Of course, there are a variety of font combinations readily available on the web which you can use. However, it’s also important to know how to create your own font pairs. There’s a whole science to applying heading, subheading and body copy to fit the type of content you produce and your brand identity.

To help you with this process, here are 13 of the best font-pairing websites which will help you to find your perfect font combination. These websites are extremely easy to use and wil help you make ideal typography decision in a few seconds. Let us know which ones you have used or if there are any you would like to suggest.

Font Pairing Generator by Monotype

Monotype’s Font Pairing Tool is a user-friendly online resource designed to help users effortlessly find complementary font combinations. Whether you’re crafting a presentation, designing a website, or setting up marketing materials, this tool simplifies the process of selecting fonts that look good together.

Users can explore a variety of font pairings provided by Monotype’s extensive library, which includes both classic and contemporary styles. The tool also offers expert recommendations to ensure that your text is not only aesthetically pleasing but also impactful and readable. Ideal for designers, marketers, and anyone involved in visual content creation, Monotype’s Font Pairing Tool makes typography easy and accessible for everyone.

Visit Font Pairing Generator

FontJoy

By simply clicking the “Generate” button, FontJoy presents a combination of three fonts that harmonize well together, making your design aesthetically pleasing. Users can fine-tune their choices by adjusting a slider to blend similarity and contrast in the font selections.

Additionally, there’s an option to lock in a preferred font and generate matching counterparts. Whether you’re designing a website, a poster, or any creative project, FontJoy’s tool simplifies the process of finding the perfect font pairings, saving you time and enhancing your designs with typography that pops.

Visit FontJoy

Google Type

There are over 650 free typefaces available in Google Fonts. This creative project offers inspiration for using fonts from the Google Fonts library.

Visit Google Type

Font Pair

Font Pair helps designers to combine Google Fonts. Just choose what kind of typeface pair you need between sans-serif, serif and cursive fonts. It also has a collection of font pairs in action.

Visit Font Pair

Type Wolf

Type Wolf is a collection of beautiful font combinations from around the web. There, you’ll find the most popular fonts, the site of the day and various font recommendations to find your ideal match.

Visit Type Wolf

Beautiful Web Type

Google web font directory accounts for over 600 fonts. Of course, most of them are not really nice, but there are also high-quality typefaces which deserve a closer look. Here you can see these fonts in action. Just scroll down the site and see for yourself.

Visit Beautiful Web Type

Fonts in Use

Fonts in Use is a collection of different designs, such as websites, packaging, branding, business cards, posters, magazines along with a list of fonts which were used.

Visit Fonts in Use

Just My Type

Just My Type is a showcase of font pairings from Typekit and H&FJ. These font samples are displayed in nice colorful blocks.

Visit Just My Type

Typ.io

All the fonts on Typ.io are tagged with related words and will help you to pair even complementary fonts together. It also features examples of different fonts used on websites, and you can see these combinations and pick the one you like.

Visit Typ.io

Font Combinator

Font Combinator is a tool similar to Blender. It will also help you pair titles and text copy fonts. Just choose the element, font, size and color.

Visit Font Combinator

Font Combinator by Typotheque

Typotheque is both a graphic design studio and a type foundry publishing and distributing original Latin and non-Latin fonts. Their Font Combinator will help you to pair Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic fonts.

Visit Typotheque

Matcherator

Matcherator by Fontspring will help you to define what font is used on the image. You can download an image from your computer, or use a URL of the image and a tool that will find the exact font (or similar), so you can use it in your design.

Visit Matcherator

Typespiration

Typespiration is an amazing site featuring designer-contributed examples of sample text from their designs. Below each sample you’ll find a list of fonts which were used, color combinations, and even CSS code which you can paste into your website.

Visit Typespiration

The post Best Font Pairing Tools for Designers (2024) appeared first on Hongkiat.

To have a website that boosts conversions, you have to focus on capturing and retaining user attention.

It’s about using strategic visual elements, intentional copy, and user experience (UX) elements that effortlessly guide users through your site and help drive desired actions.

This is the secret sauce that sets high-converting websites apart from the rest.

If you’re ready to captivate website visitors and nudge them to conversion, keep reading.

In this article, we’re taking a look at six advanced design techniques you can use to take your website to the next level.

We’re also sharing three examples of real brands with UX-friendly websites (along with bonus design tips) to help inspire you.

Let’s get started.

1. Focus on intuitive navigation and image relevance

Intuitive navigation, clear CTAs, and relevant product imagery are essential elements in a well-designed UX interface.

Use a balance of white space and negative space to create an intuitive look and feel.

While white space and negative space both involve the absence of content, white space focuses on the overall empty areas of a design, while negative space specifically pertains to the empty space around or between objects.

Get inspired by YUPLAY. When you visit its product page for its Fortnite Catwoman’s Grappling Claw Pickaxe, the design effortlessly balances the two, blending visual appeal with user-centric functionality:

It also showcases products its audience is most interested in, along with relevant images, descriptions, and calls to action. This optimal design enhances the user experience, making it easy for visitors to choose the right products and head to check out.

2. Feature product and service options front and center to encourage conversions

Providing users with product and service options right upfront is paramount for a seamless browsing and buying experience.

Take LeatherCult, for instance, a renowned brand specializing in leather clothing. It segmented the hero section of its homepage by product types to help visitors quickly navigate to the items they’re looking for:

(Image Source)

This practice simplifies the shopper’s experience and encourages higher engagement and conversion rates. Showcasing offers front and center is also a great practice to encourage more conversions during special occasions and holiday promotions.

3. Enhance UX design with an accessibility checker

Accessibility checkers are changing design processes by helping brands build websites and applications that meet diverse user needs. They’re critical tools to use to make sure your website upholds accessibility standards and legal requirements.

Accessibility checkers help facilitate smooth, intuitive, and engaging designs by detecting and rectifying potential barriers.

An accessibility checker can:

Identify accessibility issues

Accessibility checkers scan websites and applications to identify accessibility barriers. These issues might include missing alternative text for images, insufficient color contrast, or a lack of keyboard navigation.

Offer recommendations

Along with identifying issues, accessibility checkers recommend how to fix accessibility problems. They offer actionable suggestions, making it easier for developers to implement the necessary changes.

Promote compliance

Accessibility checkers help websites comply with international accessibility standards like WCAG. Meeting compliance measures means staying out of legal trouble and not alienating important users in your target audience.

By automating the accessibility testing process, these tools help developers save significant time and effort they’d spend on manual testing. This helps them focus more on custom and complex aspects of user experience design.

4. Guide users with voiceovers

While visually stunning designs are essential, don’t overlook the power of audio to enhance the user experience.

A professionally crafted voiceover can provide invaluable context, guide user interactions, and contribute to the overall aesthetic of a design. Consider incorporating voiceovers in explainer videos, interactive web tutorials, and product demos on your website.

5. Use AWS S3 Backup to provide a consistent experience across platforms and devices

In our multi-device world, users often switch between platforms.

Designing with this in mind is vital.

Consider using an AWS S3 Backup solution to make sure your graphic elements, especially large multimedia files, are safely stored and can be quickly retrieved across different platforms.

This promotes faster load times and a consistent experience regardless of the device or platform the user is on.

6. Create FAQ pages for top-of-funnel visitors

Conduct thorough user research to understand your target audience’s needs, behaviors, and preferences.

Pay close attention to top-of-funnel (ToFu) visitors who need more information about your products and services to build trust and connection with your brand.

What pain points are they struggling with? How did they find you? What are they looking for?

And most importantly…

What are their frequently asked questions (FAQs)?

Use this information to create dedicated FAQ pages to help ToFu visitors quickly find answers to their top questions.

A great example of this is VRAI and its lab-grown diamond rings page. Since it’s ToFu, visitors often have questions about what lab diamonds are and how they’re made, so it created dedicated FAQ pages to clear the air.

Each page thoroughly answers user questions in easy-to-read sub-sections, coupled with beautiful images.

Its “What is a lab-grown diamond” FAQ page breaks down what lab diamonds are, where they come from, and how they compare to regular diamonds. The page also covers additional relevant questions users may have.

It also features calls to action in intuitive sections to nudge the visitor to sign up for its email list, learn more about lab diamonds, or make a purchase.

Take this tip up a notch by integrating interactive guided selling experiences on your FAQ pages.

Do this to:

• Uncover more detailed information and preferences about your ideal customer
• Collect contact information, such as phone numbers, names, and email addresses
• Send prospects automated lead-nurturing emails with personalized offers
• Discover user locations and language preferences

Get inspired with Pumpkin’s FAQ page about whether or not pet insurance is worth it:

At the top of the page, it features a “Create My Plan” CTA to encourage users to take its interactive quiz.

The quiz helps Pumpkin gather more information from its users so it can tailor its content marketing strategy, offers, and lead nurturing approach.

The data it gathers also helps Pumpkin present highly-tailored pet insurance plans visitors have a hard time saying no to:

It also goes further by allowing users who’ve bounced without converting to pick up where they left off.

In this case, the guided selling CTA automatically changes from “Create My Plan” to “Resume Quote”:

To sum up: FAQ pages can help you nurture ToFu leads, keep users on the page, and build trust with your ideal audience. Take them to the next level with interactive quizzes and experiences.

Examples of Websites Featuring Advanced Design and Customized UX

Craving more UX website inspiration? Take a look at the following examples and bonus tips:

Clean Origin

The following UX design elements play a pivotal role in helping Clean Origin nurture an audience interested in lab-created diamond jewelry:

User-friendly interface

Clean Origin’s site has a clean and user-friendly interface. Its navigation feels intuitive, and the design has clear headings and an organized layout.

Visitors can seamlessly browse products, make selections, and complete purchases with minimal friction.

High-quality images

Clean Origin uses high-resolution images, magnification features, and 360-degree views to showcase its lab-grown diamonds and diamond custom engagement rings.

Detailed imagery provides a heightened virtual experience and fosters engagement by helping users carefully inspect diamond options.

Product customization options

Customers can personalize their diamond rings by metal, setting, and detailed characteristics. This customization feature enhances engagement by helping users create pieces that resonate with their unique style preferences.

Hims & Hers

The following UX design elements help Hims & Hers provide security and tailored solutions to an audience interested in mental health and wellness products:

Personalized content

Hims & Hers leverages advanced algorithms to personalize content for users. It offers tailored product recommendations based on individual health concerns, preferences, and medical history. This enhances user engagement by addressing specific needs.

Strategic color palette

Hims & Hers’ color palette, consisting of gray and pastel colors, is chosen deliberately to convey a sense of reliability and trustworthiness, particularly in the context of promoting mental health medicine.

Gray is often associated with professionalism and reliability. This helps evoke feelings of trust and security.

Pastel colors, such as soft blues and greens, are said to evoke feelings of calmness and tranquility. These hues help create a soothing and supportive environment for visitors seeking mental health solutions.

Guided selling strategies

Hims & Hers also uses interactive quizzes to help visitors find tailored products for their unique health needs. After the visitor finishes the questionnaire, they need to provide their email address to receive personalized results.

After investing time to discover products that could help them, visitors often provide their contact details to receive their results.

If they don’t make a purchase, Hims & Hers continues to reach out to them with tailored, segmented emails that speak to the prospect’s core needs.

Tailor Brands

The following UX design elements help Tailor Brands effortlessly convert an audience interested in becoming business owners:

User-friendly AI tools

Tailor Brands is known for its user-friendly AI-powered design tools. Visitors can effortlessly create logos, business cards, and other branding assets, making the process engaging and accessible to individuals of all design skill levels.

Advanced customizations and branding services

The website offers a wide range of customization options for logos, business branding materials, and even services to assist in setting up an LLC. Users can experiment with colors, fonts, and layouts, empowering them to create a unique brand identity and establish a legal business structure.

