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Design UX/UI

Sep 28 2018

The Best Design Programs for UX/UI

 

Let’s begin with the basics: user experience (UX) design is how a person feels about using a product, whether that be a website, mobile application, or anything human-computer related. User interface (UI) design, by comparison, is all about the look and feel of the design itself; in other words, the colors or icons a person sees on the page.

While this seems straightforward, there are many free and paid tools for UX and UI, so which programs are the best? If you get an assignment from your boss and need to do a wireframe or mockup quickly, which program do you use if there isn’t one specified? Photoshop and Illustrator just don’t do the trick now for creating fast designs, but thankfully there are a few easy, intuitive programs that can help you get the job done.

Sketch

This has been one of the most popular programs for UX/UI designers to use since it launched in 2010. Sketch is used to create differently sized artboards for various browser sizes, apps, or even banners, allowing you to format your design to fit the multiple standard dimensions on the fly. One of my favorite aspects of Sketch is linking it to InVision, where one can create a prototype of their artboards. Sketch isn’t trying to compete with larger, more established programs like Photoshop, but instead is focused on trying to make UX and UI easier with features like converting drop shadows in CSS since it saves time for developers to know exactly what code to use.

Cost: $99 for Mac users. Well worth the price!

 

InVision Studio

InVision first came out with an easy to use prototyping tool that syncs with Craft directly on Sketch. This year, they came out with their own design program—Studio—which is still in early access. I asked product manager Karla Smagorinsky from InVision, who works directly with Freehand, to tell us what Studio can really do: “Studio is a new type of screen design tool that gives designers the power to quickly create high-fidelity prototypes with rich motion and microinteractions that leave nothing open to interpretation. This means designers and digital product teams can have higher quality feedback sessions with both internal stakeholders and external users, allowing companies to move faster and release higher quality products.” Studio differentiates itself from Sketch by rapid prototyping, and adaptable layouts; overall, InVision has an ecosystem of great tools like Freehand, Inspect, Design Manager System (DSM) and many more! This is a great tool if you need to link up two items (like wireframes and prototyping) in the fastest way possible for a low cost.

Cost: Free for both Studio (only on Mac) and prototyping tools (web-based)

 

Adobe XD

Adobe had to put themselves back on the market in 2015 after Sketch came out. Adobe XDis still in beta, seeing what works and what doesn’t work for its users. Some of the best features are on a repeat grid, so a user can select objects and then repeat those objects along an x- or y-axis. Adobe has also created reusable symbols, so it’s easier to place objects in multiple artboards. The best part of having a product like Adobe XDis that it’s integrated into one platform so it is easier to get feedback and iterate based on your designs.

Cost: $9.99/month for the standalone product (works on Macs and Windows) or $49.99/month as part of the Creative Cloud Suite

Those are the three best design tools out on the market right now. While there are other options available, these three remain the most competitive in the market and are regarded as the standard for our designers. The tools you’ll need will ultimately depend on what you need to do and how fast you need to do it, but any of these would be great options to consider!

Be sure to look out for our post on the best prototyping tools being featured soon on the InRhythm blog.

 

Written by Lily Malykhina · Categorized: Design UX/UI, InRhythm News, Learning and Development

May 21 2018

Cupcakes, Application Design, and UX

This post is another by InRhythm’s own Sari Morninghawk. For the full post and additional links, check out the original “Cupcakes, Application Design, and UX” on her website.

My grandkids are often an inspiration for many of my best ideas. For example, when I came home from work yesterday, my oldest granddaughter had her homemade cupcakes on display in the kitchen. They were her original recipe, exceptionally beautiful, and also — delicious. Riding the train into work this morning, my mind wandering towards my next blog, I realized that these cupcakes are a perfect metaphor for excellent app design and a wonderful user experience (UX).

There are many ways to look at this. The simplest being that the beauty of the cupcake is good design, causing the consumer, in the case of the cupcake or the user, in the case of the application, to do what you want. Consumers eat the cupcake; users read, shop, sign up, or whatever action is the goal. If the cupcake is delicious, the consumer has an enjoyable experience. If the cupcake doesn’t taste good or has a disagreeable texture, the consumer has a poor experience regardless of the cupcake’s visual appeal. The objective of design is to compel the user into action resulting in a positive UX.

Written by Sari Morninghawk · Categorized: Agile & Lean, Design UX/UI, Software Engineering, Talent

Mar 30 2018

CSS the Right way

With Sari Morninghawk!

Sari walks us through CSS best practices to help you keep your styles neat, tidy, and easy to maintain. If you couldn’t make it, check out the video below and make sure to sign up for our next workshop via Meetup!

Written by Jack Tarantino · Categorized: Code Lounge, Design UX/UI, Events, InRhythm News, Learning and Development, Software Engineering · Tagged: best practices, CSS, development

Jan 03 2017

InRhythm 2016 Year in Review

Happy New Year from InRhythm!


This year, have had the privilege of working with truly amazing clients, serving as their trusted partner in implementing modern digital transformations. We have made inroads into new markets, expanded our geographic influence, and were fortunate enough to collaborate on many incredibly exciting projects. Our continued growth and success have laid the foundation to make this new year even better.

As we look to 2017, we would like to share InRhythm’s most memorable, interesting and fun facts from 2016. Wishing you success in the new year!

eoy16

Written by Shivani York · Categorized: Agile & Lean, Design UX/UI, Events, Financial Services, InRhythm News, Product Development, Software Engineering, Talent · Tagged: agile, Agile Assessment, Digital Transformation, growth, infographic, innovation, software engineering, ux

May 26 2016

Design Sprint Studio – From Idea to a Tested MVP Prototype

We’ve been posting a lot about our newest service – Design Sprint Studio and now we are excited to provide you with a bit of an inside look. This is our latest Design Sprint Studio and we are thrilled at how smooth the process is running. Check out our pictures below from our latest client engagement! Amazing job, team – keep those sticky notes coming!

07 Sticky room 09 Map HMW with the Flow

Written by inrhythmAdmin · Categorized: Design UX/UI

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