilities differ significantly.

Understanding these differences is essential for anyone involved in product development, from designers and developers to stakeholders. For designers looking to move into management or professionals who work closely with design teams, grasping the nuances of each role can enhance collaboration and ultimately contribute to more impactful product outcomes.

To bridge this collaboration gap, many teams turn to UXPin Merge, a technology that enables designers and developers to work seamlessly by using the same code components across the design and development process. With UXPin Merge, product designers and managers can create and test consistent, interactive designs that reflect the final product, simplifying communication and reducing handoff errors. By fostering a shared visual language, UXPin Merge empowers teams to work more efficiently and deliver user-centered products faster. Request access to UXPin Merge.

Reach a new level of prototyping

Design with interactive components coming from your team’s design system.

Discover UXPin Merge

What is a Product Designer?

A product designer plays a pivotal role in creating the look, feel, and functionality of digital products. They focus on crafting user-centered designs that are both visually engaging and functional, ensuring that every element of the product serves a purpose aligned with user needs and business objectives. Unlike specialized roles like UI or UX designers, a product designer typically wears multiple hats, blending skills across research, visual design, and prototyping to deliver cohesive, end-to-end product experiences.

Key Responsibilities of a Product Designer

The responsibilities of a product designer cover a broad spectrum of tasks, often extending beyond pure design to include strategic input and collaboration with cross-functional teams. Typical responsibilities include:

• User Research: Conducting interviews, surveys, and usability testing to understand user needs and pain points.
• Ideation and Prototyping: Developing early design concepts, wireframes, and interactive prototypes to test functionality and gather feedback.
• UI Design: Creating visually engaging interfaces that follow brand guidelines while focusing on usability and accessibility.
• Interaction Design: Defining how users will interact with various elements in the interface, ensuring smooth transitions, animations, and intuitive flows.
• Collaboration: Working closely with product managers, developers, and stakeholders to align design with product goals and technical constraints.

Ultimately, a product designer’s goal is to create a product that not only looks great but is intuitive and easy to use. This requires balancing user needs, business goals, and technical feasibility to deliver a product that adds value to both the user and the organization.

Key Skills of a Product Designer

To fulfill these responsibilities, product designers need a wide range of skills that enable them to design, test, and refine their work efficiently. Some of the most critical skills include:

• UX/UI Design: Proficiency in user experience and user interface design, including principles of layout, color theory, typography, and accessibility.
• Prototyping: Ability to create interactive prototypes that demonstrate how users will navigate through the product.
• User Research: Skills in conducting and analyzing user research to inform design decisions.
• Communication: Strong communication skills to effectively present design concepts and collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Problem-Solving: A strategic approach to solving design challenges that may arise from technical or business constraints.

Tools Commonly Used by Product Designers

Product designers rely on a variety of design and collaboration tools to bring their ideas to life. Here are a few commonly used tools:

• UXPin: Known for its end-to-end design capabilities, UXPin enables designers to create interactive prototypes, collaborate with stakeholders, and seamlessly hand off designs to developers. UXPin’s design system features are particularly valuable, as they allow designers to maintain consistency and scalability by using reusable components.
• Figma: A cloud-based design tool widely used for its real-time collaboration features, making it easy for teams to work together on the same design files.
• Sketch: A vector-based design tool known for its simplicity and ease of use, particularly for UI and UX design tasks.

What is a Product Manager?

A product manager (PM) plays a central role in guiding the product’s direction, ensuring it meets both user needs and business objectives. Often referred to as the “CEO of the product,” the product manager takes on a strategic role, overseeing everything from product vision and development to launch and continuous improvement. While product designers focus on the how of the user experience, the product manager focuses on the what and why, aligning the team around a shared vision and clear objectives.

Key Responsibilities of a Product Manager

Product managers are responsible for bridging the gap between business strategy and execution, which involves coordinating with design, development, marketing, and sales teams. Key responsibilities include:

• Product Strategy and Vision: Defining the product’s purpose, setting long-term goals, and shaping a vision that aligns with company objectives and user needs.
• Prioritization and Roadmapping: Developing and maintaining the product roadmap, prioritizing features, and determining the sequence of work to maximize impact and value.
• Stakeholder Communication: Acting as the primary point of contact for cross-functional teams, gathering input, sharing updates, and managing expectations across departments.
• User and Market Research: Conducting research to understand user needs, market trends, and competitive landscapes, ensuring the product’s value and relevance.
• Metrics and Success Tracking: Defining and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate product success and inform future decisions.

The ultimate goal of a product manager is to create a product that aligns with the company’s goals while delivering real value to users. To do this effectively, a PM balances strategic priorities, development constraints, and user feedback.

Key Skills of a Product Manager

The diverse responsibilities of a product manager require a blend of strategic thinking, communication, and analytical skills. Essential skills for this role include:

• Product Strategy: The ability to shape a product’s direction based on company goals, user insights, and market analysis.
• Prioritization and Decision-Making: A strategic approach to making choices about what goes into the product, often requiring tough calls on feature inclusion, timelines, and budget.
• User Empathy: A deep understanding of the target audience and their pain points, helping to make user-centered product decisions.
• Communication and Stakeholder Management: Strong interpersonal skills to align cross-functional teams, manage expectations, and advocate for the product.
• Analytical Skills: Ability to interpret data, measure success, and apply insights to inform product changes or future direction.

Tools Commonly Used by Product Managers

Product managers rely on various tools to help them plan, prioritize, and communicate effectively with their teams. Some of the most popular tools include:

• Jira: A project management tool favored for its ability to track progress, manage sprints, and organize tasks, helping PMs coordinate with development teams.
• Trello: A visual task management tool useful for maintaining high-level overviews of project status and prioritization.
• Asana: A collaborative tool that enables product managers to assign tasks, track project milestones, and align team members around a shared plan.

Key Differences Between Product Designer and Product Manager

Product designers and product managers play distinct yet complementary roles in product development. While product designers focus on the usability and aesthetics of the product, product managers concentrate on the overall strategy, roadmap, and alignment with business goals. Understanding their differences in skill sets, tasks, goals, and success metrics can help create a more effective collaboration between the two roles.

• Skill Set: Product designers focus heavily on design skills, such as UX/UI design and prototyping, to ensure the product is both visually pleasing and intuitive. Product managers, on the other hand, rely on skills in product strategy, prioritization, and communication to align the product with both business goals and user needs.
• Primary Focus: Product designers concentrate on the user experience, crafting interfaces and interactions that are easy to navigate and align with brand standards. Product managers focus on the larger product vision, ensuring the product meets company objectives and is developed within time and resource constraints.
• Day-to-Day Tasks: The day-to-day activities of a product designer typically involve wireframing, prototyping, and iterating based on user feedback, while product managers spend much of their time on strategic planning, coordinating with stakeholders, and prioritizing the development roadmap.
• Project Goals: For product designers, the primary goal is to create an effective, aesthetically pleasing product that resonates with users. Product managers aim to create a product that aligns with business strategies and delivers measurable outcomes, such as increased engagement or revenue.
• Success Metrics: Product designers measure success through metrics like usability, visual consistency, and overall user satisfaction. Product managers, however, are often evaluated based on key performance indicators (KPIs), user engagement, and the business impact of the product.
• Tools Used: Product designers use design tools like UXPin, Figma, and Adobe XD, whereas product managers rely on planning and analytics tools like Jira, Productboard, and Google Analytics to manage the product lifecycle and gather insights.
• Collaboration Points: Product designers and product managers frequently collaborate to align design with strategy, exchanging insights to refine the product based on user feedback and technical feasibility. This collaboration ensures that user-centered designs are also aligned with broader business objectives.

By understanding these distinctions, companies can better leverage the unique strengths of both roles, fostering a balanced approach to product development that combines strategic insight with thoughtful design.

Key Areas of Collaboration

1. Ideation and Concept Development
   • During the early stages of product development, product designers and product managers collaborate closely to define the product’s vision. The product manager brings insights about user needs, market trends, and business objectives, while the product designer contributes ideas for how the product should look and feel to achieve these goals.
   • In brainstorming sessions, designers and PMs exchange ideas, mapping out potential features and user journeys. This collaboration ensures that both strategic and design perspectives shape the product from the outset.
2. Prototyping and Validation
   • As ideas solidify, product designers begin developing prototypes to bring the concepts to life. Product managers work alongside them to validate that the prototypes align with the roadmap and priorities, providing feedback based on user requirements and business objectives.
   • Prototyping platforms like UXPin are particularly valuable here. With UXPin’s interactive prototyping capabilities, designers can create high-fidelity, interactive prototypes that PMs can easily review and test. This shared visual model reduces misunderstandings and allows both roles to spot potential issues early on.
3. User Feedback and Iteration
   • Once a prototype is ready, gathering user feedback becomes essential. Product managers and product designers work together to analyze user feedback, which informs iterations and improvements.
   • Product managers interpret feedback through the lens of overall strategy, while designers focus on usability and user satisfaction. This collaborative analysis ensures the product remains user-centered while also meeting broader product goals.
4. Design System Consistency and Development Handoff
   • Consistency is key to delivering a polished, cohesive product experience. Designers use design systems to maintain uniformity across components, layouts, and interactions, which helps reduce inconsistencies during handoff to developers.
   • UXPin Merge bridges this design-development gap by allowing designers to use code-based components directly within the design tool, meaning the components used in design are identical to those in the final product. This not only keeps the design consistent but also reduces friction in handoffs between product design and engineering, as both designers and developers work with the same source of truth.
5. Roadmap Alignment and Continuous Collaboration
   • Throughout the product lifecycle, designers and product managers engage in continuous collaboration to ensure alignment with the roadmap. Product managers keep designers informed about any changes in priorities or timelines, while designers communicate updates on progress and design decisions.
   • Tools like UXPin facilitate ongoing collaboration by centralizing design assets and feedback, enabling both roles to stay in sync even as the product evolves.

Challenges in the Product Designer and Product Manager Relationship

While collaboration between product designers and product managers is essential for building successful products, it’s not without its challenges.Here are some common pain points in the product designer and product manager relationship, along with tips to overcome them through effective communication and alignment.