Real-time previews and feedback

Tailor Brands provides real-time previews of branding materials and LLC setup options, allowing users to see how their designs will appear and how their businesses will be structured. This feature encourages experimentation and engagement as users refine their brand assets and business profiles.

Educational resources

The website incorporates informative content on branding, design principles, and legal aspects such as LLC formation. These resources educate visitors, promoting user engagement and helping them make informed branding and business decisions.

Wrap up

Never underestimate the impact of taking the time to enhance your website’s user experience and engagement.

Don’t just follow another hip design trend or hire a graphic designer without stopping to carefully consider the entire experience you’re offering your customers.

By implementing the UX design principles and tips we covered today, you can hold your audience’s attention and effortlessly guide them toward the right products and services.

TL;DR: Apply the design ideas we covered in this article to build a website that delivers an exceptional user experience.

Here’s to your success!

PS: Craving more website design and development resources? Check out our free guides here

The post 6 Advanced Design Tips for Improved UX & Engagement appeared first on Hongkiat.

While CSS sprites offer a workaround, they don’t completely solve the issue of large file sizes. Another downside of bitmap icons is their lack of flexibility and scalability. Enlarging these icons or viewing them on high-resolution screens, like Apple’s retina display, often results in a blurry appearance.

If these issues sound familiar, it’s time to consider switching to icon fonts for a more efficient and scalable solution.

Exploring the Advantages of Icon Fonts

An icon font is essentially a collection of icons packaged into a web font, which can be easily incorporated into a website using the @font-face rule. As highlighted by Chris at CSS-Tricks, icon fonts bring several key advantages over traditional image icons:

• Being vector-based, icon fonts are resolution-independent, ensuring sharp and clear display on various screen resolutions, including high-resolution screens like retina displays.
• Icon fonts are scalable, allowing for size adjustments without any loss in quality or clarity.
• As they are fonts, you can easily modify their color, transparency, text-shadow, and size using CSS.
• They can be animated with CSS3, adding a dynamic element to your website.
• The use of @font-face for icon fonts is widely supported, even in older browsers like Internet Explorer 4 (with .eot).
• Using icon fonts results in fewer HTTP requests and a smaller overall file size.

Here’s a list of some top free icon fonts available:

• Font Awesome
• IcoMoon
• Social Media Icons
• Zurb Foundation Icons

Always ensure to review and adhere to the licensing terms before embedding any icon font in your website, as a sign of respect for the creator’s effort and work.

Implementing the @font-face Rule

As mentioned earlier, icon fonts are embedded in web pages using the @font-face rule within CSS. This rule allows us to define a new font-family. Let’s take the ‘Web Symbols’ font as an example:

 @font-face{ 
 font-family: 'WebSymbolsRegular';
 src: url('fonts/websymbols-regular-webfont.eot');
 src: url('fonts/websymbols-regular-webfont.eot?#iefix') format('embedded-opentype'),
 url('fonts/websymbols-regular-webfont.woff') format('woff'),
 url('fonts/websymbols-regular-webfont.ttf') format('truetype'),
 url('fonts/websymbols-regular-webfont.svg#WebSymbolsRegular') format('svg');
 }

In the HTML document, to display the icons, we simply use characters that correspond to each icon. Rather than applying the font-family globally, we can target specific elements by adding a unique class, like this:

 <ul class="icon-font">
	 <li>h</li>
	 <li>i</li>
	 <li>j</li>
	 <li>A</li>
	 <li>I</li>
 </ul>

Then, back in the CSS, we define this new font-family for the class we added:

.icon-font {
    font-family: WebSymbolsRegular;
    font-size: 12pt;
}

Demo @font-face

Read Also:  Mastering Modern Web Typography: Essential Tips for Designers

Integrating Icons with Pseudo-elements

Pseudo-elements offer another creative way to incorporate icons. Consider the following HTML markup as our starting point:

	 <ul class="icon-font pseudo">
	 <li>Reply</li>
	 <li>Reply All</li>
	 <li>Forward</li>
	 <li>Attachment</li>
	 <li>Image</li>
 </ul>

In the CSS, we can enhance this list by using pseudo-elements to display icons before each item:

ul.icon-font.pseudo li:before {
    font-family: WebSymbolsRegular;
    margin-right: 5px;
}

ul.icon-font.pseudo li:nth-child(1):before {
    content: "h";
}

ul.icon-font.pseudo li:nth-child(2):before {
    content: "i";
}

ul.icon-font.pseudo li:nth-child(3):before {
    content: "j";
}

ul.icon-font.pseudo li:nth-child(4):before {
    content: "A";
}

ul.icon-font.pseudo li:nth-child(5):before {
    content: "I";
}

Demo Pseudo-element

Read Also:  Understanding Pseudo-Element :before and :after

Private Use Unicode

There’s a scenario where instead of embedding icons into standard characters (A, B, C, D, etc.), they’re embedded in Unicode Private Use Areas to avoid any clashing among characters. This method is used by tools like FontAwesome, where the character codes are included in the stylesheet like so:

.icon-glass:before {
    content: "\f0c6";
}
 

To directly insert the icon into HTML, the code \f0c6 won’t render as it’s not a valid HTML-encoded character.

HTML requires a numerical reference markup to render special characters. It requires prefixing the hexadecimal number (representing the character) with an ampersand (&), a hash (#), and an x. For instance, f0c6 becomes  in HTML. In FontAwesome, this code displays a paper clip icon, like this:

Demo Unicode

Further Reading: Characters Encoding in HTML

Font Subsetting

When your icon collection includes unused characters, you can eliminate them by subsetting the font, which also reduces the font file size. A convenient tool for this is FontSquirrel’s @font-face generator.

Visit the generator, add your font, and select Expert. Then choose Custom Subsetting for more options.

For example, using the Sociolico font for social media icons on our website, we only need the icons for Dribble, Facebook, and Twitter, represented by d, f, and t. These characters are entered in the Single Characters field as shown:

Now, you can download the font, which in this case, has been reduced to a mere 3Kb to 5Kb in size. Note that only the characters d, f,, and t will render as icons; any other characters will appear as regular letters.

Further Reading: How to Optimize Web Fonts for Saving Bandwidth

Final Thought

While this practice excludes the possibility of adding highly detailed effects like this, it offers a flexible, scalable, retina-ready solution with minimal file size. If your design can bear the absence of high detail, this icon-serving method is highly beneficial.

For those eager to explore further, below are some helpful references, along with our demo and source code available for download.

• How to Make Your Own Icon Webfont – WebDesignerDepot.com
• Displaying Fonts and Data Attributes – 24Ways
• Private Use Unicode – Wikipedia

See demo Download source codes

Note: This post was first published on the 5th of Dec, 2012.

The post A Guide to Better and Sharper UI Icons with Web Fonts appeared first on Hongkiat.

The same concept applies to UX design – there are patterns here as well. These patterns assist UX designers in building high-quality user interfaces and managing users’ attention.

In this article, I want to shed light on some of the most popular patterns in UX design and explain how to use them to make your UI more user-friendly. Let’s begin!

What is a Pattern?

In psychology, the term "pattern" often refers to a recurring type of behavior exhibited in a particular setting over time. In interface design, patterns encompass rules and laws, including cognitive biases and behavioral patterns. Though applied in design, these patterns still have a psychological basis, as the biases and rules stem from subconscious thoughts and judgments.

Good products should elicit reactions and emotions while promoting specific actions. Thus, understanding how patterns work can help provoke the desired user responses. Comprehending patterns is essential for creating a user-friendly design that meets the following criteria:

• Users can solve their problems
• They can do so quickly
• The design minimizes human errors
• Users are satisfied
• The learning curve is short or non-existent
• The UI design aligns with business requirements (commercial success)

Are Patterns in UX Design Essential?

Not precisely. Patterns exist to assist you, not restrict you. Thus, I would suggest considering them. After all, it is more straightforward to follow existing patterns than to invest in new ones and teach them to users.

Top 9 Patterns to Follow in UX Design

These patterns are prevalent; therefore, remember to consider them every time you begin building an interface.

Fitts Law

"The farther and smaller an object is, the lower the chances of accurately reaching it."

Fitts’ Law states: the likelihood of achieving a goal depends on the size and placement of the interactive elements.

To provide some context, Paul Fitts was a psychologist who studied how people move toward their goals. In 1954, he concluded that the time it takes to achieve a goal depends not only on how far away it is, but also on its size. In other words, the farther and smaller an object is, the lower the chances of accurately reaching it.

For designers, Fitts’ Law is fundamental in terms of control placement. It can be translated as follows: interface elements should be large and accessible enough for the user.

For example, on the Patreon website, users can click on the text menu and the entire block.

Hick’ Law

"The fewer options there are, the faster the choice is made."

Congratulations! Now you know Hick’s Law.

Mr. Hick proposed this law in 1952, suggesting that when there are many choices, you end up "thinking too long." Now, this is the top principle for goods selection services. Indeed, we all know that the torture of choosing is one of the toughest. As UX designers who care about users, we do not want to subject our beloved users to it.

But what if it is impossible to reduce the number of options? Try to break them down into simpler steps. Hick’s Law is all about making it easier for the user to choose. Sometimes the options can be endless, and it’s difficult to make them fewer. Take Netflix, for example: the number of shows to choose from is seemingly infinite.

However, Netflix has managed to rescue users from the anguish of a difficult choice. They introduced the "Top 10 in your country" feature. And this is what I call Hick’s Law in action!

Jacob’ Law

"The more familiar the website looks to the users, the better they will like it."

Have you ever noticed, while surfing the internet, that many websites look similar to each other? In other instances, this might seem like a bad sign. However, when it comes to websites, it’s not about being "unique and exclusive," but rather about usability.

As a designer, you need to accept the harsh truth – users spend a lot of time on other websites. The last thing they want to do is learn new things when they visit a new website.

This is what UX specialist Jakob Nielsen postulates: don’t overwhelm users with new concepts and instead use familiar patterns.

Pragnanz Law

"The human brain tends to interpret complex things via simpler forms."

Pragnanz Law also originates from Gestalt psychology. In 1910 psychologist Max Wertheimer noticed that the human brain would see a row of blinking fires as a constantly moving line. The reason for this is, again, the human brain’s tendency to simplify difficult things and not to overwhelm itself.

So do not make the UX interface a mystery to the user, as they either do not understand it or simplify it to an understandable form. This rule is mainly applicable to the icons on websites.

Law of Closeness

"Elements standing close to each other are seen as one group."

This principle originates from Gestalt theory and suggests that if you want elements to be seen as related to each other, place them next to each other.

Law of the Inward and Outward

"To make one element distinct from others – make it more distant."

This is another aspect of the Law of Closeness. Every complex element consists of smaller objects: words are made of letters, lines are made of words, and passages are made of lines. To instill individuality into one object, you need to increase the distance between it and other objects.

Miller’ Law

"A person can averagely keep attention to 7 elements at a time."

In 1956, American psychologist George Miller discovered that the human brain can, on average, remember 7 (+- 2) objects. Therefore, the interface should primarily include 9 elements, or even 5, for better clarity. Long lists can bore users, even if they are helpful, so it is recommended to divide them into categories.

Edge Effect

"People better remember the first and the last elements in a row."

It’s as simple as that.

Restorff (Isolation) Effect

"Among the similar objects in a row, people will notice an isolated one."

In essence, the one who is not like the others will always stand out the most.

This fact was confirmed by psychiatrist Von Restorff, who suggested that in a group of similar elements, the isolated ones will be remembered. So here’s a tip for designers: if you want to emphasize something, give it a different form or keep it isolated from other elements.

