# Welcome to UX Library Your one-stop website for UX Articles, Books, Resources, & More ![🌟Don't forget to bookmark us](/files/-LxNd51nJtfTUcFtl6Nh) ## Explore Now {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwJJmaam9CQzqExVDOL" %} [Beginners UX Design Kit](/beginners-ux-design-kit) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-UAkGuRJtpOk5uJP" %} [The UX Process](/explore/the-ux-process) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-Xu8\_TmIeUtVxiY2" %} [UX Research](/explore/ux-research) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-a-zweuM\_MNF5O7R" %} [Information Architecture & Content Strategy](/explore/information-architecture-and-content-strategy) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-g5cPokVJFw8Ovou" %} [UI Design](/explore/ui-design) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LXpWVCq5ZtXzLwfFBd9" %} [UX Writing](/explore/ux-writing) {% endcontent-ref %} {% hint style="info" %} **Are you just starting to learn UX?** Check out our [Beginners UX Design Kit](/beginners-ux-design-kit) to kickstart your UX Journey. {% endhint %} ## More Topics to Explore {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-ilx360AvMRkbE6X" %} [Job Hunting](/more/applying-for-ux-jobs) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-lluX38Nqhq0GjG2" %} [Design Courses](/more/design-courses) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-ofxPgUpAx9s3eU4" %} [Free Resources](/more/free-resources) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvzD4nH-Fqd8ztVDCsj" %} [Podcasts](/more/podcasts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lw2HHAoYnpPi1gNNzeP" %} [Facebook Groups](/more/facebook-groups) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lw2m5pw1AmNqwa10Tym" %} [About Us & Feedback](/more/about-us-and-feedback) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Beginners UX Design Kit Kickstart your UX learning journey and ensure you don't miss out anything important ## Hello, I am Zosh. I practice and teach UX design in Seattle to many students just starting to learn UX. Four years ago, I, too, was starting to learn UX design. I know how excited I was then, and I am guessing you may be feeling the same way. I am also guessing you have a lot of questions like: * What tool should I learn? * Are there any books or blogs I should read? * Any online course recommendations? * How do I keep up with industry trends? * Do you have any project ideas? * ... this list can go on forever These questions are not new to me. After all, I have had to answer them many times as an instructor. This is why I have created a beginner's design kit for you. So you can accelerate your UX career and ensure you are not missing out on anything important. **I have divided the list below into 5 parts:** 1. **Quick Things to Get Setup** 2. **Books to Read** 3. **Online Courses to Take** 4. **Project Ideas** 5. **Career Transition Advice** ## Quick Things to Get Setup ### Get yourself acquainted with UX Before you do anything else, it is essential to learn what UX design is. Therefore I have created a quick crash course which you can read [here](/explore/the-ux-process#what-is-ux-design). {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-UAkGuRJtpOk5uJP" %} [The UX Process](/explore/the-ux-process) {% endcontent-ref %} ### Download Figma - The Best UI/UX Tool Out There! {% embed url="" %} Figma is the Google Docs for UX Design. We use it for designing mobile apps, websites, and even slide decks (it's extremely versatile)! With Figma, you can collaborate with designers and have your work always backed up in the cloud, allowing you to focus on what matters the most - Design! Note: If you do not wish to download it, you can directly use it in your browser. [**Download Figma** ](https://www.figma.com/)| [**Learn Figma for Free Today**](https://designcode.io/design-system-figma) ### Install the Muzli Plugin on Chrome {% embed url="" %} There are endless ways to find design inspiration out there, but how about letting it all come to you every time you open a new tab? Muzli’s chrome extension does precisely that. Each time you open a new tab, you get a fresh splash of beautiful apps and websites inspiring you for your next project. ### Join these Facebook Groups A great way to not feel alone in your journey of learning UX, is by participating in UX Communities on Facebook. These are a great place for you to ask questions, get feedback on projects, and see what other designers are up to! While there are many Facebook UX Groups out there, I recommend that you join the ones mentioned below. #### HH Design | [**Join Now**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/designxtech/) ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LuCJDHfoWmynPPhghcB%2F-LuCJFP9L2c8D1iYmJ-N%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=77173810-55cc-428d-9fe3-a9e450b5fa53) A community built around design within the context of technology. This is the perfect place to ask questions, receive critique, and get matched to a