1. Conflicting Priorities
   • Product designers often prioritize user experience, focusing on elements that make the product more intuitive, enjoyable, and visually appealing. Product managers, however, may prioritize features that fulfill business objectives or meet tight deadlines, even if it means making compromises on certain design elements.
   • Example: A designer might push for a more detailed onboarding experience to improve user engagement, while a product manager may want to launch with a simpler flow to meet time constraints.
2. Balancing User Needs with Business Goals
   • Designers advocate for the user, striving to address their pain points and create seamless interactions. Meanwhile, product managers must ensure that the product supports business goals, such as revenue targets or cost efficiency. This can lead to tension when a design solution benefits users but doesn’t directly align with immediate business objectives.
   • Example: A product manager may want to add a feature that drives sales, while a designer might feel this addition clutters the user interface, making the product less user-friendly.
3. Communication Gaps
   • Product designers and managers sometimes lack clarity on each other’s constraints and workflows. Designers may not fully understand business pressures, while product managers may be unaware of the time and effort needed to execute certain design elements.
   • Example: A product manager requests a new feature without realizing that the design team needs extra time to ensure it’s consistent with the product’s visual language, leading to frustration on both sides.
4. Scope Creep and Misalignment on Feature Prioritization
   • Scope creep happens when product managers or stakeholders continuously add features or adjustments, often late in the design process. This disrupts designers’ workflow and can compromise the quality of the final product. Misalignment on feature prioritization also arises when designers and PMs have different views on which features should take precedence.
   • Example: A product manager might push for last-minute feature changes to meet a client request, while a designer struggles to adapt the design without compromising usability.

Tips for Effective Communication and Alignment

1. Establish Clear Goals and Priorities Early On
   • During the planning phase, product designers and product managers should work together to define the project’s goals, priorities, and non-negotiables. Setting these guidelines from the start helps both roles stay focused on a shared vision, even when adjustments are needed later.
   • Tip: Use collaborative project planning tools to create a shared document or roadmap, outlining key milestones, goals, and design expectations.
2. Emphasize Empathy and Understanding for Each Role’s Constraints
   • A mutual understanding of each other’s priorities and constraints can improve empathy and reduce friction. Designers should be encouraged to consider the business side of their decisions, while product managers benefit from understanding the design team’s creative process and challenges.
   • Tip: Regular cross-functional meetings and open discussions can foster this understanding. Consider holding “role reversal” sessions where designers and product managers explain the complexities of their roles to one another.
3. Implement Regular Check-ins and Feedback Loops
   • Frequent check-ins allow both designers and product managers to stay aligned as the project progresses. These can be weekly or biweekly sessions where teams discuss updates, adjust priorities, and resolve any emerging conflicts. A structured feedback loop also ensures that both roles have input before significant changes are made.
   • Tip: Use collaborative tools like UXPin, which allows product designers and managers to review interactive prototypes, making feedback more visual and immediate. UXPin Merge can also reduce back-and-forth by ensuring that design components reflect the latest codebase, minimizing misalignment.
4. Create a Decision-Making Framework for Prioritization
   • A decision-making framework helps teams assess feature requests and prioritize effectively based on criteria like user impact, business value, and design feasibility. This framework empowers designers and PMs to evaluate requests objectively, minimizing conflicts around prioritization.
   • Tip: Agree on a priority scoring system or criteria checklist that both roles can use to evaluate features, making it easier to reach a consensus on what goes into each release.
5. Document and Communicate Changes Promptly
   • Scope changes and new requirements are inevitable, but they can lead to frustration if not communicated promptly and transparently. Having a process for documenting and communicating changes ensures that designers and product managers are aligned on expectations.
   • Tip: Use a shared tool or document to track changes, providing updates to the entire team so everyone is aware of the latest priorities and requirements.

The Role of UXPin in Facilitating Collaboration

UXPin supports this collaborative relationship through design tools like UXPin Merge, which allow designers to work with actual code components. This helps maintain visual and functional consistency across designs, ensuring that what’s designed is what’s developed. Additionally, UXPin’s interactive prototypes offer a realistic preview of the product, helping product managers visualize the user experience early and align it with the strategic direction.

In short, the collaboration between product designers and product managers is vital to building products that resonate with users and fulfill business objectives. By blending strategy with user-centered design, and leveraging tools like UXPin to streamline workflows, designers and PMs can achieve a balance that brings their shared vision to life. Request access to UXPin Merge.

The post Product Designer vs Product Manager – Key Differences appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

UI grid systems are essential for responsive design, ensuring layouts adapt seamlessly to various screen sizes and resolutions. Designers use grid systems to create fluid layouts that maintain consistency and visual hierarchy, providing an optimal user experience across multiple devices such as desktops, tablets, and mobile phones.

Designers can create three UI grid types, including column, baseline, and square, in UXPin with a click of a button. Sign up for a free trial to explore UXPin’s advanced UX design features.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is a UI Grid?

A UI grid is a foundational layout structure in design that organizes content into rows and columns, providing a systematic framework for arranging UI elements on a page or screen.

UI grids establish a consistent and harmonious visual order, making navigating and comprehending content easier. By implementing a grid system, designers can create a cohesive and balanced layout that enhances the user experience while ensuring adaptability and flexibility across various devices and screen sizes.

Types of UI Grids

Manuscript grid

A manuscript grid (single-column grid) is the simplest grid type, consisting of a single column that spans the entire width of a layout. Designers primarily use manuscript grids for long-form textual content, such as blog posts or articles, where readability is a priority.

For example, an online newspaper might use a manuscript grid to display its articles in an easy-to-read format.

Column grid

A column grid divides the layout into multiple vertical columns, providing a flexible structure for organizing content. Designers often use column grids for complex layouts, like web pages or app interfaces.

For example, most websites use a column grid system with a 12-column grid for desktop, down to 2-4 column grids for smaller aspect ratios.

Modular grid

A modular grid is a versatile structure that divides the layout into rows and columns, creating a matrix of equally sized modules. Designers use modular grids for organizing content that requires a high level of consistency and uniformity, such as image galleries, product listings, or card-based UIs.

An example of using a modular grid is an eCommerce site that displays products in a consistent grid format, making it easy for users to browse and compare items.

Hierarchical grid

A hierarchical grid is a flexible structure that allows for varying alignments and organization based on the visual hierarchy of the content. This grid type is especially useful when working with content that has varying levels of importance or complexity.

An example of a hierarchical grid is a portfolio website, where designers can emphasize particular projects or elements by varying the size and positioning of the content within the grid.

Baseline grid

A baseline grid is a horizontal grid structure that ensures consistent vertical alignment of text and other elements across a layout. Designers use baseline grids in typography-heavy designs to maintain readability and visual harmony.

An example of when to use a baseline grid is on a content-rich website or digital publication, where maintaining consistent text alignment across different sections and pages is essential for a professional appearance and improved user experience.

Square grid

A square grid (grid of squares or a checkerboard grid) is a modular grid consisting of evenly spaced, equal-sized square modules. Designers use square grids to create a visually balanced layout, particularly with square-shaped content like images or icons.

An example of applying a square grid is in a portfolio website, where project thumbnails are arranged in a uniform grid layout, creating a visually appealing presentation and making it easy for users to browse and explore the showcased work.

Understanding Fluid Grids

Fluid grids are a modern UI design approach that facilitates flexible, responsive layouts that automatically adjust to various screen sizes and devices. Front-end devs achieve this fluidity using relative units like percentages instead of fixed units like pixels.

Fluid grids create a dynamic layout that resizes and adapts to the user’s viewport, ensuring an optimal experience across different devices and orientations. Developers implement fluid grids using CSS and breakpoints, which define specific viewport widths at which the layout should adjust or reflow.

Anatomy of a UI Grid

• Columns: Vertical divisions of the grid, providing a structure for organizing content within the layout. They help create balance, hierarchy, and consistency across different sections of a design.
• Gutters (alleys): The space between columns providing breathing room and separation for content within the grid. Gutters help improve readability and create a sense of order within the layout.
• Margins: The space around the outer edges of the grid separating the design elements from the edge of the canvas or screen. Margins help frame the content and maintain consistency across various screen sizes and devices.
• Rows: Horizontal divisions within the grid, often used in conjunction with columns to create a complete grid structure. Rows help establish the vertical flow of content and maintain consistent spacing between elements.
• Modules: Individual units formed by the intersection of rows and columns in a modular grid. Modules provide a flexible and adaptable framework for organizing various types of content, such as text, images, and other design elements.

Advantages of Using a Grid System

• Consistency: UI grids promote uniformity across different sections and pages of a design, resulting in a cohesive, polished appearance that reinforces brand identity and enhances user experience.
• Visual hierarchy: Grid systems help designers establish a clear hierarchy of content by guiding the placement and sizing of design elements, making it easier for users to comprehend and navigate the information presented.
• Scalability and adaptability: Grids enable designs to easily adapt to various screen sizes and devices, ensuring a consistent and responsive user experience across multiple platforms.
• Improved readability: Grid systems enhance readability and make it easier for users to scan by providing structured alignment and spacing for content, making it easier to digest.
• Facilitates collaboration: A shared grid framework simplifies the design process for teams, allowing multiple designers to work together cohesively and maintain consistency across different aspects of a project.

How to Create and Use UI Grids

Determine the purpose and content structure

Begin by defining the purpose of your design and the content structure you’ll be working with. This step allows you to understand the layout requirements and helps inform the type of grid and the number of columns (or rows) that will be most effective for organizing and presenting the content.

Choose the appropriate grid type

Select the grid type that best suits your design needs based on the purpose and content structure. Consider complexity, layout flexibility, and hierarchy when choosing the grid type.

Establish margins and gutters

Define the margins and gutters to provide consistent spacing between elements and maintain a balanced layout. Margins give space around the layout’s edges, while gutters ensure consistent separation between columns and rows. Properly established margins and gutters contribute to a clean and organized appearance.

Define column and row sizes

Determine the size of columns and rows based on the content you plan to display and your desired flexibility. Consistent column and row sizes help maintain a uniform aesthetic.

Align elements and text

Align design elements and text within the grid structure, following the established columns, rows, margins, and gutters. Proper alignment ensures a cohesive appearance and enhances readability by creating a clear visual hierarchy.

Break the grid for emphasis and variety

While adhering to the grid is essential for consistency, occasionally breaking the grid can add emphasis and visual interest to your design. Breaking the grid for specific elements or sections can draw attention to critical content or create a dynamic, engaging user experience.

Best Practices for Using Grids in Design

• Keep it simple and consistent: Use a column grid to create a clean, organized layout for a blog, ensuring uniform text and image alignment across all pages.
• Make it flexible and adaptable: For example, design a responsive website using a modular grid, allowing for smooth adaptation across various screen sizes and devices while maintaining a cohesive visual experience.
• Use whitespace effectively: In a portfolio website, use generous margins and gutters to create ample whitespace around each project, allowing the user to focus on individual pieces without distraction.
• Maintain visual balance: For an online magazine, balance text and images within a hierarchical grid, ensuring that the visual weight is distributed evenly across the layout for a balanced aesthetic.
• Break the grid deliberately and purposefully: For example, on a landing page for a new product, break the grid by placing a large, eye-catching image or call-to-action element outside the grid boundaries to emphasize something fresh and different.

What are Grid Systems in UI Design?