General Recommendations Based on the Patterns

Here is a brief summary of how to create a user-friendly UI design, based on established patterns:

Navigation

• Avoid hiding menu sections that are essential for the user or business.
• Ensure the user always knows their current location on the website.
• Make transitions to other website sections simple and smooth.
• Carefully plan the user’s flow, considering the context.

Forms

• Apply the Cut and Postpone rule: remove all fields that are not required for the user to proceed. Collect optional information only after the goal has been achieved.
• Optimize your design for mobile versions.
• Create a clear path to completion, with a direct line from the heading to the call to action and minimal distractions.

General Recommendations:

• Maintain a strict hierarchy on the page.
• Help users understand what they should do on the page and include a clear Call to Action.
• Focus on the essentials, keeping the "decision tree" in mind.
• Use only meaningful and relevant images.
• Strive for a balanced and contrasting design.

Conclusion

For some designers, UX patterns may appear as rules designed to limit their creativity. However, I view these patterns as specific "hints" that aid in understanding how the human mind functions. Adhering to these patterns does not constrain your abilities.

On the contrary, they are present to help you comprehend the user and create a UX design that genuinely assists them.

The post Improve Your UX Design with These 9 Helpful Patterns appeared first on Hongkiat.

So, here’s a huge list of creatively designed web and mobile UI kits. These include everything from wireframes, UI templates, landing pages, app designs, and UI elements. Plus, these UI kits are compatible with different platforms like Photoshop, Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD.

1. 10+ Instagram Templates

• Created by: Oscarsun
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD

2. 50 websites sign in/sign up UI Kit

• Created by: Yan Liu
• Compatible with: Figma

3. Amazon Redesign UI

• Created by: Rushit Dhameliya
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

4. Bank Hotel Website UI Kit

• Created by: Andrii Vynarchyk
• Compatible with: Figma

5. Bankpic Banking Wallet UI Kit

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

6. Biggest FREE UI Kit

• Created by: Krasi Stoimenov
• Compatible with: Photoshop

7. Blenda UI Kit

• Created by: Владислав Рогов
• Compatible with: Figma

8. Bolt NFT UI Kit

• Created by: DThree
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

9. Book Store App

• Created by: Adarsh Goldar
• Compatible with: Figma

10. Bookler Booking Web App

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD

11. Boutique du Pain

• Created by: Premiumuikits
• Compatible with: Sketch

12. BudgetIo App UI

• Created by: It’s The SA
• Compatible with: Figma

13. CaFit Fitness UI Kit

• Created by: CaDesign
• Compatible with: Figma

14. Calender Appointment UI Kit

• Created by: Mehmet Özsoy
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

15. Car Dashboard UI Kit Design

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma

16. Card Components UI Kit for Figma

• Created by: Frank Esteban Isdray
• Compatible with: Figma

17. Chart Components UI Kit for Figma

• Created by: Frank Esteban Isdray
• Compatible with: Figma

18. Mobile Onboarding Screens

• Created by: Kishore
• Compatible with: Sketch

19. Coupons and Discounts App

• Created by: Kishore
• Compatible with: Sketch

20. eBlocks eCommerce Wireframe Ki

• Created by: Kishore
• Compatible with: Sketch

21. Banking/Wallet App UI Kit

• Created by: Shojol Islam
• Compatible with: Sketch

22. Dashboard Cards

• Created by: Saransh Verma
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

23. Orion UI Kit

• Created by: Alien Pixels
• Compatible with: Figma

24. Neumorphism UI Kit

• Created by: Tatsiana Charnysh
• Compatible with: Figma

25. Task Schedule dashboard

• Created by: Bhavna Kashyap
• Compatible with: Figma

26. Free Gradient Figma Fills

• Created by: Marcus Hoang
• Compatible with: Figma

27. iOS Browser Kit for Figma

• Created by: Andreas Storm
• Compatible with: Figma

28. Social Mobile App

• Created by: Andreas Storm
• Compatible with: Figma

29. Social UI Kit

• Created by: Paolo Spazzini
• Compatible with: Figma

30. Health Industry Design System UI Kit

• Created by: Shaban Iddrisu
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

31. Scheddo Booking Management Dashboard

• Created by: Nihal Graphics
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

32. Free XdDash Dashboard UI Kit

• Created by: Zvonimir Juranko
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

33. Free UI Element Kit

• Created by: Zulqurnain Haider
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

34. Color Picker

• Created by: Ankur Tripathi
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

35. Starter UI Kit for AdobeXD

• Created by: Meagan Fisher Couldwell
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

36. Google Material Icons for Adobe XD

• Created by: David Artoumian
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

37. Blueberry CRM Web Dashboard

• Created by: Oksana Kuzmenko
• Compatible with: Sketch

38. Dashboard Components Design

• Created by: Emy Lascan
• Compatible with: Sketch

39. Mytask Free App

• Created by: Lorenzo Perniciaro
• Compatible with: Sketch

40. Flowchart kit for Sketch and Figma

• Created by: Greg Dlubacz
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch

41. Pricing UI

• Created by: Bartosz Bak
• Compatible with: Sketch

42. flex.UI Kit

• Created by: Marcel Kruger
• Compatible with: Sketch

43. Email Buddy APP

• Created by: Lorenzo Perniciaro
• Compatible with: Sketch

44. Prime 2.0

• Created by: Przemyslaw Baraniak
• Compatible with: Sketch

45. The Screens 4

• Created by: Tran Mau Tri Tam
• Compatible with: Photoshop

46. Freebie UI Elements Kit

• Created by: Nishant Dogra
• Compatible with: Photoshop

47. Kamartaj gift shop UI Kit

• Created by: Shojol Islam
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Photoshop

48. Instagram Feed and Profile

• Created by: Marina Dillaco
• Compatible with: Photoshop

49. Free Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Paul Flavius Nechita
• Compatible with: Photoshop

50. Sign Up UI Components

• Created by: Jim Endicott
• Compatible with: Photoshop

The post 50 Free GUI Sets for Your Next Project appeared first on Hongkiat.

As a product designer, creating visually appealing and functional app designs is crucial to the success of any product. Even more, if you want to save time, achieve uniformity, and increase productivity, UI kits are the way to go!

But first, what is a UI kit?

A UI kit is a set of pre-designed elements that you can reuse in your projects. It typically includes buttons, inputs, tabs, sliders, icons, and more. Using a UI kit helps you speed up your design process and achieve a consistent look and feel across all your screens.

Product designers can use Figma UI kits for a range of design projects, including website designs, web-mobile app designs, wireframe ideas, and many more.

I put 15 top-notch mobile and web Figma UI kits to the test, gathering from the world’s finest UI/UX designers. These kits will not only boost your creative flow but also provide valuable insights and let you tweak components in minutes. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!

Free News and Blog Responsive Template

We open up the list with a clean magazine concept that offers many possibilities for establishing content in a modern way. This can be achieved with huge typefaces and clever white space that improves readability. Thanks to Premiumuikits.

What’s inside?

• 2 Artboards
• Web & Mobile Resolutions
• Font used: Inter
• Light Theme
• Auto-Layout

Fashion Mobile eCommerce UI Kit

A minimal, elegant, and comprehensive user interface kit created by the designers at OpenUI design. This kit provides a massive collection of 30 mobile templates you can use for your fashion eCommerce projects.

What’s inside?

• 30 Mobile Screens
• Auto-Layout
• Smart Variants
• Fully Layered
• Easy to follow

The Matte EngineResponsive Web Template

Why settle for boring web design when you can use The Matte Engine project for your online course? These lovely illustrations and cool fonts evoke a unique aesthetic. All you have to do is alter the components and styles according to your brand.

What’s inside?

• 1 Mobile & Desktop Template
• 8 Sections (hero, facts, program, about, tools, pricing, get started, footer)
• 2 custom illustrations
• Easily customizable symbols
• Color variables
• Typography system

Untitled UI – Free Figma UI Kit & Design System

I bet you’ve heard about the largest UI kit on the market, where you can take your designs to the next level. This free system for Figma can help you ideate faster and consistently, which allows you to create awesome outputs for your clients. Huge thanks to Jordan Hughes.

What’s inside?

• 20+ Responsive Templates
• 2k+ Components
• 900+ Icons and logos
• 500+ Global Styles
• Auto Layout 4.0
• Lifetime updates
• Smart Variants

Trackizer – Figma Subscription Mobile App

Get your hands on a mobile UI kit that’ll make managing subscriptions a breeze! Keep track of your monthly costs and never miss a payment again. It’s like having a personal assistant in your pocket but without the attitude. Thanks to the Symu team for sharing this lovely freebie.

What’s inside?

• 12 Mobile Screens
• 2k+ Components
• 900+ Icons and logos
• Inter Font Family
• Colors & Typography System
• Smart Variants

Meditation Mobile UI Kit

A joyful set of 15 mobile screens will reinforce your creative process when designing meditation apps. Custom-made illustrations, cool gradients, and usable use cases, ready to be customized according to your needs. Huge thanks to Afsar.

What’s inside?

• 15 Beautiful Mobile Screens
• 200+ Components
• Font Used: HelveticaNeue
• Theme: Light & Dark Fully Layered

Huge Collection of Light & Dark Charts

A massive collection of 115 cards of charts wrapped in three themes: monochromatic, light, and dark, so you can tailor to your own needs and adapt to every resolution.

Amazing work by Frank Esteban.

What’s inside?

• 3 Pages (Cover, Design, Component)
• 3 Artboards
• 115 charts
• Font family: Roboto (install this first)
• Auto-layout applied
• Simple to use

Eve UI Kit

Eve, the design system, makes the life of designers easier by providing them with a variety of flexible components that can be used to create visually stunning apps. The best part? It’s not only accessible but also flexible enough to cater to the needs of different products. Amazing work by Tré Wilson!

What’s inside?

• 200+ Components
• Light & Dark Mode Auto Layout
• Grid, spacing scale (8pt scale)
• Typographic scale: Open Sans & Bitte

Melanish – Editorial Web Template

Mo, a skilled designer who deserves your attention, has created a dark minimalist web template that is both simple and creative. The white typography on a black background gives it a sophisticated look, making it a must-have for those who appreciate elegance.

What’s inside?

• 2 Artboards
• 1 Hero Image Rotator
• 1 Full Desktop Layout
• Font family: Nympha Trial (install this first)

Food Delivery App UI Kit

I think everyone loves a clean and simple-to-use interface where the products and information stand out. Here, the entire meal selection and ordering system is as sleek and seamless as can be. Big shoutout to Marvis for crafting a remarkable user experience.

What’s inside?

• 17 Mobile Screens
• 3 Website Layouts
• Font family: Poppins, SF Pro Rounded (install this first)

Amazing 3D Models

If you want to go with the latest trends in 2023 and spice things up, these awesome 3D models by Martina are the perfect choice. You can download and customize them to your own preferences but let us know the output.

What’s inside?

• 13 Mobile Screens
• 24 Shapes
• 22 Custom Compositions
• Fonts used: Roboto
• Video tutorial on How to use

Lo-fi Wireframe Kit

When we present a wireframe in front of the team, we get the big picture, and loads of fresh ideas pop out. A wireframe’s a fantastic place to start, especially if we’re keeping things simple and straightforward. Kudos to Dave Whitley for this impressive work!

What’s inside?

• 100+ Components
• 2 Dashboards
• 288 Icons
• Stickies, annotations, and flow chart lines.
• Fonts used: Chalkboard, Inter, and Redacted Script

Budget Planner Onboarding Screens

If you’re starting out to set a budget and save money, here’s a helpful package I designed for you! It contains 28 screens showing a simple and easy-to-navigate UX registration process. By Premiumuikits.

What’s inside?