mentor. #### **The Designers League |** [**Join Now**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedesignersleague) ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LuCJuSozAZcj3eIO2ZW%2F-LuCKCuN7o18-_MLT0AA%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=ccdb8e88-90d5-40de-86f5-c39d0fe87dda) Another favorite of ours, the designer's league features more experienced designers focussing more on product thinking & critique. #### **The Designers Guild |** [**Join Now**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/designguild/) ![](/files/-LuCLW2mVyig1leTsQBn) A professional community of 20,000+ designers in 100+ countries, Designers Guild is your secret weapon for leveling up your design career. It’s where world class designers share valuable advice and resources, discuss the future of design, and provide mentorship and job opportunities. Do join their group. ### Create a Medium Account & Download the App Medium is the perfect place to learn UX in a bitesized manner. It features blogs by industry designers who discuss best practices, case studies, current trends, and tips to optimized your workflow. **Some of the best publications to follow on Medium are:** * [Nick Babbich](https://medium.com/@101) to learn best practices * [UX Collective](https://uxdesign.cc/) to read case studies * [Muzli](https://medium.muz.li/) to see design inspiration * [Prototypr.io](https://blog.prototypr.io/) to learn new trends * [Bestfolios](https://medium.com/@bestfolios) to discover amazing designers Do create an account from [**here**](http://medium.com/), and don't forget to download their mobile app ([**iOS**](http://medium.com/) / [**Android**](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.medium.reader\&hl=en_US)) so that you can read UX on the go! {% hint style="success" %} 💡**Pro Tip:** Don't forget to list your interests in UX, design, and technology when creating your account. {% endhint %} {% embed url="" %} ### Bookmark UX Library Yes, I am self-plugging ourselves but within reason. This website is a perfect companion for you to start systematically learning about UX. In each section, we provide you a comprehensive crash course, along with recommend books, articles, and software to ensure you get a well rounded design education. {% embed url="" %} ### Subscribe to the Web Designer News Newsletter Subscribing to a newsletter is the best way to get UX news delivered to your email daily. This ensures you don't go scouring the web as they do it for you instead. All you have to do is open their email newsletter and read. I use it all the time! {% embed url="" %} ### Listen to These Podcasts While reading articles is a great way to learn industry practices, they mostly tend not to discuss the personal stories and intricate details of how design works in the real world. More importantly we do not always have the time to read. Therefore listening to UX podcasts are a great option! You can listen to them on the move and also feel more engaged with the community as most podcast episodes have a visiting design speaker. Below is a list of our recommended podcasts if you are just getting started in UX: * [Design Matters](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695?mt=2) * [User Defenders ](https://userdefenders.com/) * [The Design Better Podcast](https://www.designbetter.co/podcast) * [Jack and Jonathon](https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/jake-and-jonathan/id1320916842?l=en) * [Find more in our podcasts section.](https://app.gitbook.com/@uxlibrary/s/resources/~/drafts/-LyxS1vmkPtWJT0L63Eq/more/podcasts) #### User Defenders For those more recently diving into UX and gaining experience, it can be quite daunting to stay inspired and enlightened in this ever-changing/evolving landscape. This podcast is aimed at highlighting those leading the way in their craft by diving deeper into who they are, and what makes them tick/successful, in order to inspire and equip those aspiring to do the same. {% embed url="" %} #### The Design Better Podcast Design Better, is an inVision initiative which provides unprecedented access to the insights that power the world’s best design teams spanning over 3 seasons with bonus episodes too! {% embed url="" %} #### Jake and Jonathan (formerly Product Breakfast Club) A behind the scenes look at how some of the best companies in the world design their products. Jake Knapp, NY Times best-selling author of "Sprint", has helped companies like Slack, Nest and 23andMe build successful products. Jonathan Courtney, co-founder of AJ\&Smart, has worked with companies like RedBull, eBay and the United Nations, to help them build better products faster. In this new, exciting podcast, the two of them have teamed up to discuss things like product design, innovation and productivity. {% embed url="" %} #### Design Matters The world's first podcast about design and an inquiry into the broader world of creative culture through wide-ranging conversations with designers, writers, artists, curators, musicians, and