More and more people are choosing UX/UI design as their core profession. Working in a professional UX/UI design agency enables them to uncover their creative potential while promoting non-standard ideas and putting them into practice. However, many of those who are new to the field of UX/UI design face difficulties. They make mistakes that may negatively affect the perception of their work, reduce productivity, and spoil relationships with their clients.
In this post, we are going to talk about the 5 common mistakes that beginner designers make and how to avoid them.
Common UX design mistakes to avoid
UX/UI design is not only about attractive aesthetics. It takes experience and practice for experts like these to design useful things that address the users’ requirements. Making mistakes is very common at the beginning of your professional journey. However, it is important to learn from them and improve the quality of your work constantly. Here are some common mistakes that new designers in this field make:
#1 Doesn’t pay enough attention to UX
UX/UI designers sometimes pay more attention to what is seen than to what is unseen. User interfaces are what the user sees when they use the app. Making the interface look pretty, it seems easier to gain respect from your colleagues and clients.
However, an even more important thing is what lays behind a beautiful design. There should be a deep understanding of the target user: what product they expect and how they will use it. Safari Adelaide explains that UX can have direct and powerful impact on your organic search visibility and how users interact with pages once they are on your site. In May 2020, Google announced that user experience metrics (referred to as the Page Experience Update) will impact how websites appear in the search results in 2021 and beyond. Without it, the UI doesn’t have any value.
So don’t forget about user research and conduct usability testing at every stage of the project where possible.
#2 Use ready-made designs
The Internet is full of templates and ready-made designs that you can use. Just a little bit of customization and voila! – a new amazing design is ready!
What is the problem with this approach? Aside from plagiarism, it is very unlikely that a random project you found online will perfectly suit the needs of your particular projects. Small things can drastically change the designs, so it is not recommended to use somebody else’s wireframe or redesign your own works.
#3 Follow all the trends
Professional designers keep an eye on the latest trends and learn from the popular solutions on the market. However, this doesn’t mean that good design is popular design. Trends come and go, and not every client wants to introduce drastic seasonal changes into their product. Sometimes following the time-tested, traditional techniques with a pinch of contemporary innovation can bring much better results.
#4 Do not prioritize communication
Communication and presentation skills are vital to a UX/UI designer’s career. They have to communicate with a lot of people at work – clients, other designers, project managers, developers, marketers, users, the list goes on.
Having good taste and knowing the professional tools, such as Figma and Sketch, is not enough. You should also know how to make the client feel at ease with you and be open and accessible for communication.
Another important quality to develop is persuasion. You will often have to present your work to others. They might not always like it. But if you’re confident in your ideas (and you should be – you are a professional, after all), you need to be able to explain your thoughts to the audience.
#5 Overcomplicate things
In the past few years, minimalism has been becoming more and more popular. It makes sense: simple designs are easier to perceive. Users don’t want to enjoy bright colors, HD images, and intricate fonts all the time. What they do want to achieve is to solve their tasks with the help of your product and do it quickly.
So fight the urge to make your designs decorative if there is no particular need for that. You should also simplify and get rid of unnecessary things. The users will thank you for that.
Final thoughts
What’s left to say other than mistakes are only made by those who try to do things well. Don’t give up when something doesn’t work out, or if the result of your labors brings about criticism. Listen to the comments and learn. Stay tuned to UX/UI blogs, Dribble, and improve your skills constantly.