• 28 Mobile Screens
• Fonts used: Karla Auto-layout
• Resizing Constraints
• Fully-Layered

Free Dashboard UI Figma

An important factor you need to consider when designing dashboards is to present the data clearly and simply. If you don’t know where to start, you can use this useful freebie. Designed by the talented Bagus Fikri.

What’s inside?

• 3 Figma artboards
• 12+ Components
• 10+ Unique Icons Font used: Gilroy

Clubhouse Cards for Social Media

Craftwork’s team has done an exceptional job in providing an excellent set of clean web and mobile layouts. These can assist you in creating hero sections within a short span of time.

What’s inside?

• 64 Cards
• 4 Categories Font used: Inter
• Resolutions: Mobile & Web

Conclusion

Figma UI kits are an excellent resource for product designers who want to create visually appealing and functional designs. UI kits offer pre-designed elements that save designers time and effort while designing. They also ensure consistency and offer flexibility in terms of customization.

The post 15 Free Figma UI Kit for Product Designers appeared first on Hongkiat.

With so many design tools on the market, it isn’t easy to know which ones to choose. From wireframing and prototyping tools to UI design tools, digital whiteboard tools, and design handoff tools, this article explores five great tools that will help designers create impactful user experiences in 2023.

1. Figma

Launched in 2016, Figma revolutionized the world of design tools by introducing a cloud-based platform for creating outstanding designs. It transformed the traditional, siloed desktop applications that required downloads, installs, and constant updates, to an online tool that saves designs in the cloud and can be shared via links. This has greatly simplified collaboration, prototyping, and developer handoff.

In a 2022 survey by UXness, 68% of respondents chose Figma as their top choice for wireframing and prototyping tools. The popularity and success of Figma caught the attention of Adobe, who acquired Figma in 2022 in their largest acquisition to date.

Figma stands out for the many features that make it an ideal choice for designers:

• Being a cloud-based web application that can run on any operating system with a web browser, it enables seamless teamwork and collaboration across different devices and platforms.
• It simplifies the design process by eliminating the need for multiple tools for wireframing, prototyping, or reviewing. Everything can be done from one place by sharing just a link.
• Iterations are easy and less time-consuming as feedback can be given directly on the Figma file through comments. With one URL acting as the single source of truth, exchanging hundreds of files is unnecessary.

2. Adobe XD

Adobe XD is a powerful user interface and prototyping tool released in 2015 as a response to the growing popularity of Sketch, a UI/UX vector editor. Adobe XD quickly gained acceptance among designers due to its unique features that were either difficult to use or not available in other Adobe applications like Illustrator or Photoshop.

With Adobe XD, designers can easily design and prototype user interfaces for web and mobile applications. They can create wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes of the software, design, and edit graphics, and share their work for collaboration and feedback.

Additionally, Adobe XD has a feature that allows designers to share assets and artboards with other Adobe apps such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects, making it a versatile and convenient tool.

The focus on user experience in Adobe XD has made it a favorite tool among the design community. Some of its unique features include:

• A repeat grid feature that enables designers to quickly replicate items such as a set of buttons, reducing manual effort and saving time.
• The auto-animate feature allows designers to create animations between artboards with just a few clicks, eliminating the need for coding.
• Voice prototyping feature that lets designers create interactions using voice commands, making the design process more intuitive.
• Support for augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) user experiences, allowing designers to create immersive prototypes and test them in a 3D environment.

Overall, Adobe XD is a powerful and versatile tool that has become a favorite among designers; it has many unique features that can make the design process much faster and easier, it also has a lot of possibilities to share and collaborate with other Adobe apps.

3. Sketch

Released in 2010, Sketch quickly established itself as a popular design tool, offering a simpler and more efficient alternative to vector-based tools like Adobe Illustrator. It uses a single-page document model, as opposed to multiple artboards in Illustrator.

Built specifically for macOS, Sketch is renowned for its icon and graphic design capabilities. It has a variety of plugins and integrations that make it compatible with other tools like InVision and Zeplin. Many big companies such as Google, Facebook, IBM, Shopify, Twitter, and Uber use Sketch.

One of the key features of Sketch is its support for creating responsive designs. This allows designers to create layouts that are adaptable to varying screen sizes using Artboards. These design elements can be resized and rearranged, and they will adjust accordingly within the Artboards.

Sketch also offers a variety of other useful features for UI design, such as support for nested symbols, shared styles, and automatic layout alignment.

Here are some of the main features of Sketch:

• A wide range of Sketch plugins can be installed to improve functionality and automate certain tasks. These plugins are regularly released and updated to simplify design processes.
• The Infinite Canvas feature allows designers to create and switch designs between flexible Artboards. Artboard presets help to organize the work with predetermined dimensions.
• Various export options allow UI/UX designers to collaborate with other designers using Sketch Cloud.
• Designers can zoom vector images to the pixel level with Sketch. The designs can then be aligned with Snapping or Smart Guides features. Additionally, the Snapping feature can be used to fix broken pixels.

Sketch is a powerful and efficient tool that offers many features for UI design, is easy to use, and has many possibilities for collaboration and integration with other tools. It’s a great tool for graphic and icon design, and a perfect alternative to Adobe Illustrator.

4. Axure RP

Axure is a widely-used prototyping tool with a large and active user community. First released in 2008, the tool has continuously evolved and is now at version 10. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac.

UX and UI designers use Axure to create wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes for websites and apps and generate documentation for development teams.

Axure is one of the most popular wireframe prototyping tools on the market and has been used for prototyping websites and apps for some of the world’s most recognizable brands, such as Google, Adobe, and Netflix. It offers a “Team” edition allowing centralized libraries, project and team management features, and version control.

Some of the unique features of Axure include:

• Team Collaboration: The collaboration tools such as team project, commenting, and sharing capabilities allow designers and developers to work together on a project in real time.
• Dynamic content and conditional logic: The tool can be used to create dynamic content and use conditional logic to change the functionality of a prototype based on user interactions.
• Widget libraries: There is a wide range of built-in UI widgets, such as buttons, forms, and menus, as well as a library of customizable UI elements that can be used to create wireframes and prototypes.
• Version control: Axure has an internal version control system to keep track of the different versions of the wireframes and prototypes.

In summary, Axure is a feature-rich prototyping tool that offers a lot of possibilities for collaboration and team management; it’s widely used in the market, and it’s compatible with Windows and Mac.

The tool is perfect for creating wireframes, mockups, and interactive prototypes; it also offers many features to generate documentation for development teams.

5. Balsamiq

Balsamiq is a wireframing tool created as a personal project by Peldi Guilizzoni to create mockups easily and quickly for his work. The tool’s name, Balsamiq, is derived from the Italian word “balsamico”, which means “remedy” in English, aligning with the tool’s goal.

Balsamiq’s unique interface mimics the look and feel of hand-drawn sketches, setting it apart from other wireframing tools and making it easy to convey ideas casually. It has a very active user community and a user-friendly forum to share ideas and ask for community support.

The simplicity of the tool’s interface has received many positive reviews, especially from beginner designers. The UI design tool emphasizes rapid wireframing and has some useful features such as:

• Low-fidelity wireframes: The design elements of Balsamiq are intentionally basic and sketch-like, encouraging designers to focus on the structure and layout of interfaces rather than getting caught up in details.
• Drag-and-drop interface: Balsamiq uses a simple drag-and-drop interface to create wireframes quickly.
• Library of pre-built UI elements: Balsamiq has a library of pre-built interface elements, such as buttons, text boxes, and form fields, which can be added to wireframes with a single click.
• Sketching feature: The sketching feature of the tool can be used to draw UI elements freehand on the canvas, giving more customization to the wireframe.

In summary, Balsamiq is a wireframe tool that was created as a personal project; its unique interface mimics the look and feel of hand-drawn sketches, making it easy to convey ideas.

It’s simple and user-friendly, perfect for beginner designers, and has many useful features such as low-fidelity wireframes, drag-and-drop interface, pre-built UI elements, and sketching features.

Bottom line

In 2022, the design industry saw many tools and technologies that aimed to make design more seamless and efficient. Among them, Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, Axure RP, and Balsamiq stood out as the most popular and widely used tools among designers.

However, as the industry continues to evolve, new tools and technologies will emerge.

The tools discussed here constantly evolve to meet users’ needs. Therefore, choosing the right one depends on:

• The design that needs to be achieved
• The usefulness of the tool
• The ease of sharing the design with team members
• The seamless integration of the tool with existing devices

In other words, the choice of design tool should be based on the specific design needs, the features and capabilities of the tool, the ease of collaboration and sharing, and the compatibility with other tools or devices.

The post 5 UI and UX Design Tools for Designers appeared first on Hongkiat.

Moreover, from Photoshop and Sketch to Figma and AdobeXD, these UI templates are compatible with different platforms and you can know about each resource’s compatibility information right in the list.

So, take a look at the following and see which one works for your next project.

1. Chat Application

• Created by: Rushit Dhameliya
• Compatible with: Figma

2. Clean and Modern iOS UI Kit

• Created by: Sandeep Kasundra
• Compatible with: Photoshop

3. Coffee Now App UI Kit

• Created by: Designer Gabut
• Compatible with: Figma

4. Concise Dashboard UI Kit

• Created by: ui8.net
• Compatible with: Figma

5. Content Marketing Landing Page

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD

6. Core Design System

• Created by: Ryan Sael
• Compatible with: Figma

7. CryptoPouch UI Kit

• Created by: DesignerYogi
• Compatible with: Figma

8. Daily UI 024 Boarding Pass

• Created by: Olga Chernenka
• Compatible with: Sketch

9. Dashboards UI Kit

• Created by: Craftwork Studio
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma

10. Dream Travel Agency Landing Page

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

11. E-Learning App Template UI Kit

• Created by: Mikołaj Gałęziowski
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

12. e-Scooter Mobile App

• Created by: Flexin Studio
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

13. Employee Engagement Presentation Kit

• Created by: Dilan Gunasekara
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

14. EXO KIT Design System

• Created by: Anthony Choren
• Compatible with: Figma

15. Financial Management Web App Design

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma

16. Fincher NFT Market App UI Kit

• Created by: Arino Labs
• Compatible with: Figma

17. Food Dash delivery UI Kit

• Created by: Creativetagx
• Compatible with: Figma

18. Free Landing UI Kit

• Created by: Mahir Abrar Akash
• Compatible with: Photoshop

19. Free NFTs UI Kit

• Created by: Open Art
• Compatible with: Figma

20. Freebie Music Player App

• Created by: Diana Shurman
• Compatible with: Figma

21. Grover Grocery Food Delivery Website

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

22. Harmony UI Kit

• Created by: Dawid Młynarz
• Compatible with: Sketch

23. Healthcare app

• Created by: Digit X
• Compatible with: Photoshop

24. HR Management Dashboard UI Kit

• Created by: designresources
• Compatible with: Figma

25. Infinity UI Design

• Created by: Rushit Dhameliya
• Compatible with: Figma

26. iOS 16 Free UI Kit for Figma

• Created by: Joey Banks
• Compatible with: Figma

27. JobGo Job Finder App UI Kit

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD

28. Kabar News app UI Kit

• Created by: Hujan
• Compatible with: Figma

29. Kleine E-Commerce UI Kit

• Created by: Oğuz bülbül
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

30. Laza eCommerce UI Kit

• Created by: unimrhraju
• Compatible with: Figma

31. low fidelity wireframe kit

• Created by: bloo
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma, Adobe XD

32. Marvie

• Created by: Toma Li
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma

33. Minimal UI Kit

• Created by: Anton Chandra
• Compatible with: Sketch

34. Mobile material screens

• Created by: EpicCoders
• Compatible with: Photoshop

35. Mobile Wireframe Kit

• Created by: ui8.net
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma

36. MODE Design System

• Created by: Dee Aero
• Compatible with: Figma

37. Modular UI Dashboard

• Created by: klwebmedia
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD, Photoshop