Imagine you’re a city planner tasked with designing a brand-new city from scratch. To create a sense of order and flow, you start by drawing a series of streets, blocks, and intersections. You place important buildings on main streets and smaller structures in quieter areas. This grid structure is the backbone of the city, helping people navigate intuitively, while giving you a solid framework to place every building with purpose. In UI design, the grid system serves the same purpose: it organizes elements, guides visual flow, and makes the interface easy to navigate.

Let’s break it down into why a grid system is crucial, much like that city grid.

Laying the Foundation: Structure and Alignment

Just as city streets create a clear structure, a grid system in UI design provides the foundation for consistency and alignment. Imagine trying to navigate a city where buildings and roads are randomly placed without any structure. It would be chaotic, right? Grids help avoid this by using columns, rows, and spacing to organize content and elements. This creates a harmonious, structured look that feels balanced and intuitive.

Grids are often based on columns (like a 12-column grid), which helps divide the screen into manageable sections. Each column, gutter, and margin serves a specific purpose, ensuring that elements align properly across various screen sizes and resolutions.

A Map for the Eye: Visual Hierarchy and Flow

When a user lands on a screen, their eyes follow a specific path, just as pedestrians follow roads and intersections. Grids help guide the eye, emphasizing important areas (headlines, call-to-action buttons) and minimizing distractions. A well-structured grid sets up a visual hierarchy, so users can naturally understand where to start and where to go next.

For example, placing a headline across multiple columns at the top of the grid draws attention immediately, while smaller elements like icons or supporting text fit neatly into narrower columns. This creates an easy-to-follow journey across the screen, making users feel like they know exactly where to look.

Flexibility and Responsiveness: Adapting to Any “Screen Size”

Imagine that your city grid is flexible enough to expand or contract based on how many people visit the city at any given time. In UI design, grids help create responsive designs that adapt to various screen sizes, ensuring that content remains organized and accessible on desktops, tablets, and smartphones. By defining flexible columns and breakpoints, you can rearrange elements within the grid without sacrificing alignment or clarity, keeping the user experience consistent across devices.

Precision and Consistency: A Cohesive Look and Feel

Just as a city grid ensures consistent block sizes, a UI grid system brings precision to the placement of every button, image, and text field. This helps establish a cohesive design language across the entire application or website. When elements snap into a grid, designers avoid minor misalignments that can make the UI feel sloppy or cluttered.

This precision also creates a professional look that builds trust with users. People may not consciously notice every alignment, but subconsciously they feel the difference when a layout is meticulously structured.

Freedom within Structure

Some designers may worry that a grid limits creativity, but in reality, it’s quite the opposite. Just as city planners add parks, unique buildings, and open spaces within a structured grid, designers can create dynamic, visually engaging layouts within the grid framework. The grid becomes a tool that supports creativity by giving elements a place to land. You can break the grid for emphasis or play with column spans to highlight key features—all while maintaining balance and structure.

In Summary

A grid system in UI design is the structural foundation that organizes, aligns, and guides every visual element on the screen. It’s like a city grid, ensuring that all components work together harmoniously to create a seamless, navigable experience for users. This structure not only enhances usability but also provides designers with a framework that supports creativity, allowing for flexibility and consistency across different screen sizes.

Using grids, we create digital spaces that are organized, intuitive, and beautiful—just like a well-planned city that users will enjoy exploring and navigating.

How to Create UI Grid System in UXPin

UXPin offers three types of UI grid systems:

• Column grid
• Baseline grid
• Square grid

We also have a Smart Grid that lets you quickly arrange and adjust the spacing between elements in grid layouts.

Once you’ve set up a desired grid system, UXPin will help with positioning and arrangement by snapping to grid edges–you can disable snapping in settings.

Depending on the grid type, you can adjust various grid properties, including columns, column width, rows, gutters, margin, and offset. UXPin will “remember” any grid settings you choose and apply them to any new pages within a prototype.

Take your prototyping to the next level with UXPin’s UI grids and many other advanced features. Sign up for a free trial to create your first interactive prototype with UXPin.

The post UI Grids – All You Need to Know appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

A service safari allows design teams better to understand competitors, users, and their own product. This service experience offers valuable insights for very little investment, making it an essential tool during the early stages of the design thinking process.

This article looks at the pros and cons of a service safari, how to plan and run one, and what you can expect from the results.

Design, prototype, test, and iterate with the world’s most advanced code-based design tool. Sign up for a free trial to discover how UXPin can revolutionize your UX projects.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is a Service Safari?

A service safari is a real-world research method where designers experience a product as a user–like mystery shopping. You can conduct a service safari on your product, competitors’, or both. The process works for physical products, services, and digital products.

During a service safari, team members complete various tasks to gain insights into the product’s customer experience.

A service safari is a valuable UX design research method because it’s inexpensive (for most digital products), and teams can complete the process without users.

A service safari ultimately provides a realistic look at the user journey and competition, helping design teams refine their products to deliver a better experience and capitalize on market opportunities.

Who Does a Service Safari?

Usually, various team members from a design project participate in a service safari. Participating in a service safari gives team members valuable insights into the competition, but the process also provides an opportunity to empathize with users from a product-usage perspective.

When to do a Service Safari?

UX designers complete service safaris during the discovery phase of a design project when researching competitors or evaluating an existing product for a redesign. They use the results to identify opportunities and pain points that help guide the design process.

What is the Purpose of a Service Safari?

A service safari is a research activity where design teams observe and interact with competitor services and their own services from a customer’s perspective. By “walking in the shoes” of the end-user, teams gain valuable insights that can help inform product improvements, identify business opportunities, and refine the user experience. Here’s a breakdown of key reasons for conducting a service safari:

Understand the Competition and Their Services

A service safari allows design teams to study competitors’ offerings firsthand, giving them insight into how competing services are structured, marketed, and experienced. This competitive analysis can reveal what other companies are doing well, such as unique features, standout customer service practices, or pricing models. By understanding the competitive landscape, teams can identify gaps or strengths in their own service.

Determine the Quality of Service (Competitors and Internally)

Teams use service safaris to evaluate the quality of both competitor services and their own, helping them to objectively assess things like usability, accessibility, and customer satisfaction. Experiencing the service directly allows them to identify strengths and weaknesses in real-time, such as wait times, support responsiveness, or user interface design, allowing for a more nuanced understanding of service quality compared to traditional benchmarking.

Spot New Business Opportunities

Observing competitor services or even adjacent industry services can spark ideas for new offerings or improvements. By exploring the broader service environment, teams may spot trends or emerging needs that can inform future product features, services, or business models. This insight enables businesses to proactively innovate and stay ahead of market trends.

Identify User Pain Points and Areas for Improvement

Experiencing a service as a user highlights frustrations, barriers, or inefficiencies that might not be obvious in a traditional review. For instance, slow-loading pages, confusing navigation, or poor customer support are issues that teams can better address after experiencing them firsthand. This identification of pain points is crucial for teams looking to improve user satisfaction and optimize the service experience.

Gain a User’s Perspective to Empathize Better

Empathy is at the heart of good design. By immersing themselves in the service as if they were users, team members can better understand and relate to user emotions, expectations, and needs. This empathy-driven perspective helps design teams make decisions that prioritize user comfort and satisfaction, resulting in a more user-centered approach to product and service development.

Pros and Cons of a Service Safari

Pros:

• Improves Empathy for Customers – Experiencing a service directly helps team members connect with user frustrations, challenges, and joys, deepening their empathy for customers. This firsthand experience is crucial for creating a user-centered design and for understanding the emotional journey users undergo during service interactions.
• Gain a First-Hand Understanding of the Competition – By actively engaging with competitor services, teams observe what other businesses are doing well and where they might fall short. This type of direct observation provides insights that go beyond theoretical analysis, offering practical, detailed observations that can inform design and strategy.
• Helps Validate or Complement Other Research – Service safaris serve as a practical validation tool, allowing teams to confirm findings from surveys, user interviews, or usability testing. Observing and interacting with services in real time can highlight details or patterns that may have been overlooked in other types of research, providing a fuller picture of the user experience landscape.

Cons:

• Risk of Bias from Team Members Too Familiar with the Product – When team members who are deeply familiar with their own product undertake a service safari, they might unknowingly carry biases that influence their observations. This familiarity can make it challenging to view the service from an objective, user-centric perspective, potentially skewing results or insights.
• Difficult to Fully Adopt a Customer’s Mindset – Knowing the product too well makes it hard to replicate a true user experience, as team members may anticipate certain steps or outcomes. This insider knowledge can prevent participants from genuinely experiencing the challenges, confusion, or excitement that a first-time user would feel.
• Ambiguity Without Clear Objectives – Service safaris require well-defined goals to yield actionable insights. Without clear objectives or a structured plan, the data collected may be too broad or scattered, making it challenging to draw specific conclusions or identify actionable steps for improvement.

5 Steps for Conducting a Service Safari

The level of planning for a service safari will depend on the product or service you’re evaluating. For example, a travel booking app will require taking a flight, while a productivity app you can experience from the office.

Step 1. Meet With Team Members & Stakeholders

Meeting with stakeholders before a service safari is essential to agree on the approach, budget, business goals, timeline, and deliverables.

Next, you want to meet with the team taking part in the safari, create a plan, define the methods, outcomes, and assign tasks. Your team will also need to gather the necessary tools and materials like stationery, devices, tools, etc.

Step 2. Set Clear Objectives

Setting clear and actionable objectives is crucial in planning a service safari. These objectives will ensure team members understand each task and its outputs/deliverables.

Design Principal at ustwo in the UK, Hollie Lubbock, recommends pairing a research question with a goal to create a clear objective mission statement–objective = research question + goal.

For example:

• Question: “How do we open a new bank account using a competitor’s app? What are the current options, hacks, and issues with achieving this goal?”
• Goal: “Understand the highs, lows, and friction points in this experience.”

Step 3. Define the Documentation Process and Deliverables

How do you want team members to document their service safari experience? Some examples include:

• Notes (written, voice, etc.)
• Screenshots/screen recordings
• Photos and videos

Hollie Lubbock recommends you outline “key areas to document.”

• The experience over time: Pre/during/post
• What or who you encounter: People/processes/objects/ environments/places/communications

Hollie also gets team members to gather their general impression of the experience, like:

• How much time does it take to complete the task?
• Is it easy to complete?
• Are there clear instructions or options?
• Did you hit any dead ends? Or experience any errors?

Answering these questions provides valuable insights about the product and enables team members to empathize better when developing a solution later in the design process.

Step 4. Conduct the Service Safari

Depending on the product, a service safari could take a few hours or several weeks. Kate Greenstock’s service safari of Jelf Insurance Brokers’ UK offices took eight weeks to complete.

The most important part of running a service safari is documenting the process according to your objectives. We recommend taking lots of notes, screenshots, recordings, etc., so you don’t miss anything.