38. Moneyester

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

39. Myvent Event Booking App UI Kit

• Created by: ghozistudios
• Compatible with: Figma

40. Netbook Social Networking Landing Page

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

41. Notepad app UI Kit

• Created by: GFX_Supreme
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

42. Pet App UI Kit

• Created by: Aduy Design
• Compatible with: Figma

43. Pharmagy Medical App demo

• Created by: Adam Sokołowski
• Compatible with: Sketch

44. Pisix Corporate Business Website

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

45. Planguru

• Created by: Patryk Pustol
• Compatible with: Sketch

46. Plexus

• Created by: Dilan Gunasekara
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

47. Podcast App free UI Kit

• Created by: Dilan Gunasekara
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

48. Real Estate Landing Page

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD

49. Shiba Onboarding UI

• Created by: Sepide Moqadasi
• Compatible with: Piqo Design

50. Skylarshion Fashion UI Kit

• Created by: Medley Design Library
• Compatible with: Figma

51. Smart Banking Landing Page

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD

52. Sneat Sketch Admin Dashboard

• Created by: Anand Patel
• Compatible with: Sketch

53. Spool

• Created by: Sergey Melnik
• Compatible with: Photoshop

54. Table UI Kit Design

• Created by: webui
• Compatible with: Figma

55. This Find Your Creative

• Created by: Lorenzo
• Compatible with: Sketch

56. TimePad Time Tracker

• Created by: Rizki Mulyawan
• Compatible with: Figma

57. Tracker Task Management App

• Created by: uihut
• Compatible with: Figma, Adobe XD

58. Trackizer

• Created by: symu.co
• Compatible with: Photoshop

59. Travel UI Kit

• Created by: Ruby Bacanovic
• Compatible with: Sketch

60. Trity Free Design System

• Created by: Quickway Agency
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma

61. UI Kit for Website

• Created by: Rudy
• Compatible with: Photoshop

62. Unit

• Created by: Max Schneider
• Compatible with: Sketch

63. Wallet Minimal Dashboard

• Created by: Digit X
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

64. Yolk

• Created by: Antoni Sinote Botev
• Compatible with: Sketch, Figma

65. 11thagency

• Created by: Shakil Ali
• Compatible with: Photoshop

66. A1 Free UI Kit

• Created by: Vahan Hovhannesian
• Compatible with: Photoshop

67. Analytics Dashboard UI Kit

• Created by: Balkan Brothers
• Compatible with: Photoshop

68. Avital Mobile UI Kit

• Created by: Pixelbuddha
• Compatible with: Photoshop, Sketch

69. Awesomeness UI Widgets

• Created by: Luis M Ruiz
• Compatible with: Photoshop

70. Barmanly App UI Kit

• Created by: Randy Betancourt
• Compatible with: Photoshop

71. Bergen

• Created by: Lisa Smith
• Compatible with: Photoshop

72. Blog and Magazine Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Blog Magazine
• Compatible with: Photoshop

73. Blog and Magazine UI Kit 2

• Created by: Graphic Burger
• Compatible with: Photoshop

74. Blog UI Kit

• Created by: Thomas Budiman
• Compatible with: Sketch

75. Bootflat

• Created by: Bootflat
• Compatible with: Photoshop

76. Chat

• Created by: Invision
• Compatible with: Sketch, Photoshop

77. Colored UI Kit In Flat Design

• Created by: Lovi Joshi
• Compatible with: Photoshop

78. Creastore UI Kit

• Created by: Andrey Antar
• Compatible with: Sketch

79. Daily UI 1

• Created by: symu.co
• Compatible with: Photoshop

80. Daily UI 2

• Created by: symu.co
• Compatible with: Photoshop

81. DO UI Kit

• Created by: Aaron Stump
• Compatible with: Photoshop, Sketch

82. DoEpicShit UI Kit

• Created by: Riyadh Gordon
• Compatible with: Photoshop

83. E-commerce UI Kit

• Created by: Ritesh Malviya
• Compatible with: Photoshop

84. E-commerce UI Kit

• Created by: Ena Bacanovic
• Compatible with: Sketch

85. Ecommerce Kit

• Created by: Thomas Budiman
• Compatible with: Photoshop

86. Epic UI Kit

• Created by: Epic Coders
• Compatible with: XML

87. EventPro UI Kit

• Created by: Stanislav Hristov & Dtail Studio
• Compatible with: Photoshop

88. Fade App UI

• Created by: David Perger
• Compatible with: Photoshop

89. Flat Design UI Components

• Created by: Raul Taciu
• Compatible with: Photoshop

90. Flat Lay

• Created by: Marina Dmitruk
• Compatible with: Photoshop

91. Flat Mobile App UI

• Created by: Ayoub Bendali
• Compatible with: Photoshop

92. Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Marcel Akiyama
• Compatible with: Photoshop

93. Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Riki Tanone
• Compatible with: Photoshop

94. Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Tyler Fry
• Compatible with: CSS

95. Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Zach VanDeHey
• Compatible with: Illustrator

96. Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Devin Schulz
• Compatible with: Photoshop

97. Flat UI Kit 2

• Created by: Riki Tanone
• Compatible with: Photoshop

98. Flat Winter UI Kit

• Created by: Zach VanDeHey
• Compatible with: SVG

99. flatlyfe UI Kit

• Created by: Dylan Opet
• Compatible with: Photoshop

100. Flowcharts

• Created by: ls.graphics
• Compatible with: Photoshop, Sketch

101. Food and Drink UI Kit

• Created by: Sergiu Firez
• Compatible with: Photoshop, Sketch

102. Foodie UI Kit

• Created by: Hannah Milan
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

103. Fossa Ecommerce UI Kit

• Created by: DesignModo
• Compatible with: Photoshop

104. Free Awesome Flat UI Kit

• Created by: Ionut Bondoc
• Compatible with: Photoshop

105. Free Color UI Kit

• Created by: Cüneyt ŞEN
• Compatible with: Photoshop

106. Free Material Design UI Kit

• Created by: Sergiu Firez
• Compatible with: Photoshop, Sketch

107. Free Mountaineer UI Kit

• Created by: Jiri Barta
• Compatible with: Photoshop

108. Free PSD

• Created by: David Minty
• Compatible with: Photoshop

109. Free Quadruple Ferial UI

• Created by: Osetrov Artem
• Compatible with: Photoshop

110. Free UI Kit

• Created by: Tomasz Mazurczak
• Compatible with: Photoshop

111. Freeland UI Kit

• Created by: symu.co
• Compatible with: Photoshop

112. Hooked

• Created by: xdguru
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

113. Inspirational UI Elements

• Created by: Pixelbuddha
• Compatible with: Photoshop

114. iOS Music App

• Created by: Vikes Kolomiets
• Compatible with: Sketch

115. iPhone 6 UI

• Created by: Adrian Chiran
• Compatible with: Photoshop

116. Kauf

• Created by: Andrea Censi
• Compatible with: Sketch, Photoshop

117. Kauf UI Web Kit

• Created by: Yebo creative
• Compatible with: Photoshop

118. Magic Stone UI Kit

• Created by: uichest.com
• Compatible with: Photoshop

119. Marvel Banking UI Kit

• Created by: Murat Mutlu
• Compatible with: Sketch

120. Mayssam

• Created by: Steven Han
• Compatible with: Photoshop

121. Mega UI Style Pack

• Created by: Stefan Kuhl
• Compatible with: Photoshop

122. Minimal Chic

• Created by: Brigitte Bu
• Compatible with: Adobe XD

123. Minimal UI Kit

• Created by: Vincent Tantardini
• Compatible with: Photoshop

124. Monet

• Created by: Kina Bayra
• Compatible with: Photoshop

125. Move

• Created by: Vova Kurbatov
• Compatible with: Sketch

126. Multicolor UI Kit

• Created by: Maksat Amirzhanuly
• Compatible with: Photoshop

127. Nakropol Free UI Kit

• Created by: Orkan Çep
• Compatible with: Photoshop

128. Notos UI Kit for Apple Watch

• Created by: symu.co
• Compatible with: Photoshop

129. Number One UI Kit

• Created by: PixelBuddha
• Compatible with: Photoshop

130. Personal Dashboard UI Kit

• Created by: Dennis Terrey
• Compatible with: Photoshop

131. Pillow UI

• Created by: MediaLoot
• Compatible with: Photoshop

132. Pin UI Kit

• Created by: Oleg Alexandrov
• Compatible with: Sketch, Photoshop

133. Prometheus

• Created by: Vid Kraljic Radulovic
• Compatible with: Photoshop

134. Recipe UI Kit

• Created by: Thomas Budiman
• Compatible with: Sketch

135. Relate UI Kit

• Created by: Invision
• Compatible with: Sketch, Photoshop

136. Shapes Mobile UI Kit

• Created by: Gavin M
• Compatible with: Photoshop

137. Smart Home UI Kit

• Created by: angelbi88
• Compatible with: Sketch

138. Smooth UI Kit

• Created by: FraserJilani
• Compatible with: Photoshop

139. Snap

• Created by: Enzo Li Volti
• Compatible with: Sketch

140. Social Leads

• Created by: Drew Andersen
• Compatible with: Sketch

141. Spire UI Kit

• Created by: Matthew Skiles
• Compatible with: Photoshop

142. Stark UI Kit

• Created by: Baianat
• Compatible with: Photoshop

143. Surfing Theme

• Created by: Robert Mayer
• Compatible with: Photoshop

144. Take UI Kit

• Created by: Blaz Robar
• Compatible with: Photoshop

145. Taxi App UI

• Created by: Oleksii Chernikov
• Compatible with: Sketch

146. Trend

• Created by: Oleg Bolshakov
• Compatible with: Photoshop

147. UI for Mobile Menu

• Created by: Emiliano Cicero
• Compatible with: Photoshop

148. UI Kit for sketch 3

• Created by: Kristaps Elsins
• Compatible with: Sketch

149. UI Kit Free Psd

• Created by: Muhammad Afzal
• Compatible with: Photoshop

150. Ultralight UI Kit

• Created by: Will Barron
• Compatible with: Photoshop

151. Winter UI Kit

• Created by: Steven Han
• Compatible with: Photoshop

The post 150+ Free UI Kits For Designers (Updated) appeared first on Hongkiat.

In that sense, designing an animated bar chart race can be one of your best assets when presenting numbers. They are captivating and present statitical information in an interesting way.

Here are some solutions that you can use to create a bar chart race with or without pre-knowledge of coding.

1. FabDev

FabDev is a bar chart race generator that is pretty straightforward. All you need to do is upload a CSV file with all of the information you need, add the duration in seconds and the number of bars you would like to display. Once done, simply click on the “Generate Bar Chart Race” button and you’ll immediately see a preview.

The only downside is that FabDev is a very simple GitHub code without much support and there is no customization in terms of font, labels, colors, images. Also, you will have to record your screen to make a GIF or movie file out of it while it’s playing.

But if you have some programming know-how, you can download the code for free and improve upon it. So, if you are a learner who loves to tinker around code, this is the best one for you. Since the possibilities are endless, you can fully customize it.

However, if you’re a casual user, check out the other options below that might suit your needs better.

2. Flourish.studio

Flourish.studio is an entire suite of visualization tools, and of course it also has bar chart race and column chart race templates that you can fully customize.

You can do a lot of stuff even on the free version, except perhaps to publish it as an HTML file. But that said, if you just want to embed it to your website, then that is entirely possible. Just click on Export & Publish and copy the embed code provided.

In fact, as I mentioned above, aside from having a bar chart race, you can also try making a column chart race. The only difference is that instead of the chart moving from left to right, the chart will move vertically.

3. Zoho Sheets

Zoho Sheets is pretty much like Google Sheets, but with extra features that you can’t find on free solutions. One of which is adding animated race charts for easy data visualization.

It’s pretty much simple to use if you are familiar with spreadsheets like Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. It is also very flexible when it comes to customizing how it looks, how it acts, and the like. The best part is it’s free, and you can publish and share it as an embed in any website.

Zoho is quite feature-rich when it comes to spreadsheets and charts, even moore than Google Sheets ven though the later is more popular.

4. LivingCharts

LivingCharts’ bar race chart generator is pretty straightforward. You import your data file, customize the looks, check the preview if everything looks right, and then simply export it as an MP4 or as an embedded code that you can place right on your website. 

The free tier only allows for a demo so you won’t be able to export it, but you can explore around and see if the tool’s customization lives up to your standards. For the free plan, you can only store up to 5 projects, and the projects and data are available to the public.

But for the Pro plan, which costs $19 per month, you can pretty much do everything you need, and you can keep your data and charts privately, plus you can create up to 25 charts.

5. Power BI visuals

Animated Bar Chart Race made by Wishyoulization is specific only to Windows users, and another restriction is you can only use it if you have either a school or work email, meaning if you have a generic Yahoo or Gmail addresses, then you won’t have access to it.

On the plus side, it’s free and very easy to use. If you are familiar with Microsoft Power BI, a visualization tool made by Microsoft, then you won’t have a problem working with this extension.

Both Power BI and this extension are free, and there is a guide that you can check out too to learn how to make things work. Changing colors, adding labels, graphics, animation,and the like are supported.

To End

But when should you opt for a bar chart race? Generally, this chart is used to visually emphasize the changes over time. For example, since the start of the pandemic up to the present date, which countries moved up to the top 10 – the chart will visually display the movement of numbers over time, in an animated way.

However, if you are dealing with data that have fixed scales, or you really don’t need to emphasize how the numbers moved overtime, you should opt out of bar chart races.

The post 5 Tools to Create Bar Chart Race Without Coding appeared first on Hongkiat.

I will show you here that building charts is not very tough and with the right tools, you can start creating interactive, interesting visualizations in little time and effort!

In this step-by-step tutorial, I will demonstrate how to represent GDP values of various countries for the past 15 years on a beautiful interactive 3D surface chart using a JavaScript library for data visualization.

The surface plot looks quite complex, but I will show you how straightforward it is to make a compelling and fully functional one.

What’s a 3D Surface Chart?

A 3D surface chart plots three dimensions of data on the x, y, and z axes with two of the variables being independent (displayed along the horizontal axes) and one being dependent on the other two (shown on the vertical axis).

In this tutorial, I will be plotting countries and years as the independent variables and GDP values as the dependent variable.

JavaScript Charting Libraries

Currently, there are a lot of good JS charting libraries, all of them having some pros and cons. You can choose which one to use based on your specific requirements and the best part is that the process of building visualizations is very similar for all of the libraries. So, you can start learning with any of the libraries and extend your knowledge to another library as well.

For this tutorial, I am going to use the AnyChart JavaScript charting library which is likely a good choice for beginners. It has tons of examples along with extensive documentation that is really useful when starting out.

Also, AnyChart is quite easy to use and flexible with loads of customization options. And what’s especially important to many – it is free for personal, educational, and other non-commercial use.

Building Basic 3D Surface Plot Using a JS Library

It is an advantage, of course, if you have background knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. But don’t get overwhelmed even if you are a complete beginner. I will walk you through each line of the code, and once you understand what is happening, it should get easier to grasp.

There are four general steps to create a 3D surface plot or basically any chart with a JS library, and as mentioned earlier, these steps remain alike irrespective of the library you use.

• Create an HTML page to display your chart.
• Include the required JavaScript files.
• Prepare and connect your data.
• Write the JS code for the chart.

Step 1 – Create a basic HTML page

The initial step is to have a blank HTML page that will hold the chart. I will add a block element with a unique id to the page. I will use the id to reference the <div> later.

I will now specify the height and width of the <div> as 100% for both in the <style> block of the page. This will render the chart on the full page. You can specify the height and width according to your preference.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
	<head>
		<meta charset="utf-8">
		<title>JavaScript Surface Chart</title>
		<style type="text/css">   
			html, body, #container {
			width: 100%;
			height: 100%;
			margin: 0;
			padding: 0;
			}
		</style>
	</head>
	
	<body>
		<div id="container"></div>
	</body>
</html>

(GitHub code link)

Step 2 – Add the necessary scripts

When you are using a JavaScript library, you need to add the scripts specific to the chart that you are building and the library that you are using.

Here, I am using AnyChart so I need to add the corresponding scripts for the surface plot from its CDN (Content Delivery Network) which is basically where all the scripts can be found.

So, I will include AnyChart’s Core and Surface modules for this chart.

Just to remind you, include all these script files in the <head> section of your HTML page.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
	<head>
	<meta charset="utf-8">
	<title>JavaScript Surface Chart</title>
	<script src="https://cdn.anychart.com/releases/8.10.0/js/anychart-core.min.js"></script>
	<script src="https://cdn.anychart.com/releases/8.10.0/js/anychart-surface.min.js"></script>
	<script src="https://cdn.anychart.com/releases/8.10.0/js/anychart-data-adapter.min.js"></script>

	<style type="text/css">   
		html, body, #container {
		width: 100%; height: 100%; margin: 0; padding: 0;
	}
	</style>
	</head>
	
	<body> 
		<div id="container"></div>
		<script>
			// All the code for the JS Surface Chart will come here
		</script>
	</body>
</html>

(GitHub code link)

Step 3 – Include the data

The data I decided to visualize in a 3D surface plot comes from the World Bank Open Data website that gives me the GDP (PPP based) data for all the countries in a CSV file.

It is easier to create a chart if the data is in the format that the chart expects and how you want to show the data. So I pre-processed the data accordingly. You can go through my JSON data file here.

To load the data from the JSON file, I will add the Data Adapter module of AnyChart and use the loadJsonFile method inside the <script> tag in the body of the HTML page.

The three preparatory steps are done so get ready to write some code!

Step 4 – Write the code to draw the chart

The first thing I will do is ensure that all the code is executed only after the page is fully loaded. To do that, I will enclose the entire code within the anychart.onDocumentReady() function.

Then, I will work with the data that is loaded from the JSON file. Even though I have already pre-processed the data, I will need to further process it for plotting the 3D surface chart. Basically, I will create an array that holds the y and z axes data according to the sequence of the x axis data.

anychart.onDocumentReady(function () {
	anychart.data.loadJsonFile( 'https://gist.githubusercontent.com/shacheeswadia/b0d6b34a1910359e0e1a8fc0c84019a6/raw/4ab92ca6361f1bc9875d2854e2e1271bc991f86b/surfaceAreaData.json',
	function (data) {
		// processing of the data
		var result = [];
		for (var x = 0; x < data.x.length; x++) {
			for (var y = 0; y < data.y.length; y++) {
				result.push([x, data.y.sort()[y], data.z[x][y]]);
				}
			}
		}
	);
});

(GitHub code link)

Now, I will create the surface chart and set the markers based on the data array just created.

Next, I will need to set the x axis labels from the loaded data because the array that I created contains only a sequence and not the country names. I will also specify the maximum for the x scale.

// create surface chart
var chart = anychart.surface();

// enable markers and set data for them
chart.markers().enabled(true).data(result);

// set x axis labels format
chart
.xAxis()
.labels()
.format(function () {
	return data.x[Math.round(this.value)];
});.

// set x axis scale maximum
chart.xScale().maximum(data.x.length - 1);

(GitHub code link)

I will now give my chart a title and a bit of padding on all the sides. Lastly, I will reference the <div> created in step one and draw the chart.

// set chart paddings
chart.padding(25, 50, 75, 50);

// set chart title
chart.title('GDP per capita (PPP) in 2006-2020, in USD');

// set container id for the chart
chart.container('container');

// initiate chart drawing
chart.draw();

(GitHub code link)

Voila! A basic functional 3D surface plot is ready!

You can have a look at this basic version of a JavaScript 3D surface plot on CodePen or check out the code right here.

Customizing the JS Surface Chart

One of the best parts of using any JS charting library is that you need to write a very minimal amount of code to get a working version of the chart implemented. Moreover, most of the libraries provide options to customize the chart to make it more personalized and informative.

Let me show you how to enhance the JS 3D surface chart to make it more intuitive and aesthetically better:

Step 1 – Improve the look and feel of all the axes

It might seem like small changes, but this is what I am going to do first. Modifying the look and feel of the axes makes the chart look distinctly better and easier to read.

Modify the basic settings of the axes

To emphasize the 3D effect of the surface plot, I will rotate the y and z axes 15 and 45 degrees respectively. This can be done very simply using the inbuilt rotation function.

I will now set the maximum and minimum of the y axis as the start and end year to make the plotting look sharper.

// set y and z axes rotation
chart.rotationY(15);
chart.rotationZ(45);

// set y scale minimum/maximum
chart.yScale().minimum(2006);
chart.yScale().maximum(2020);

(GitHub code link)

I will now enable minor ticks for x and y axes to showcase more ticks and consequently more labels. For uniformity in the ticks, I will set the interval to a fixed value for y and z axes.

// enable x and y axes minor ticks
chart.xAxis().minorTicks().enabled(true);
chart.xAxis().minorLabels().enabled(true);
chart.yAxis().minorTicks().enabled(true);
chart.yAxis().minorLabels().enabled(true);

// set scales ticks intervals
chart.yScale().ticks().interval(8);
chart.zScale().ticks().interval(40000);

(GitHub code link)

Modify the labels of the axes

To avoid overlap with the x axis label, I will hide the last label in the y axis.

Next, I will reduce the font size of the labels and minor labels (labels of the minor ticks) of all the axes.

// hide the last label in y axis
chart.yAxis().drawLastLabel(false);

// set x, y and z axes labels font size
chart.xAxis().labels().fontSize(10);
chart.xAxis().minorLabels().fontSize(10);
chart.yAxis().labels().fontSize(10);
chart.yAxis().minorLabels().fontSize(10);
chart.zAxis().labels().fontSize(10);

(GitHub code link)

Finally, in the label modification, I will rotate the x axis labels and minor labels to 90 degrees for a cleaner look.

I will also need to set the x axis minor labels with the loaded data similar to what I did earlier for the x axis normal labels.

// set x axis labels rotation
chart.xAxis().labels().rotation(90);
chart.xAxis().minorLabels().rotation(90);
chart
.xAxis()
.minorLabels()
.format(function () {
	return data.x[Math.round(this.value)];
});

(GitHub code link)

Modify the stroke of the axes

By default, the surface chart uses three different colors to denote the 3 different axes. But I don’t need that for my representation so I will change the stroke of all the axes along with the ticks to a light gray color.

// set x, y and z axes stroke settings
chart.xAxis().stroke(null);
chart.xAxis().ticks().stroke("1 lightgray"); 
chart.xAxis().minorTicks().stroke("1 lightgray"); 
chart.yAxis().stroke(null);
chart.yAxis().ticks().stroke("1 lightgray"); 
chart.yAxis().minorTicks().stroke("1 lightgray");
chart.zAxis().stroke(null);
chart.zAxis().ticks().stroke("1 lightgray"); 
chart.zAxis().minorTicks().stroke("1 lightgray");

(GitHub code link)

Check out here how this version with all the beautification of the axes looks like, and you can play around with it on CodePen.

Step 2 – Add a color palette

A sure shot way of elevating your chart’s appeal is to add a color palette based on the data you are showcasing. It is quite a straightforward process where I will first create a linear color scale with the colors that I want and then set that color scale for the chart.