Hollie Lubbock created this free Google Doc for documenting your service safari. 

We also recommend checking out Preety Naveen’s Service Safari With Skycash–a Polish-based payment service. Preety created a three-step process for each step of her Skycash service safari:

• Actions: The actions she took in each step
• Problems: The problems resulting from each action
• Recommendations: Suggestings to improve each step

A service safari aims to experience every touchpoint from a user’s perspective. Sutherland Labs’ service safari gives an example of exploring touchpoints for a train booking service:

• Booking website/app
• Visiting the station, getting on the train, etc.
• What happens at the turnstiles?
• What’s the physical ticket office like?
• Physical artifacts (tickets, maps, etc.)

The team from Sutherland Labs also takes the opportunity to speak to people, including staff and customers, to get different perspectives. For example, if you’re designing a train booking app, how do people with disabilities experience the service? What are their pain points?

While a service safari is primarily about you experiencing the service, it’s ultimately about finding a solution for customers, so take the opportunity to speak to other users and ask questions. This inquisitive approach could provide valuable usability and accessibility insights.

Step 5. Synthesizing the Results

An affinity map works best when analyzing notes from a service safari. You’ll need a whiteboard (or digital alternative for remote collaboration) and sticky notes.

1. Create headings for each step in your service safari–i.e., open the app, create an account, etc. If you’re analyzing products from several competitors, these steps might differ.
2. Write your raw notes for each step onto sticky notes and paste them under the relevant heading.
3. As a group, identify patterns, key issues, and opportunities.
4. Create a journey map to visualize your results and guide your next decisions.

It’s important to note that you must never use a service safari as a standalone piece of research. Design teams must cross-reference the results with other data or use it to guide and validate further user research.

Using Service Safaris to Prototype in UXPin

Building prototypes is an excellent way to test recommendations and hypotheses after a service safari. UXPin’s built-in design libraries, like Google’s comprehensive Material Design UI, enable designers to build prototypes, test ideas, and iterate fast!

Instead of presenting just a customer journey map or report to stakeholders, designers can build a quick prototype in UXPin, and use it to get buy-in for their solution.

Enhanced Collaboration

Whether you’re working in the office or part of a remote team, UXPin’s Comments enhance collaboration between design teams. Multiple designers can simultaneously work on the same project to design wireframes, mockups, and prototypes.

Adding Stakeholders and Collaborators

Did you know you can share your UXPin projects with stakeholders, experts, consultants, and other collaborators who don’t have a UXPin account?

These stakeholders can view your designs and prototypes, leave comments, and approve from anywhere–perfect for today’s remote work environments. You can even include a message with your approval, so stakeholders know what they’re reviewing for approval. UXPin also integrates with Slack and Jira, allowing you to discuss projects in one place.

Streamlined Design Handoffs

Design handoffs are a stressful time for designers and engineers. Miscommunication, lack of documentation, and poor-quality prototypes cause friction between teams. 

Because UXPin is a code-based design tool, designers can replicate code-like functionality and fidelity, while Spec Mode gives engineers context and documentation to begin the development process, including:

• Inspecting Properties: Inspect the properties of any element or component, including its size, grid, colors, and typography.
• Distance Measurement: Measure distances between elements or the canvas edges.
• Style Guide: Details about the project’s styles, including colors, typography, and assets.

Designers can also create documentation with labels for each element to provide engineers with context and explanations–no more external PDFs or attachments!

If you’re still using outdated image-based design tools to design, prototype, and test, it’s time to switch to UXPin–the world’s leading code-based design solution. Sign up for a free trial and start designing better user experiences for your customers today!

The post How to Do a Service Safari in 5 Easy Steps appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

Django and Laravel are two popular web frameworks used for building web applications, each with its own set of features, benefits, and trade-offs.

Django is built using Python while Laravel is created with PHP. Python is known for its readability and simplicity, which often makes Django easier to learn for beginners. Laravel, on the other hand, is more flexible and expressive, allowing developers to structure their applications as they see fit. Let’s compare both of them.

Build UI for your Laravel or Django application with React components. Design fully customizable, code-backed prototypes in UXPin Merge and copy the code off your design with one click. 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.

Try UXPin Merge

Django vs Laravel – Definition

What is Django?

Django is a powerful web framework that accelerates web development while maintaining a clean and pragmatic design. It empowers developers to build robust and scalable web applications efficiently, with a rich set of tools and features that promote best practices in code organization and security.

Django is widely adopted by various companies, organizations, and developers for building a range of web applications, from simple websites to complex, data-driven platforms. Notable users include NASA, Spotify, Pinterest, and more.

Django was created in 2003 by Adrian Holovaty and Simon Willison while they were working at the Lawrence Journal-World newspaper in Lawrence, Kansas. The framework was initially developed to meet the fast-paced requirements of a newsroom, where the need for rapid web development was paramount.

The main objectives behind Django’s creation were to:

• Speed Up Development: Provide a high-level framework that allows developers to build web applications quickly without compromising on quality.
• Ensure Reusability: Create reusable components to avoid repetitive code and promote best practices.
• Maintain Security: Integrate security features to protect applications from common vulnerabilities.

Django was released publicly under an open-source license in July 2005, making it available for developers worldwide to use, contribute to, and improve. Since then, it has grown into a powerful and widely-used web framework supported by a large and active community. The Django Software Foundation (DSF) was established to support the development and maintenance of Django, ensuring its continued growth and adherence to its founding principles.

What is Laravel?

Laravel is a robust web framework designed to streamline web development with elegant syntax and comprehensive features. It provides developers with the tools needed to build modern web applications efficiently, promoting best practices in code organization, maintainability, and security. Laravel’s modular architecture and extensive ecosystem make it a preferred choice for developing dynamic and scalable web applications.

Laravel is widely adopted by numerous companies, organizations, and developers for various web applications, ranging from small websites to large-scale enterprise solutions. Notable users include BBC, About You (eCommerce store), 9GAG.

Laravel was created by Taylor Otwell in 2011 as an attempt to provide a more advanced alternative to the CodeIgniter framework. Otwell aimed to create a framework that included built-in support for user authentication and authorization, features that were lacking in other PHP frameworks at the time.

The main objectives behind Laravel’s creation were to:

• Enhance Development Speed: Offer a framework that allows developers to build web applications quickly and efficiently with less boilerplate code.
• Promote Elegance and Readability: Ensure that the codebase remains clean, readable, and expressive.
• Ensure Modular Architecture: Provide a modular structure that makes it easy to extend and customize the framework.
• Improve Security: Integrate robust security features to protect web applications from common vulnerabilities.

Laravel was released under an open-source license, encouraging developers from around the world to use, contribute to, and enhance the framework. Since its inception, Laravel has grown rapidly in popularity, supported by a dedicated community and a rich ecosystem of packages and tools. The Laravel ecosystem includes a range of products such as Laravel Forge, Laravel Vapor, and Laravel Nova, all designed to improve the developer experience and facilitate the creation of high-quality web applications.

Differences between Django and Laravel

Language and Syntax

One of the primary differences between Django and Laravel lies in the programming languages they use. Django is built on Python, known for its readability and simplicity, making it an excellent choice for beginners and those who appreciate clean and concise code.

On the other hand, Laravel is based on PHP, which has a vast history and is widely used for web development. PHP has a more complex syntax compared to Python, but Laravel’s elegant syntax and expressive code help streamline the development process.

Development Speed and Features

Django adopts a “batteries-included” philosophy, providing a comprehensive set of built-in features such as an admin interface, authentication system, ORM, and more. This approach accelerates development by reducing the need for third-party packages and integrations.

In contrast, Laravel also offers a rich set of features out of the box, including Eloquent ORM, Blade templating engine, and built-in authentication. However, Laravel’s modular nature allows developers more flexibility in choosing and integrating packages as needed.

Performance and Scalability

Performance and scalability are crucial considerations for any web framework. Django, with its efficient ORM and Python’s execution speed, is well-suited for handling high-traffic applications and complex data operations. It is designed to scale efficiently and manage large workloads.

While Laravel performs well for many applications, it may require more optimization efforts to achieve the same level of performance as Django, especially for very high-traffic sites. Proper use of caching, database optimization, and other performance-enhancing techniques can mitigate these differences.

Ecosystem and Community

Both Django and Laravel have strong ecosystems and active communities, but they differ in their focus and resources. Django benefits from the broader Python ecosystem, which includes powerful libraries for data science, machine learning, and scientific computing. This makes Django a versatile choice for applications that might extend beyond web development.

Laravel, supported by a vibrant PHP community, offers a rich ecosystem with tools like Laravel Forge, Vapor, and Nova, which simplify development and deployment. Both frameworks have extensive documentation and community support, making it easier for developers to find help and resources.

Security and Best Practices

Security is a key consideration in web development, and both Django and Laravel emphasize best practices.

Django has built-in protections against common security vulnerabilities like SQL injection, XSS, and CSRF, with a strong focus on providing secure defaults. Laravel also offers robust security features and built-in protections, along with tools to facilitate secure coding practices.

The choice between Django and Laravel may come down to the specific security needs of the project and the developer’s familiarity with implementing security measures in Python or PHP.

Is Django better than Laravel?

Choose Django if you prioritize scalability, security, and rapid development, and if you are comfortable with Python or willing to learn it. Choose Laravel if you prefer PHP, value elegant and expressive syntax, and want to leverage Laravel’s rich ecosystem and tools.

Ultimately, both frameworks are capable of building a robust, scalable web application. The best choice depends on your specific needs and existing expertise.

Django Advantages

• Rapid Development: Django’s “batteries-included” approach offers many built-in features, such as an admin panel, authentication, and ORM, which speed up development.
• Security: Django emphasizes security, with protections against common web vulnerabilities built into the framework.
• Scalability: Designed to handle high-traffic sites efficiently, making it a good choice for large-scale applications.
• Readable Code: Python’s readability and Django’s clean architecture make maintaining and scaling your application easier.
• Community and Documentation: Django has extensive documentation and a large, active community, which can be very helpful for new developers.

Laravel Advantages

• Elegant Syntax: Laravel offers a clean and expressive syntax, making it easy to write and maintain code.
• Rich Ecosystem: Includes a wide range of packages and tools (e.g., Laravel Nova, Laravel Forge, Laravel Vapor) to streamline development and deployment.
• Blade Templating Engine: Laravel’s Blade templating engine is powerful and easy to use for creating dynamic web pages.
• Authentication and Authorization: Built-in support for authentication and authorization, making it easier to manage user access.
• Eloquent Object-Relational Mapping: Simplifies database interactions with an intuitive and powerful Object-Relational Mapping system.