Along with adding the colors, I will also add a legend that will show what color indicates what value range, and this can be done in just one line of code.

// Create color scale
var customColorScale = anychart.scales.linearColor();
customColorScale.colors([
	'#ffdd0e',
	'#BCA600',
	'#76A100',
	'#1b8366',
	'#007561'
]);

// Set color scale
chart.colorScale(customColorScale);

// enable and configure color range
chart.colorRange().enabled(true).orientation('right');

(GitHub code link)

Step 3 – Enhance the tooltip

When you are showcasing more data, it is always a good idea to have a useful tooltip. The default tooltip is not really informative so I will customize it to display the values of all the three parameters of each plotted point – country, year, and GDP figure.

// tooltip settings
chart
.tooltip()
.useHtml(true)
.titleFormat(function () {
	return data.x[this.x];
})
.format(function () {
	return "Year: " + this.y + "<br>" + "GDP:$ " + this.z.toFixed(2);
 });

(GitHub code link)

Don’t you think that this simple tooltip adds so much more value to the chart? See how cool and customized the JavaScript-based 3D surface chart looks now and you can find the entire code on CodePen.

Conclusion

Isn’t it amazing how such an exciting and complicated-looking 3D surface plot can be built quite easily? With JavaScript libraries, you can quickly create a simple, operative chart and then add as many features as you want to tweak your visualization.

There are a lot of different types of data visualization available in the various JS charting libraries and you can look into the chart type options available in AnyChart, for example.

Please ask any questions, give suggestions, or simply say hello. The sky is the limit for improving every country’s GDP as well as creating great visualizations so start making some interesting and enlightening charts with this newly learned skillset!

The post Easy Steps to Make a JavaScript Surface Chart appeared first on Hongkiat.

Today, I have chosen to shed some light on UI/UX industries. Organizations are investing millions to come up with stellar UI/UX. UXDesignInstitute.com cites a report on UK’s technology skills landscape, produced by Hired.com, which shows a 289% rise in requests for UX interviews.

Fortunately, you don’t need to throw hundreds and thousands of bucks to learn about this domain. In fact, there are many remote learning options you can adapt and turn into a UI/UX maestro without stepping a foot outside!

Don’t believe this? This post will tell you how to become a self-taught UI/UX designer:

#1: Learn the UI/UX fundamentals

The user experience on a website is one of the most critical parts of a successful web design. According to Amazon Web Services, UX stats reveal that 88% of online shoppers do not return to a website after having a bad user experience. This means that before you leap into the landscape, you should understand the main principles of UI/UX designs.

It focuses on creating a delightful experience by meeting users’ needs, studying them through user psychology. Understanding why users perform some actions and compelling them to continue navigating the site is key to creating a reliable digital product.

Luckily, there are plenty of affordable UI/UX tutorials and resources within our reach nowadays. Once you have decided to kickstart this journey on your own, look up the education tracks offered at the special degree programs, courses, certifications, and boot camps.

Generally, you can find an overview of topics and course requirements for programs at Georgia Tech, Stanford, and other such names. Type the course name and look at what students will be learning in those courses. Sometimes, the classes are even offered free if you want to follow a structured learning platform.

You can go the extra mile and ask the professionals about their favorite books and resources. Take a look at profiles on LinkedIn that are atop of the charts of UI/UX design, ask them to enlist their favorite titles to help you out.

#2: Seek learning experiences

This is your journey. You have to watch out for everything that helps enhance your learning in this field. A little experience and challenge can make oodles of difference in your overall perspective.

For example, check out the samples on CodePen to create a cool impact of your own.

At the same time, keep looking for tutorials to improve your learning. Build a portfolio and keep creating designs to add to it. When you have more things to show, your chances of getting better opportunities will also grow.

Here is a list of recommendations we give to every aspiring UI/UX designer:

• Subscribe to DailyUI.co. They send small interface challenges every day that helps build your skills.
• Keep an eye on NGOs and volunteer organizations looking to showcase their work online and increase their reach.
• Always ensure you have a project on the side. A side project forces you to think, innovate, and create.
• Share your projects on Dribbble, and/or Behance. Reddit, too has an active community that is all set to give its feedback when needed.

#3: Invest in the best design tools

It is essential to invest in remarkable tools that bring your designs to life. You can begin by applying your knowledge via those tools to develop an impactful UX for the users.

There are many great tools available in the market. We suggest our readers try out a few industry hotshots, such as Sketch, Adobe XD, and Figma.

This is a quick rundown of the features each software brings to the table:

• Sketch – Sketch is the digital design app for macOS. Designers who use Sketch prefer it for its plugin capabilities and intuitive interface.
• Adobe XD – Adobe XD was designed with users in mind. It is completely free and enables you to develop designs and prototypes.
• Figma – Figma is a collaborative design tool used for digital projects. It is the latest UI/UX software globally and turned into the top choice for designers.

More and more tools in the area of UI/UX sprout every day. Each tool comes with its own pros and cons. It is always good to learn a couple of these tools and collaborate to create flawless designs.

#4: Start creating a portfolio

Reading books and watching tutorials is good for nothing if you are not practicing. If you want to become proficient in UI/UX, you must design digital products and start collecting a solid work profile.

You can download free UI kits to help you get started. A UI kit is a set of pre-designed components that contain essential visual elements for any UI design. It provides all details about fonts, icons, menus, buttons, etc.

Use these kits to design your app or website. You can start by doing redesigns of existing ideas. Pick your favorite websites and delve into the ways to make them more powerful. You can also learn how to create a mockup for your design and post it online to get more exposure.

Make sure that your web design is optimized for mobile phones. Failing to prioritize mobile optimization can lead your designs down the drain. According to Think with Google, 50% fewer users will prefer a website if it isn’t mobile-friendly.

At the same time, it is also essential to keep the price factor in mind. Learn how much it costs to design a mobile app or a website to ensure you can control the budget.

If you need help managing the projects, Bonsai is the place to be. It helps build a portfolio and explore how you can recreate the current designs with better functionality.

#5: Network with the pros

As you are learning what to do, how do you get the right people around you? It is crucial to know professionals in the same field as this is your gateway to abundant opportunities. You can Google local or virtual events coming up and participate in them.

Aspiring self-learners have made the most out of such activities. They participate in mock interviews and ask for feedback on their portfolio.

It may be awkward in the beginning. But it gets easier with time. You get more confident, and you are grateful for the relationships you build along the way.

Verdict – Become the complete package

UI/UX designers should always stay in the learning loop. There is a broad range of ways to delight your users. Hence, it would help if you kept learning what could bring users on edge and compel them to convert.

Participate in workshops and study literature. Look at how brilliant minds are creating strides in this field. Having the right gear and knowledge will help you excel in your field and strike the best deals.

I hope this blog has given you the perspective needed to begin the journey of self-learning.

The post 5 Ways to Become a Self-Taught UI/UX Designer appeared first on Hongkiat.

Smoothly functioning navigation is also good for SEO.

In short, when designing site navigation elements, visitors’ wellbeing should be the top priority.

In this article, we will explore in some detail five best practices to keep in mind when designing website navigation elements. BeTheme examples have been included so you can get a clear picture of what these best practices involved.

How to design great website navigation — with examples

It is easy to take website navigation functionality for granted. Home, About, Products, etc., appear at the top of the page, each with an appropriate link that will take you to where you expect to be going.

It couldn’t be simpler, and that’s the way we want it, but it has to be designed with care. The last thing you want a visitor to see is "Page Not Found", or something similar.

Here then, are five tips that you should know and heed.

Tip #1: Make the logo prominent

The logo serves as a company’s digital face. It can be seen as a welcome, and it plays a key role in building brand recognition and establishing trust and loyalty.

The logo can represent the company on a variety of different platforms — social media and email signatures to name a couple.

Consequently, it needs to be properly placed in the website’s header.

1. Link: The logo needs to be linked to the home page.It should generally be placed in the top left corner since that is where people tend to look for it, according to a study conducted by NNG.
2. Placement: Placing the logo in the center can be an acceptable alternative, in which the Home link is placed to the far left. The BeBaker 3 pre-built site illustrates an example of this.



3. Size: The logo should be large enough for the details to be easily seen or read. 250 x 100 pixels and 160 x 160 pixels are ideal sizes for rectangular and square logos, respectively. Check to make sure the navigation links in the header are not crowded.

As an example, the BeDentist 4 logo is 166 x 60 pixels, it is to the far left, and there is plenty of room for the navigation links.

Placing and sizing the logo can be an exercise in balance. If the logo is large, the font size of the navigation links may need to be increased so they do not become “lost in space,” while at the same time they should not appear to be crowded.

Tip #2: Use a sticky header

This can apply to any website featuring a great deal of content. To avoid visitors having to read the content like they were reading it from a book, the content should be broken up into manageable sections separated by a judicious use of white space.

A sticky header can make it easy for a reader to scroll back to the top of the page.

Using a sticky header can be even more important when content is being viewed on a smartphone.

BePizza5 provides an excellent example of how to effectively employ a sticky header.

As the visitor scrolls down the page the distinctive navigation bar shrinks up; yet it remains legible and usable.

An alternate approach, as illustrated in the Cottage 2 pre-built site, uses a sticky left-aligned navigation.

The logo is still nicely placed and doesn’t interfere with the content, as are the navigation links, which remain visible.

Tip #3: Highlight the page being visited

When you are navigating a website, or most anything else, it is helpful to know where you are. The content of the page being visited would normally give a clear indication, but that may not always be the case.

A visible navigation marker could provide a reference point that would help visitors find out where they are and help them get to where they want to go next, like a map in a shopping mall that tells you that “You Are Here.“

There are a number of ways to highlight “You Are Here” in a website. BeTheme gives you a variety of approaches to work with. One such approach is to change the text color for the page currently being visited as in the Be Ebook 3 navigation example.

Or you could elect to place a colored line beneath the current page.

For some audiences, a bolder method of highlighting the current page would be appropriate; like the method shown in the Nursing Home pre-built site.

For a site targeting older users this approach could make sense.

Tip #4: Use recognizable icons, and only recognizable icons

Icons can be helpful web design elements. They can be paired with text to communicate the meaning of certain points or used as standalone elements.

Standalone icons must be used with caution however since their meaning must be obvious and there are only two dozen or so icons that are immediately recognizable to most people, and only a few of them have anything to do with navigation.

Four icons that do make sense can be found in the BeDietShop pre-built site:

They are, reading from left to right:

• User profile for account settings.
• Heart for likes or favorites.
• Shopping bag for the cart/bag page.
• Magnifying glass for search.

There are other icons you will occasionally come across, a familiar example being an eCommerce shopping cart.

While standalone icons can be useful as navigational shortcuts, you need to be certain that most of your site’s visitors will know what they mean, and that their use will make navigation easier instead of more difficult.

Tip #5: Organize mega menus so they are easy to peruse and easy to use

Larger websites usually take more time to organize, and once that has been accomplished website navigation has to echo that system or organization.

Larger websites, those defined as multipage sites having a dozen links or more, can profit by using mega menus as the foundation for their navigation design. When well organized, a mega menu can be extremely helpful and effective.

Organizing a mega menu often follows a categorization process that involves the use of:

• Bolded headers .
• Columns for related pages.
• Images to highlight important pages.

The Betheme Store mega menu illustrates this organizational approach.

Note how easy it is to scan through the various categories to find a page or topic of particular interest.

Some websites, because they are too large or are not all that well organized, may not be good candidates for using mega menus. When this is the case, filtering and search techniques will often do the trick as is the case with BeClothingstore.

This type of website “navigation” tends to keep the number of options available to a visitor to a manageable minimum.