Django’s Weak Spots

• Opinionated Structure: Django’s opinionated nature might limit flexibility if you want to deviate from its conventions.
• Templating Engine: Django’s templating engine is powerful but might not be as flexible as Blade for some developers.

Laravel’s Weak Spots

• Performance: Laravel comes with a lot of features out of the box, which can add overhead. While these features enhance development speed and ease, they can impact performance if not managed properly.
• Learning Curve: PHP and Laravel’s conventions might have a steeper learning curve for those unfamiliar with the language.

Should I Learn Laravel or Django in 2024?

Deciding whether to learn Laravel or Django in 2024 depends on the type of projects you aim to work on. PHP that Laravel is built on remains one of the most widely used programming languages, and Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks. This can translate into good job opportunities, especially for web development roles.

Django is used in a variety of applications beyond web development, including automation scripts, data analysis tools, and more, making Python skills broadly applicable.

Ultimately, both frameworks are powerful and capable. If possible, gaining some familiarity with both can make you a more versatile and in-demand developer.

FAQ: Laravel or Django

Q1: Which is easier to learn: Django or Laravel?

Both frameworks have active communities and excellent documentation, but Django is often considered easier for beginners due to Python’s straightforward syntax and Django’s “batteries included” philosophy, which provides many built-in tools. Laravel, however, is also accessible for those familiar with PHP and offers elegant syntax that simplifies many web development tasks.

Q2: Is Django faster than Laravel?

Django is generally faster for data-heavy applications due to Python’s efficiency and Django’s ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) system, which is optimized for performance. Laravel can be optimized as well, but for extremely high-traffic sites, Django may have a performance advantage out of the box.

Q3: Which framework is more scalable: Django or Laravel?

Django is often seen as more scalable, especially for handling large-scale applications and high-traffic environments. Its Python core and compatibility with scientific libraries make it suitable for big data applications. Laravel can also scale, but it may require more custom configurations and caching solutions for optimal performance in high-scale deployments.

Q4. Does Django have better security than Laravel?

Django has robust, built-in security features by default, such as protection against SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), and cross-site request forgery (CSRF). While Laravel also includes security measures, Django’s security features are considered more comprehensive for preventing common web vulnerabilities.

Q5: What types of projects are Django and Laravel best suited for?

Django is ideal for data-intensive applications, scientific projects, machine learning integration, and any project that benefits from Python’s extensive ecosystem. Laravel is better suited for traditional web applications, e-commerce sites, and projects where PHP’s extensive library support and integration with content management systems (CMS) are advantageous.

Q6: Which has a larger community: Django or Laravel?

Both frameworks have strong communities, but Laravel’s PHP-based community tends to be larger and more diverse due to PHP’s extensive use in web development. Django’s community is smaller but robust, with a strong presence in scientific and data science sectors.

Q7: Can Django and Laravel be used for mobile app backends?

Yes, both frameworks can serve as backends for mobile applications by providing APIs that mobile apps can interact with. Django REST Framework (DRF) is particularly popular for building APIs in Django, while Laravel offers Laravel Sanctum and Passport for API authentication and management, making both frameworks effective choices for mobile backends.

Q8: Do Django and Laravel support RESTful APIs?

Yes, both frameworks have strong support for RESTful API development. Django has the Django REST Framework (DRF), which is widely used and provides extensive tools for building and managing APIs. Laravel includes built-in support for API development, making it easy to create RESTful APIs with routes, middleware, and authentication.

Q9: Which framework has better support for deployment and hosting?

Django works well with many cloud platforms, including AWS, Google Cloud, and Heroku. It also integrates seamlessly with Python-based services and tools. Laravel offers Laravel Forge and Laravel Vapor, which simplify deployment and scaling on various cloud providers, particularly for PHP-focused environments.

Q10: Is Django or Laravel better for e-commerce?

Laravel is often preferred for e-commerce due to its PHP base, which is compatible with popular CMS platforms like WordPress. Laravel packages such as Laravel Cashier and Bagisto also offer features tailored for e-commerce sites. Django can still be used for e-commerce, especially for data-intensive stores, but it may require more custom solutions.

Q11: Which framework has better templating: Django or Laravel?

Laravel’s Blade templating engine is known for its elegant syntax and ease of use, making it popular among developers for creating dynamic content. Django’s templating engine is simpler and effective for many applications but lacks some of Blade’s advanced features, such as direct logic implementation within templates.

Build a Layout for your Django or Laravel App

Both Django and Laravel are capable of serving as excellent backends for a React application which you can quickly build with UXPin Merge. Drag and drop React components and create fully functional layout that you can open in StackBlitz or copy to any other IDE. Try UXPin Merge for free.

The post Django vs Laravel – Which is the Best Backend in 2024? appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

React is a JavaScript library used for building user interfaces, especially for single-page applications where the user interacts with the web page without requiring a full page reload. Developed and maintained by Facebook, React has become popular for its declarative approach to building UI components and its efficient rendering through a virtual DOM (Document Object Model).

Build React app prototypes that are ready for development with one click. Drag-and-drop UI components that come from best open-source React libraries like MUI, Ant design, React Bootstrap or bring in your own React components. Try UXPin Merge.

Design UI with code-backed components.

Use the same components in design as in development. Keep UI consistency at scale.

Try UXPin Merge

What is React?

React, also known as ReactJS or React.js, is a JavaScript library for front-end development. It was originally developed by Facebook and is now maintained by Facebook and Instagram developers, along with contributions from the open-source community.

React is widely used for creating interactive and dynamic web applications and websites, and it has been employed in the development of some major websites and apps such as PayPal and Netflix.

React simplifies the process of building user interfaces by offering a declarative and component-based approach, leveraging the power of JavaScript, and optimizing performance through features like the virtual DOM.

It’s often confused with React Native — a JavaScript framework, whereas React is commonly referred to React js — a React library. Learn about the differences between React js and React Native here.

What is React often compared with?

React is often compared with other JavaScript libraries and frameworks, such as Angular, Vue or Svelte.

Angular is a JavaScript framework. While both are used for building dynamic web applications, React is a library focused on the view layer, providing more flexibility in terms of integrating with other tools. Angular, on the other hand, is a comprehensive framework that comes with an opinionated structure and a set of tools for building large-scale applications.

When it comes to Vue, it is a progressive JavaScript framework that shares similarities with React in terms of being component-based. Vue.js is often considered more approachable for beginners due to its simplicity, while React is favored for its flexibility and a larger ecosystem of libraries and tools.

Lastly, Svelte is a newer approach to web development that shifts much of the work from the browser to the build step. Unlike React, which works with a virtual DOM, Svelte shifts the work to compile time, resulting in smaller, more efficient code at runtime. React’s virtual DOM approach is often contrasted with Svelte’s compile-time approach.

How React works?

React works by combining several key principles and features that contribute to its efficiency and flexibility in building user interfaces.

Imagine you’re a cook in a bustling kitchen, and React is the set of rules that keeps everything organized and running smoothly. Let’s go through a day in your kitchen to understand how React works.

The Setup: Component Ingredients

You start with components—the ingredients for every dish you’ll make. In React, components are like recipes that define how specific elements of your dish (or UI) should look and function. For instance, you have a component for a button, a header, or a form field. Each one is like a recipe card: reusable, independent, and designed to serve a specific purpose.

Components in React can be of two types:

• Functional Components: Quick, no-fuss recipes that get the job done with minimal ingredients.
• Class Components: More elaborate recipes with extra steps for more complex outcomes.

The Main Dish: JSX—Combining Ingredients into a Meal

To assemble a dish, you need to combine ingredients. In React, this is done through JSX (JavaScript XML), which allows you to write HTML-like code inside JavaScript. Imagine JSX as your ingredient list, telling you what elements (components) to put together and how they should look. For example:

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <Header />
      <Button />
      <Form />
    </div>
  );
}

Here, App is the main dish, pulling in Header, Button, and Form components, just like you’d pull ingredients together for a complex recipe.

Keeping It Fresh: State and Props

In a busy kitchen, dishes are often customized based on diners’ preferences. In React, these customizations are managed by state and props:

• Props: Think of these as the ingredients each dish needs to function—like adding salt, pepper, or spice levels. Each component gets specific props to create a tailored experience, such as passing “Submit” as a label for the Button component.
• State: This is the fresh produce. It’s dynamic and can change, just like fresh ingredients that are updated throughout the day. State keeps track of what’s happening in your kitchen at any given moment. For instance, if a customer wants a dish without salt, you’d adjust the state to reflect this preference in real-time.

React’s Secret Sauce: Virtual DOM

Imagine you’ve just plated a dish, but the diner changes their mind and wants extra sauce. In a typical kitchen, you’d have to redo the dish. But React uses a Virtual DOM—a magical, behind-the-scenes process that allows you to update only the parts of a dish that need changing. The Virtual DOM compares the old version of your dish with the new one and applies only the specific changes. This is reconciliation—React’s way of efficiently updating your UI, making changes quick and resource-friendly.

Finishing Touches: Lifecycle Methods

Every dish has stages: prep, cook, plate, and serve. React components also go through a lifecycle, with methods to control how they’re created, updated, and removed. Here are some examples:

• componentDidMount: When the dish (component) is plated (mounted), this method runs.
• componentDidUpdate: If something in the dish changes (props or state), this method runs again.
• componentWillUnmount: When a dish is done and removed, React handles the cleanup.

With these lifecycle methods, React keeps your kitchen running smoothly, efficiently serving dishes (rendering components) based on orders (user actions).

Serving the Dish: The Renderer

Finally, the meal is ready, and it’s time to serve it up. React does this with ReactDOM.render(). It’s like placing the completed dish in front of the customer (the browser), allowing them to experience the final presentation of your carefully crafted components.

And that’s React! Just like a well-run kitchen, React keeps everything organized, efficient, and able to adapt to last-minute changes, ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience for the end user.

An overview of how React works

Here’s an overview of how it works:

1. Declarative views — React adopts a declarative approach, where developers describe how the user interface should look based on different states and data. When the underlying data changes, React efficiently updates and renders only the components that are affected, simplifying the development process and enhancing the user experience.
2. JavaScript code and JSX — React is written in JavaScript, one of the most widely used programming languages. JSX, a syntax extension for JavaScript, allows developers to write UI components in a format that resembles XML or HTML. This makes the code more readable and expressive, contributing to a more efficient development workflow.
3. Component-based architecture — React applications are structured using a component-based architecture. Components are modular, self-contained units of code that represent different parts of the user interface. This modularity promotes code reusability, making it easier to manage and maintain large codebases. React has functional components and class components.
4. Hierarchical arrangement of components — One of the key advantages of this architecture lies in the relationship between parent and children components. In React, components can be arranged hierarchically, with some components serving as parents and others as children. The parent component encapsulates the logic or functionality that is common to its children, promoting a structured and organized codebase.
5. Virtual DOM — React uses a virtual DOM (short for Document Object Model) to optimize the manipulation of the actual DOM. Instead of directly updating the entire DOM when data changes, React first creates a virtual representation of the DOM in memory. It then calculates the most efficient way to update the actual DOM, reducing the need for full page reloads and improving performance.
6. JavaScript libraries integration — React’s open-source nature and popularity make it compatible with a variety of JavaScript libraries. These libraries, developed by the community, offer pre-written code for various functionalities. Integrating these libraries into React applications helps save development time and effort, allowing developers to leverage existing solutions. Here you can find examples of those libraries based on their popularity.

How to make React work

React developers usually set up a React project to make it work. The process consists of several steps that provide a basic setup for a React project. First, they install Node.js and npm. After this, they create React app. They open a terminal or command prompt and use the create-react-app command to create a new React app. This command creates a new directory called my-react-app with the basic structure of a React app.

Try this yourself if you want to learn React. Install Node.js and npm with this command:

npx create-react-app my-react-app

Then, move into the newly created project directory with this:

cd my-react-app

Start the development server to preview your app locally by typing in:

npm start

Familiarize yourself with the project structure. Key directories include src (source code), public (static assets), and various configuration files such as package.json and src/index.js. React applications are built using components. Open the src/App.js file to see the default component. JSX, a syntax extension for JavaScript, is used to define the component structure.

If you need more resources, check out this simple article: Create your first React app.

Instead of adding or editing components in code, you can use a UI builder like UXPin Merge to build a React app’s user interface and copy the code from the design directly to Stackblitz or other dev environment to set up data structures and deploy your React project.

UXPin has built-in React component libraries, such as MUI, Bootstrap or Ant design and it works by dropping the components on the canvas to arrange an app layout. You can build any layout you want with React elements that are on your disposal, be it an employee portal or a podcast app. And you can bring in your own library of React components if you have one. The components are fully customizable and functional, so you can see how your app would work before deployment. Try UXPin Merge for free.

Why use React?

React, a powerful JavaScript library, offers a multitude of compelling reasons for its widespread adoption in the development community.

1. Open Source — React is an open-source library, maintained by both Facebook and Instagram developers, along with a large and active community. This community contributes to the ongoing improvement of React, develops additional libraries (e.g., Redux for state management), and provides support through forums and documentation.
2. Individual component editing — React follows a downward data flow, meaning that changes in a component do not impact components higher in the hierarchy. This enables developers to edit and update individual components without affecting the entire application, resulting in more efficient development and easier maintenance.
3. Fast and consistent user interface design — React excels in building rich user interfaces, transcending mere aesthetics. Its components act as building blocks, enabling the creation of intuitive and visually stunning UIs. Each interaction, button, and visual element can be meticulously crafted and customized, ensuring an engaging user experience. React is a foundation of many design systems.
4. Reusable components — Once you create a component, you can reuse it in multiple parts of your application without having to rewrite the same code. This reduces redundancy, making your codebase more concise and easier to maintain.
5. Flexibility — With the ability to create anything from static websites and desktop applications to iOS or Android mobile apps, React adapts to diverse project requirements. This adaptability is bolstered by its extensive community, which over time has developed a myriad of tools, libraries, and extensions.
6. Great user experience — React’s prowess in facilitating instant updates without reloading the entire page is a game-changer. This feature provides a smoother and faster user experience, exemplified by actions like ‘liking’ a post on Facebook, where changes occur seamlessly without the need for a full page refresh.
7. Community — The sheer size and activity of React’s community further solidify its standing. With over 460,000 questions on Stack Overflow’s ‘React.js’ thread and JavaScript’s extensive support, developers can find a wealth of resources and solutions, making React an accessible and well-supported technology.

What can you build with React?

React is a versatile and popular JavaScript library that can be used to build a wide range of React projects.

React is well-suited for creating Single-Page Applications where a single HTML page is dynamically updated as the user interacts with the app. Examples include social media platforms, project management tools, and real-time collaboration apps.

React can also be used to build eCommerce sites. React’s ability to efficiently update the user interface makes it ideal for this type of project. You can create dynamic product listings, shopping carts, and seamless checkout experiences.

Just check out our pre-built eCommerce templates that we include in our tool, UXPin Merge. Those templates are perfect examples of what can be created as a React project. We have a React shopping cart, product page, and product listing. You can quickly copy them to your workflow.

React is great for building data dashboards that require real-time updates. This is particularly useful for analytics tools, monitoring systems, and business intelligence applications that need to streamline internal operations.

What’s more, React can be integrated with mapping libraries to create interactive and dynamic maps. This is useful for applications that involve geolocation, such as travel apps or location-based services. It’s also great for weather apps that utilize maps and location.

Applications that require real-time collaboration, such as messaging apps, collaborative document editing tools, learning management systems (examples), and video conferencing platforms, can benefit from React’s ability to efficiently update the user interface.

Build your app layout with React components

In this article, we explored how React works, its basic features, and give you an idea of what you can build with React components. If you want to experiment now, let’s head on to UXPin and test React by creating a simple app interface. Set up a UXPin trial account and create a new project. Choose MUIv5 library from Design System Library (use keys Option + 2 to open it) and move components onto the canvas. It’s as simple as that.

You can build whatever you want and if you need to access documentation, just click the component and see it linked on the right. Build your first React-based user interface today. Try UXPin Merge.

The post How Does React Work? appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

ReactJS is the most popular front-end library in the world. The library’s component-based methodology allows the development team to build and reuse components throughout a project, resulting in less programming from scratch and faster development.

We’ve put together 15 React websites and web apps to demonstrate what’s possible with this versatile framework. We also showcase tools product developers use to achieve specific outcomes or optimize ReactJS website performance.

Use ReactJS throughout the product development process–from early-stage prototyping to final front-end development. UXPin Merge is a revolutionary design technology that allows you to bring React-based components to a design tool. Learn more about Merge.

Design UI with code-backed components.

Use the same components in design as in development. Keep UI consistency at scale.

Try UXPin Merge

What Can You Build With ReactJS?

React developers use the framework for everything from simple landing pages and websites to complex games, social networking platforms, and enterprise applications. React’s flexibility and versatility make it the preferred choice for many projects, including responsive websites and cross-platform apps.

The component-based web development approach makes it easy for developers to build user interfaces and move elements around to make changes and iterate faster than using a standard HTML, CSS, and Javascript workflow.

React is written in Javascript, the most widely used programming language, so it’s relatively easy to learn and boasts one of the biggest developer communities in the world.

When you should and shouldn’t use React

React works best for single-page applications and complex web-based projects–for example, social media platforms, news publications, and SaaS products. Those sites handle a lot of data and interactions.

Don’t use React for native apps and small websites that don’t handle much data. Native applications and small websites are instances where you might want to choose a different front-end technology. For example, React Native and Flutter are better for native iOS and Android apps. 

15 Examples of React Websites

We’ve included a mix of enterprises, startups, SaaS companies, small businesses, and others that use React in their tech stack. This list demonstrates React’s versatility for websites and web applications built using the powerful Javascript library.

Facebook

Facebook is the most famous React website example because parent company Meta developed the front-end library in 2012 and still maintains it as an open-source project.

Meta initially used React for the Facebook newsfeed but now uses the library across its product ecosystem. React was a game changer for Facebook because when someone liked a post, only the component changed rather than a full page reload, resulting in significantly better performance and fewer resources.

Meta uses React Native–the mobile version of React–for Facebook, Facebook Ads Manager, and Oculus’ iOS and Android apps.

Repeat

SaaS platform Repeat uses NextJS for its website and web application. NextJS allows you to create fullstack web applications, extending what’s possible with “vanilla React.”

Repeat’s homepage is full of motion and immersive animations made possible by NextJS’s powerful features, like rending, routing, and asset optimization.

PayPal

PayPal uses a React version of Microsoft’s Fluent Design for its 60+ internal products. These products include a lot of dashboards and data visualizations necessary for daily operations.

PayPal also uses UXPin Merge, allowing the company’s design teams to prototype and test using React components. This code-to-design workflow bridges the gap between design and development, so designers and software engineers work with the same component library.

Netflix

Netflix uses React and React Redux for state management. According to the official Netflix Technology Blog, “React enabled us to build JavaScript UI code that can be executed in both server (e.g., Node.js) and client contexts.”

Performance is crucial for Netflix as users expect HD videos to load fast. Developers use the virtual DOM to reduce latency from live DOM manipulation. 

Netflix also uses React’s Component and Mixin APIs to “create reusable views, share common functionality, and patterns to facilitate feature extension.” This functionality enables Netflix to A/B test components to determine the best solutions during user testing.

Product Hunt

Product Hunt is another React/NextJS user. Like Facebook, Product Hunt must handle microinteractions for each post, including upvotes and comments.

Puma Campaigns

Gatsby is a front-end technology built on React which makes it possible to develop high-performing websites and landing pages. Puma uses Gatsby for its campaign landing pages, including this one for the Velocity running shoes.

Gatsby allows devs to build React websites and applications using popular CMS platforms like WordPress, Netlify, Drupal, and Contentful, to name a few, for content management. This framework gives developers the versatility of React with the convenience of their content team’s preferred CMS.

SEO is a big problem for single-page application frameworks like React and Angular. Gatsby helps to solve this problem with its SEO Component, which enables search engines to index the website’s content and individual pages.

Puma also uses React Native for its iOS and Android applications.

TeamPassword

Password-management startup TeamPassword uses a customized version of the MUI design system–an open-source React component library developed using Material Design used by many B2B enterprise and SaaS providers.

TeamPassword’s developers chose React as it was easier to maintain than their old framework. The 2-person engineering team also uses UXPin Merge, which allows them to import their React library from its private repository into UXPin’s design editor for prototyping and testing.

BBC

The British Broadcasting Association (BBC) was an early adopter of React and even hosted a workshop in 2015 introducing people to the front-end library and its capabilities.

In 2022, with the help of Vercel, the BBC rebuilt its website using NextJS and Vercel. The rebuild resulted in significant performance benefits, with HMR (Hot Module Replacement) reduced from 1.3s to 131ms–a staggering achievement for a website as large and complex as the BBC.

Airbnb

Airbnb uses React for some of its product ecosystems, including Airbnb.io, its open-source project famous for developing Lottie–an open-source animation tool for Android, iOS, and React Native mobile applications.

Airbnb.io is a website developed using Gatsby featuring the company’s blog posts and details about its open-source projects with links to the GitHub repos.

Cloudflare

Cloudflare migrated from Backbone and Marionette to React and Redux in 2015 to develop its cf-ui design system. The multi-brand design system serves Cloudflare’s internal and external websites and products.

Since Cloudflare had to rebuild its component library, the team focused on accessibility, creating three open-source projects in the process: 

• react-modal2,
• a11y-focus-store,
• a11y-focus-scope.