Make navigation work for your visitors with BeTheme

Without an organized navigation system, visitors might have to spend an excessive amount of time trying to put your website to good use. One worst-case scenario might be having to search to find a shopping cart!

A row of links at the top of the page is usually helpful but might not always be enough.

That is why it is so important to take time to design your site’s navigation and do so with your visitors in mind.

An easy way to get a practical and highly usable navigation up and running and save yourself a great deal of time in the process is to start with one of BeTheme’s pre-built sites. They are designed and built using the aforementioned best practices. At the same time, they are customizable, so you can mix-and-match styles to create the navigation system that works best for you!

The post Designing Excellent Website Navigation (5 Ideas) appeared first on Hongkiat.

This post will explain what PWA websites stand for, their core benefits, and what technology to use to turn a regular website into a progressive web app.

The Meaning of Progressive Web Apps (PWA)

Progressive web applications are one of the types of web application architecture that developers use to implement the client- and server sides of the product. They stand for websites that deliver an experience indistinguishable native apps.

They can be installed like native mobile applications, work without connection, interact with the device camera, or receive push notifications. Moreover, PWAs offer much better distribution than app stores and don’t take a tidbit of your revenue.

When progressive web apps first hit the scene in 2015, they were available on Android. Later, in 2018 they were accessed by iOS users.

Alex Russell, a Google software developer, who introduced the PWA term, says: PWAs are just websites that take all the right vitamins.

Progressive web applications are written to run on different browsers, so programmers use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to make PWAs. If the users open PWA on a desktop browser, it will look like a traditional website. But in the mobile browser, they will experience native app features.

How PWA work?

When users are on a PWA website, they encounter a pop-up requesting to install the app on their smartphone. After the user installs the PWA, the app icon appears on the home screen. When a user opens a progressive web app, the browser will open a new window instead of a new tab.

After it’s installed, PWAs make a website cache. This contributes to increased speediness and offline availability.

When using PWA on Android, users can experience almost all native app features, including payment, NFC, fingerprint authentication, speech recognition, and more.

However, additional APIs are required to make the device’s features available on PWA (e.g., NFC API, Bluetooth API, Geolocation API, etc.). Moreover, if you decide to place the PWA to Google Play, you’ll need PWABuilder.

The situation slightly differs for iOS users, though. Apple focuses more on native app development rather than progressive app one. It doesn’t mean that PWAs don’t run on iOS; there are only some limitations. For instance, Safari (Apple’s browser) doesn’t support PWA’s push notifications.

Core Benefits of PWAs:

• They can be added to the home screen without app marketplaces.
• Speedy, work in offline mode, support push notifications.
• Background sync availability when the user interacts with the app.
• They don’t use URLs to provide a full-screen experience.
• Served via HTTPS to guarantee the security of private data.

How Businesses Can Benefit From PWAs

One of the core benefits of PWAs is their price. So even if you already have a website, you’ll still spend less time and money to turn it into a progressive web app.

Let’s discuss the other advantages of PWAs:

• It can be installed without Google Play or App Store. Progressive web apps don’t need to be published on app marketplaces. Thus, you don’t need to wait for their approval to promote your product to the customers or release a new version. Besides, you don’t need to pay a fee of 30% to marketplaces.
• Fast to develop. There is no need to create applications for different platforms or adjust the native code (if you want to build a Flutter-based app). PWAs work on iOS and Android, interact with various devices, and many features of native mobile applications can be implemented on Android.
• Push notifications. For instance, using Google Duo PWA, a video calling app, users can receive a message to approve the call when their friends call them on Duo. Push notifications work for Windows, macOS (except Safari), Linux, and ChromeOS.
• Easier to release updates. Users don’t need to upgrade the app each time the new version is released. There are always up-to-date solutions available. PWAs allow companies to deal with software fragmentation when some users use the old product version while others use the new one. Previously, software engineers had to maintain the old version of applications to avoid losing a bulk of clients until they released the update.

Companies like Starbucks, Uber, Tinder, Forbes, Pinterest had already gained from PWA implementation. For example, Starbucks increased daily active users 2x. Orders on desktops are almost the same as on mobile apps. Pinterest has noted a 40% increase in time spent on the website. Tinder reduces load time from 11 to 4.69 seconds.

Tools Needed To Create a Progressive Web App

Progressive web applications don’t require particular frameworks or any other development tool. PWA is a technology that can be implemented after completing some project requirements.

In order to convert a traditional website into a progressive web app, you’ll need to add a manifest.json file and a service worker.

Service Worker

The Service worker is a PWA technique that is utilized for resource caching and push notifications. It’s a programmable mediator between your web app and the real world that gives you control over network queries.

For instance, you can manage the caching behavior of queries, handle push notifications, enable offline mode and background synchronization.

Push messages

Since service workers’ files run separately from the core browser, they don’t depend on the connected app. That’s why users can get notifications from a server when the web app is offline.

Offline mode

The server worker holds the resources for the app, allowing for retrieving data when the users are offline. The server refreshes dynamic content (images, videos, payment history, etc.) when the Internet connection is renewed. Users’ actions on the page are delayed until the connection is stable.

Let’s say a user wants to send a message via PWA messenger. The website is still running; a message history is accessible. But they need Wi-Fi to complete the action — send and get a message.

Background syncs

When users have a website and Internet connectivity, they can fulfill different actions such as sending messages or making a transaction. Which you already know.

The problem is when users don’t have an Internet connection. In this case, they still have access to the app, but they can’t continue working with the application. The service worker stores the information while customers are offline.

Here is the picture of how progressive web applications interact with server workers.

Manifest File

Manifest implies a JSON file that determines the main PWA’s parameters.

Using the manifest, software engineers can control the following:

• How progressive web applications are launched
• The way the application is demonstrated to users (app’s design)
• Can the app be added to the mobile home screen?

The picture below shows what PWAs can do with the manifest file.

Summing Up

As you can see, progressive web applications bring significant advantages to all service-based businesses due to their usability and cost. They are easy to design, thus, budget-friendly. Even though such software solutions have some feature restrictions, especially for iOS users, they are still a good option to start with or extend your current website.

The post A Guide to Progressive Web Applications appeared first on Hongkiat.

But when the question revolves around our main focus for a page or a site overall, answering that question is what enables us to set our goal. Web designers, old and new, beginners and skilled, face the issue of whether to put their main focus on the user interface (UI) or the user experience (UX). 

To figure out what deserves our primary attention, it’s important to understand the difference between the two, as well as how they influence each other.

Comparing UX And UI In Web Design

UX and UI have many things in common. The first and most important thing is that both of these aspects are critical to good web design. In very basic terms, UI centers on the visual aspects of web design and how a user interacts with the site.

Traditional user interface elements include the following:

• Menu
• Navigation
• Clickable links
• Scroll bars
• Check boxes
• Lead generating forms
• Breadcrumbs
• Buttons
• Image carousels and sliders
• Filters
• Search bars
• Comment boxes
• Loaders
• Modals
• Notifications

There are plenty more, but these are some of the most common elements that make up UI. On the other hand, the user experience is a more whole-cloth approach to web design, and draws on different layers to promote a good experience overall. Some elements that go into good UX include:

• Aesthetic appeal of the site as a whole and individual elements
• Font, color, and graphic choice
• Sizing, spacing, and use of negative space in the layout
• How easy the site is to use, and how enjoyable it is, too
• Ease of ability to find the necessary information/complete the necessary action

On the whole, great UX looks at more emotion-based reactions. Author Steve Krug lists the elements of good UX as including:

Form and function both require consideration for both UI and UX. With desirability and delightfulness listed as vital components along with usefulness and efficiency, it’s obvious that UX needs both aesthetic appeal and workability. And a user interface that is ugly or ungainly isn’t as enticing to interact with as one that is visually appealing.

So visual choices such as fonts, graphics, and colors, are all impacted by both UX and UI. In fact, the choices we make on a visual level, especially when it comes to colors, can heavily impact how the viewer feels about both the UX and UI, and that branding colors influence on emotions can turn a negative UX/UI experience into a positive one.

Comparing UI and UX in this way makes it clear that it’s about more than just which individual aspects of web design belong to which discipline. There’s definitely some overlap, but there is just as definitely a difference in focus.

And since focus is what helps us to set our design goals for each project we undertake, it’s a good idea to understand the goal of both UI and UX.

The Goal of Good UI

As mentioned, UI is about connections made with the website visitor, and allowing for an interchange between site and viewer. Basically, the main goal of good UI is to promote interactivity and user friendliness.

The skill set of a primarily UI-focused designer would center on areas such as information design, motion design, and integration with branding. UI designers will also have an understanding of how their work ties into the overall UX.

The Goal of Good UX

The goal of good user experience design covers a much broader range, with many more details and subheadings than UI. Combining usability with desirability, aesthetic appeal with function, and making it easy for new users as well as creating a draw for returning ones, great UX is built by focusing on what enhances the experience and creates value for the user.

Basically, good UX is determined by whether the user has a good experience — in short, UX is accurately named!

Describing The Difference

The overlap between UX and UI should be obvious by now. But it may still be difficult to explain exactly what the difference is between the two.

That could be because, at least to some designers, it isn’t a question of comparison but of contrast.

For example, Craig Morrision, the associate creative director at Truvani, says, "There is no difference between UX and UI design because they are two things that aren’t comparable to each other…the user experience is made up of a bunch of different components, user interface design being just one of them, that when combined together make up the user experience."

Ultimately, UI is a component of UX, and can heavily influence the larger goal.

How UI Influences UX

Just as important as understanding the goals of each of these individual pieces of web design is understanding how they influence each other.

It’s possible to have good UX without good UI — but it’s difficult, since bad UI often leads to a disappointing and frustrating user experience.

On the other hand, it’s also possible to have stellar UI design and still have a poor overall UX, because some other aspect of the web design has fallen short.

So, now that we’ve got the similarities and differences all cleared up, what about the main question: which one should a designer focus on?

Narrowing Design Focus

There’s a case made for the fact that UI and UX require different, if overlapping skill sets. But setting that aside, if you’re a web designer who is responsible for all aspects of the design, it’s important to know which one to focus on.

Or rather, which one to focus on first — and when — and to what degree. UI vs. UX may seem like a "chicken or egg" scenario: which one deserves attention first? But it’s more a case of working through design in a logical fashion, while still keeping an eye on the end game at all times.

Your UI design will influence your UX. So while designers work on the interface components of the website, UI requires their first attention — but as they complete components, the designs should be checked for usability, aesthetics, and all the other details mentioned above.

Keeping individual UI in line will contribute to a great overall user experience. It’s less a case of “chicken or the egg” and more a case of “one thing at a time.”

The post UX vs. UI – Which Should You Focus? appeared first on Hongkiat.

If you want to get through lots of practice then you’ll need ideas. That’s what Designercize offers.

It’s a free design prompt tool that spits out project ideas for designers. You can randomize ideas for different UI concepts and then get to work.

As a website I think the interface is a bit… strange. It can feel clunky if you’ve never used it before.

However Designercize has some really great prompts that can be truly valuable to newer designers and more experienced designers alike.

To start you just click the “reload challenge” button on the side. This will auto-generate a design challenge with three different pieces:

• The type of interface
• The type of project
• And the target audience

So you might randomize a project to design a search results page for a shopping website targeted towards sports fans. Perfect!

This gives you a nice starting point to dive in and create a mockup without needing to give yourself the project. It’s almost like a made-up client that can task you with dozens of unique practice projects to improve your UI design skills.

Note you can also pick between three different levels of difficulty that raise the complexity of each random project.

This way you can start small and build up if you’re brand new to interface design.

And there’s even a timer in the bottom-left corner so you can time yourself on each project. Anyone who wants to see massive growth in their design skills will love the random prompts Designercize has to offer.

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