UberEATS

Uber uses React Native for its UberEATS web-based restaurant dashboard. The team needed to develop a web application restaurants could access via a tablet and decided to use React Native. The single-page web application communicates with three parties in the UberEATS marketplace and connects to restaurant receipt printers.

Uber also developed Base Web, an open-source design system for building ReactJS websites and web apps. The highly customizable design system boasts an extensive UI component library with theming capabilities.

Related content: Learn about design operations at Uber.

Shopify

Shopify uses React for its website and web application and React Native for its mobile applications. Developers can build React apps for Shopify using its famous Polaris Design System.

Skyscanner

Skyscanner is one of the most widely used travel websites, with over 40 million monthly visits. The website connects to hundreds of airlines and thousands of hotels to show users trip data in seconds.

Skyscanner uses React and React Native for its website and product ecosystem. The company’s Backpack design system features an extensive UI library with web and native components.

Pinterest

Pinterest is another social media platform using React. The company’s Gestalt design system features components for its React web app and React Native mobile applications (iOS and Android).

Pinterest is another example where React provides massive performance benefits for single-page applications. The website’s famous infinite scroll uses lazy loading to display six columns of images and video with impressive speed.

Cuckoo

Cuckoo is a UK-based broadband supplier that uses React and NextJS for its website. The website has a fair amount of animations, including a large revolving sequence in the hero. These animations do not impact the website’s performance, a product of using NextJS.

Create React Website UI Fast

Build UI design 8.6x faster with UXPin Merge – a drag-and-drop UI builder that makes you use coded React components to create beautiful and fully interactive layouts fast. Then, copy the code off your design directly to Stackblitz or export it to any other dev environment. Start your free trial to test AI Component Assistant, pre-built layouts, and open-source libraries. Discover UXPin Merge.

The post 15 Examples of Reactjs Websites appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

A good user interface is critical to a good user experience. If the interface doesn’t allow people to easily use the website or app, they won’t use the product or they’ll overwhelm tech support with costs, ballooning costs.

UI has real, tangible business impacts. Paying attention to it isn’t window dressing, it’s crucial to a business’s success. 

Many of these principles boil down to “make life easy for the user”. 

These 14 principles of user interface design will improve your users’ usability, so make them enjoy your product while using it. Apply this principles in practice. Use UXPin for advanced prototyping that makes you create beautiful and fully interactive prototypes in minutes. Try UXPin for free.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What are UI Design Principles?

UI Design Principles are foundational guidelines aimed at creating user interfaces that provide a positive, intuitive, and effective user experience. These principles guide designers in making decisions that improve usability, accessibility, and overall satisfaction in digital interfaces.

You should apply UI design principles at every stage of the design process to create intuitive, user-centered interfaces that meet user needs. Here’s how and when to apply these principles:

1. During Early Planning and Conceptualization

• Clarity and Accessibility: From the beginning, consider the clarity of the information architecture and how accessible your design will be for all users. This helps establish a strong foundation for an interface that is easy to navigate and understand.
• Consistency: Establish design guidelines early on (like style guides or design systems) to maintain consistency across colors, typography, and interactions. This will ensure visual and functional coherence throughout the design process.

2. Wireframing and Prototyping

• Hierarchy and Feedback: During wireframing, focus on visual hierarchy to make sure the most important elements are prominent. Include feedback mechanisms, such as placeholders for error messages or loading indicators, to provide users with a responsive experience.
• Flexibility and Efficiency: For prototypes, consider ways to streamline interactions. This could mean including keyboard shortcuts, visible cues, or easy navigation options for users at different experience levels. Testing different iterations with these principles helps refine and improve the layout.

3. User Testing and Iteration

• Applying Accessibility Principles: Accessibility testing ensures that the UI is usable for everyone, including those with disabilities. This is crucial for refining areas like color contrast, navigation paths, and text legibility.
• Feedback: Gather user feedback on the interface’s responsiveness. Users should feel confident that the system reacts to their inputs in expected ways, reducing confusion and improving satisfaction.

4. Final Design and Development Handoff

• Consistency and Clarity: Before handing off to development, verify that every element adheres to design principles. Ensure consistent spacing, typography, color, and interactions. Clear documentation also helps developers maintain these principles during coding.
• Usability and Flexibility: Ensure that interactions are user-friendly and adaptable to various devices, screen sizes, or input methods. This includes providing alternative paths for novice and experienced users, enhancing overall usability.

5. Post-Launch Evaluation and Iteration

• Even after launch, it’s important to revisit UI design principles. Use data and feedback to understand how users interact with the interface in real scenarios and make adjustments to improve clarity, accessibility, and usability over time.

Why UI Design Principles Matter?

UI design principles are essential because they provide a structured approach to creating interfaces that are usable, accessible, and enjoyable for users. When these principles are applied, they guide the user seamlessly through a digital experience, helping them achieve their goals without frustration.

1. Improved Usability: Design principles like clarity, consistency, and feedback help users understand how to navigate an interface intuitively. When users can recognize icons, understand labels, and feel confident in their actions, they’re more likely to complete tasks efficiently. For instance, feedback mechanisms, like button states and error messages, let users know their actions are being processed, reducing uncertainty and enhancing satisfaction.
2. Enhanced Accessibility: Accessibility principles ensure that digital products are usable by people of all abilities, providing features such as text alternatives for images, high-contrast text, and keyboard navigation. Without these considerations, people with disabilities may face barriers that prevent them from fully accessing or interacting with the product.
3. Consistency and Reliability: Consistency in visual style and interactions, such as using the same color scheme and button behaviors across pages, builds user trust. Users learn patterns and expectations, making navigation and action-taking more natural. If consistency is lacking, users may become confused, leading to mistakes and frustration.
4. Supports Faster Learning and Engagement: Good UI design helps users learn an interface quickly, especially if it incorporates recognizable patterns. For example, using a clear visual hierarchy and logical groupings of information supports user engagement and retention. Without these principles, users may experience a steep learning curve and are likely to disengage if the interface feels confusing or overwhelming.

Principle #1: Place Users at the Center

As always, the first UI design principle is to focus on people (or, the “user” as we all say). A good user interface is easy and natural to use, avoids confusing the user, and does what the user needs. 

You need to understand who your users are as well as understand what they want to do. Are they experts? The best way to do this is to talk to them.

Creating and structuring interviews is beyond the scope of this post, but interview your audience, learn who they are, and develop UI designs for them. Learning about human-centered design will help you achieve the right mindset for best interfaces and focus on people first, design second.

Principle #2: Strive for Clarity

The purpose of the user interface is to allow the user to interact with the website or application (or, more generally in broader design, any product). Avoid anything that confuses people or doesn’t help them interact. 

Principle #3: Minimize Actions and Steps Per Screen

Streamline tasks and actions so they can be done in as few steps as possible. Each screen should have one primary focus. For example, the purpose of this blog is for you to read and, hopefully, enjoy it and learn from it. It’s not to share it on Twitter or email a colleague (though please do if you find it valuable enough to share). 

Keep the primary action front and center and move secondary actions to deeper on a page or give them lighter visual weight and the right typography.  

Principle #4: Aim for Simplicity

Classics exist for a reason; they’re timeless and never go out of style, though they do benefit from modern touches. Think of the little black cocktail dress or the tuxedo; each are fashion style staples. They’re simple, elegant, and add a touch of class to the wearer.  

A user interface should be simple and elegant. Read more about simplicity here: Design Simplicity.

Principle #5: Be Consistent 

Consistency creates familiarity, and familiar interfaces are naturally more usable. How frustrating would it be to get behind the wheel of a car and the brake is on the right and the accelerator on the left? Or filling in a Web form with the “Submit” button in red and the “Delete” button in green. 

Consistent design reduces friction for the user. A consistent design is predictable. Predictable design means it’s easy to understand how to use functions without instruction. Not only should UI design be consistent internally, but externally as well.

General conventions across websites and apps that work identically or nearly so make your site easy to navigate and use. Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines provide a fantastic example of consistency across apps. The guidelines detail how functions should work across apps and on all Apple devices so that a user of any Apple product can pick up any other and easily use it. 

This also means don’t invent or reinvent common patterns. Many patterns already exist for design problems (patterns also reduce cognitive load, principle 9 below, because users already know how they work). Putting the search bar at the bottom of the page wouldn’t be revolutionary to design, it would just be confusing. 

A design system is a great way to ensure consistency in UI design. 

Principle #6: Make Your User Interface Design Invisible

Don’t draw attention to your user interface. A great UI allows people to use the product without friction, not spend time figuring out how to interact with the interface. 

Principle #7: Provide Useful Feedback

Feedback can be visual, audio (the ding of a new message alert), or sense of touch (useful in gaming or the “buzz” alert for a new email or phone call when your phone is set to “silent”). Every action should have feedback to indicate that the action was successful or not. 

Feedback helps to answer questions in four areas: 

1. Location: You are here.
2. Status: What’s going on? Is it still going on?
3. Future status: What’s next?
4. Outcomes & Results: Hey, what happened?

Hovering over a navigation item that then changes color indicates an item is clickable. Buttons should look like buttons. Feedback lets the user know if they’re doing the right thing (or the wrong thing).  

Principle #8: Reduce Cognitive Load

Many of these UI design principles serve to reduce cognitive load for users. Basically, don’t make users think (also a useful UX design principle as well). There are a few common ways to reduce cognitive load and make using your website or app easier:

• Chunk actions and information – Most people can handle seven-plus-or-minus two chunks of information when processing it. For instance, breaking up telephone numbers in the usual 3-3-4 way rather than a 10 digit sequence results in fewer errors. 
• Apply 3-click rule – it shouldn’t take more than three clicks to find any information.
• Minimize recall in favor of recognition – common images and icons in context help users identify functionality, think of the trash can and the bell icons (commonly used for notifications) and other commonly used icons that trigger pre-existing memory. This also means don’t take a commonly used icon that most people understand and then use it to represent something else, you’ll just confuse people. 

Principle #9: Make It Accessible

UI designs need to take into account accessibility issues. Online, this often means ensuring the visibly impaired can access and use the product. Don’t forget about color blindness as well.

Roughly 1 in 12 males (that’s about 8%) and 1 in 200 females (about .5%) are color blind to some degree. Use color to accentuate and emphasize, but don’t rely entirely on color to communicate information. 

Principle #10: Include User Feedback in the UI

Don’t design in a vacuum. Test and validate design choices by gathering user feedback. Watch users attempt to use your design (without coaching them). Are they confused? Can they achieve the desired outcome easily?

Do this in both the design process and continually evaluate after launch (heat maps are one way to track how effective a UI is; another one is A/B testing). 

Principle #11: Flexibility

Create a UI that will work and look great across multiple platforms. Of course, it may have to be tweaked depending on the form factor of a device and its operating system (Android and iOS, for example), but it should be flexible enough to work on anything. 

Principle #12: Visual Structure

Keep a consistent visual structure to create familiarity and relieve user anxiety by making them feel at home. A few elements to focus on include a visual hierarchy with the most important things made obvious, color scheme, consistent navigation, re-use elements, and create a visual order using grids.

Principle #12: Dialogs Should Result in Closure

Actions should have a beginning, middle, and end (with feedback at each step). For example, when making an online purchase we move from browsing and product selection to the checkout and then finally confirmed that the purchase is completed. 

Principle #13: Provide a Clear Next Step

Include a clear next step a user can take after an interaction. That could be as simple as a “back to top” click at the end of a long blog post or a pointer to more information. Help the user achieve their goals with the next step. 

One final thought to remember when designing a user interface, you will never successfully appeal to everyone. You can do your best to appeal to most. You can also do your best to personalize based on personas and well-defined users.

Even so, you’ll never appease everyone. However, keeping all fourteen of these UI design principles in mind as you decide what to include and exclude in your user interface design will help you keep the user front and center in your decision-making.

Creating a user interface is simple in UXPin. Work inside of a browser, get real-time feedback and collaborate with your entire team all online. You’ll create, test, and iterate your UI designs faster than ever with UXPin. Discover the power of UXPin for UI design. Try UXPin for free.

The post The Basic Principles of User Interface Design appeared first on Studio by UXPin.

Running a design thinking workshop is one of the best ways to spark creativity and nurture a user-centric mindset within your design team. As a designer, you will encounter situations where you need to run design thinking workshops either with your team, your stakeholders, or other departments in your organization.

UXPin is an end-to-end design tool that will support you throughout the full human-centered design process, from creating basic user flows, through prototyping, and up to design handoff. Create a strong, transparent, and quality design process with UXPin. Enjoy a free trial.

Build advanced prototypes

Design better products with States, Variables, Auto Layout and more.

Try UXPin

What is a Design Thinking Workshop? 

A design thinking workshop is a creative problem-solving session that is based on the principles of design thinking. These workshops are activity-based and they involve real-time collaboration. For that, they are often done in person but they can also be done remotely.

The activities of a design thinking workshop are organized according to the three phases of the design thinking process: empathy, ideation, and prototyping.

• Empathy: Developing a deep understanding of the problem that end-users face and empathizing with them.
• Ideation: Coming up with many ideas on how the user problem can be solved. 
• Prototyping: Creating a prototype of potential solutions and then testing it with real users.

A workshop can last for a few hours long, a whole day, or even a week.

7 Goals of a Design Thinking Workshop

Design thinking workshops help design teams to create feasible and user-focused solutions to complex problems in design. This helps the team to design better products faster, reduce costs, and increase profits.

Design Thinking Workshops typically have several key goals:

1. Problem Understanding: The primary goal of a Design Thinking Workshop is to deeply understand the problem or challenge at hand. This involves empathizing with the users or stakeholders, defining the problem from their perspective, and gaining insights into their needs, desires, and pain points.
2. Creative Ideation: Another key goal is to generate a wide range of creative ideas and solutions to address the identified problem. Through brainstorming sessions and other ideation techniques, participants are encouraged to think outside the box and explore unconventional approaches.
3. Collaboration and Team Building: Design Thinking Workshops often involve interdisciplinary teams working together collaboratively. A goal is to foster teamwork, encourage diverse perspectives, and leverage the collective intelligence of the group to generate innovative solutions.
4. Prototyping and Iteration: Participants in a Design Thinking Workshop create prototypes or mock-ups of their ideas to quickly test and iterate upon them. The goal is to rapidly learn from feedback, refine ideas, and improve upon them iteratively.
5. User-Centric Solutions: Design Thinking emphasizes a human-centered approach to problem-solving. Therefore, a key goal of the workshop is to develop solutions that are deeply rooted in the needs and experiences of the end-users.
6. Actionable Insights: By the end of the workshop, participants should have gained actionable insights into the problem space and potential solutions. These insights can inform future decision-making and guide further development efforts.
7. Empowerment and Ownership: Design Thinking Workshops aim to empower participants to take ownership of the problem-solving process and feel confident in their ability to innovate. This can lead to a culture of creativity and innovation within an organization.

Who should run a Design Thinking Workshop? 

A design thinking workshop should be run by a facilitator, that is a person who understands the design thinking process and guides the participants throughout the workshop. The facilitator should have presentation skills and the ability to keep the group engaged. It would also be great if facilitator had a hands-on experience with running workshops.

If you need tips on facilitation, see our other article: How to be a facilitator.

How many people should be in a design thinking workshop?

The ideal number of participants for a Design Thinking Workshop can vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the problem, the scope of the workshop, and the resources available. However, a common range is typically between 6 to 12 participants.

Here are some considerations to help determine the appropriate number of participants:

1. Diversity of Perspectives: It’s essential to have a diverse group of participants representing different backgrounds, expertise, and perspectives. This diversity fosters creativity and ensures that various viewpoints are considered during the workshop.
2. Effective Collaboration: A smaller group size facilitates more effective collaboration and communication among participants. Larger groups may become unwieldy and make it challenging for everyone to actively contribute and engage in the process.
3. Resource Constraints: Consider the resources available, such as facilitators, materials, and space. Ensure that the workshop can be adequately managed and supported with the available resources.
4. Time Constraints: The duration of the workshop can influence the number of participants. With a larger group, it may take more time to ensure everyone’s voice is heard and to reach consensus on ideas and solutions.
5. Scalability: If the workshop is part of a larger innovation initiative or project, consider whether the outcomes need to be scalable across different teams or departments. A manageable group size makes it easier to replicate the workshop format if needed.

Ultimately, the goal is to strike a balance between having enough participants to generate diverse ideas and perspectives while maintaining a manageable group size for effective collaboration and decision-making. Flexibility is key, and adjustments may be necessary based on the specific context and objectives of the workshop.

How to run a Design Thinking Workshop

The design thinking process is made up of activities that are done before the workshop and during the workshop. Here is a step-by-step plan of a design thinking workshop.

Step 1: Plan your workshop

Before you can run a design thinking workshop, there are some things that need to be in place first, they include:

• Workshop objectives: This is a clear definition of the goals that the workshop should achieve. Is it to generate new ideas or to improve on an existing design product? This is also a good time to define the challenge or question that the workshop will answer. It might be “how can we improve the user experience of our website users?”
• Workshop location: Choose a suitable location for your design thinking workshop. If the workshop is happening physically, choose a location that has enough space for your design team. If the workshop is happening online, decide on the meeting and presentation tools that you are going to use. 
• Workshop agenda: This is a plan of how and when the different activities are going to happen. Do not make the workshop too long and be sure to include a lot of activities in your design thinking workshop agenda. 
• Workshop toolkit: Ensure that all the necessary design thinking workshop materials such as paper, marker pens, post-it notes, whiteboards, and props are in place. 

After making all the necessary preparations as outlined above, the next steps will be the execution of your workshop agenda.

Step 2: Introduce participants to the idea

Welcome all the participants to the workshop and brief them on what they should expect during the workshop. Share the following information:

• The main objective of the workshop and the problem that it is going to solve.
• A schedule of the workshop activities. 

Step 3: Kick off the meeting using an icebreaker

Use fun icebreaker activities to help your team warm up before the workshop begins. This will make it easy for them to collaborate and share their ideas with team members.

Step 4: Begin design thinking session

Make a brief presentation on what design thinking is, the phases of design thinking, and its benefits. This presentation is useful even for designers who are already familiar with the design thinking philosophy because it brings everyone up to speed and ensures that you are all on the same page. 

Step 5: Empathize with the user

This is the first step in the design thinking process where you encourage the workshop participants to put themselves in the shoes of the user. This will help them to start generating ideas on what the user needs from the product. 

What can help you empathize with the end-user? You can use activities such as role-playing and creating an empathy map to help the participants really understand the needs, wants, feelings, and language of the user. After these activities, give the participants a chance to share their findings and ask questions, if any.

The output of this step could be creating user personas. Read more about it here: Personas in UX.

Step 6: Get more specific on the problem 

After the empathy exercise, participants are better placed to really narrow down on the problem that the user faces. Ask your team to create a problem statement that will guide the rest of the design thinking workshop.

Step 7: Come up with ideas and possible solutions

The next design thinking step is ideation where your team suggests possible solutions to the problem that they identified in step 6. Use techniques such as brainstorming to come up with a list of potential solutions. 

Give the participants a chance to discuss their solutions and then come up with one refined solution. 

Step 8: Create a user journey map

After settling on one solution, get your team to map out the steps that users will take so that they can solve the problem. These steps can be downloading an application, setting up an account, adding their bank details, and then sending money.  Give them enough space and sticky notes to create a step by step representation of the user journey. 

Step 9: Create prototype and test it

This is the final step in the design thinking process where participants will create low fidelity prototypes of their solution. Ask the users to create screens for each step of the user journey and then ask them to add functionality to their screens in the form of buttons. 

Once again, give your team some time to compare their prototypes and then ask them to vote for the best prototype. 

Step 10: Describe the next steps and close the workshop

Close the workshop by explaining to your team the next steps such as turning their prototypes into wireframes, high fidelity prototypes, and actual user testing.

This is also a good time to ask your design team what they learned from the design thinking workshop. Don’t forget to ask for feedback so that you can improve your design thinking workshop facilitation skills. 

How Do You Structure a Design Workshop?

A design workshop typically has three main parts: an Introduction, a Main Activity, and a Summary.

1. Introduction: This is where the facilitator welcomes participants, sets the context for the workshop, and reviews the agenda. It often includes an icebreaker to make everyone comfortable and a clear definition of the workshop goals.
2. Main Activity: This core part focuses on interactive exercises. Participants brainstorm ideas, discuss solutions, sketch, or create prototypes based on the workshop’s objectives. It’s often structured with smaller activities, like group discussions or hands-on exercises, and may include feedback sessions to refine ideas.
3. Summary and Wrap-Up: In the final section, the facilitator recaps the key takeaways, insights, and any decisions made. Action items are assigned, and next steps are clarified to ensure the workshop’s output is ready for implementation or further development.

This structure provides a clear flow, guiding participants from orientation through active collaboration and closing with a sense of direction.

Solve design challenges with the best design tools

Design thinking workshops help your design team to come up with innovative and user-centered solutions to design problems. Use UXPin to design, wireframe, and prototype the innovative ideas that you come up with during your design thinking workshop. Sign up for a free trial of UXPin and turn your ideas into wonderful designs.

The post How To Run A Successful Design Thinking Workshop appeared first on Studio by UXPin.