other luminaries of contemporary thought. {% embed url="" %} ## Books ### The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman Learning design thinking is essential to building your foundations as a UX Designer. If you are new to the field of design thinking then this book is perfect for you. Written by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman, he discusses how design serves as the communication between object and user, and how to optimize that conduit of communication in order to make the experience of using the object pleasurable. {% embed url="" %} If you are looking for a free alternative check out [**Design Methods by Amy Ko**](https://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/books/design-methods). ### A Project Guide to UX Design by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler The next step is learning UX Design using this extremely structured book. This book as the name suggests is a guide to UX design, which provide you with the details about each stage of the UX Design process - perfect for a student like you learning UX and doing their first UX project. {% embed url="" %} ### **Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug** A perfect short read for anyone getting started in the field. While the examples may look dated, the problems this book discusses are still relevant and applicable to today's state of design. We would definitely recommend reading this book no matter what stage of your design career you are in. There is something in it for everybody. {% embed url="" %} ### Sprint by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Brakden Kowitz If you want to use the same problem-solving method Google designers use at both Google and for companies they invest in, then this book is perfect for you. This book is a practical guide to conducting a design sprint for groups of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to non-profits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today. {% embed url="" %} ## **Online Courses** Taking an online course is the perfect way to responsibly get your feet wet in UX design as you can ensure you are learning from experienced professionals. ### User Experience Research and Design Specialization by University of Michigan This FREE course will is perfect series to ensure you gain a solid foundation in UX Research and Design to create great products and advance your career. As a student you will gain hands-on experience with taking a product from initial concept, through user research, ideation and refinement, formal analysis, prototyping, and user testing, applying perspectives and methods to ensure a great user experience at every step. {% embed url="" %} [A similar version of this course is also offered by the University of California San Diego.](https://www.coursera.org/specializations/interaction-design?ranMID=40328\&ranEAID=DqiaAnGlGE8\&ranSiteID=DqiaAnGlGE8-ZNovadSz7xHESZiYXCOEVg\&siteID=DqiaAnGlGE8-ZNovadSz7xHESZiYXCOEVg\&utm_content=3\&utm_medium=partners\&utm_source=linkshare\&utm_campaign=DqiaAnGlGE8\&source=post_page-----52154a188af3----------------------#courses) ### UI Design Tools by DesignCode.io {% embed url="" %} A key skill to becoming an effective UX designer is becoming comfortable with UI design tools. This is a fantastic website with complete free courses on the best UI design software. They have free courses on [Sketch](https://designcode.io/sketch-learn), [Figma](https://designcode.io/design-system-figma), [Framer](https://designcode.io/framer-x/), [Webflow](https://designcode.io/webflow-course/) and [Protopie](https://www.protopie.io/). You do not need to learn each software but we recommend learning at least Figma. Apart from this they also have paid courses on how to code out the prototypes you make using CSS, JSock, Swift, React, React Native, Swift UI and Vue.js. [**Start Learning Today**](https://designcode.io/) ## **Project ideas** If you are stuck for a project idea and want some inspiration or want to practice for whiteboard challenges then do check out these resources. ### Dubstech Project Idea Repo Dubstech, a student club at the University of Washington has compiled together a set of design challenges from our UX workshops and from [Artiom Dashinsky](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jLfOKWpENpJe6g0_U2EAeD3IZNDvcDlA?usp=sharing)'s product design interview newsletter. {% embed url="" %} ### Design Challenge Generators In addition to this you can also try these design challenge generators. {% embed url="" %} ### Design Challenge Newsletter In addition to this you can always subscribe to the [Daily UI](https://www.dailyui.co/), [UpLabs Challenge](https://www.uplabs.com/)s, and [Product Design Interview Newsletters](https://www.producthunt.com/r/77a29a99fdeffa). ## **Career Transition Advice** Since I have only been in UX for four years, it would be unfair of me to provide you with such advice myself. Therefore I have compiled a list of articles that discuss this in more detail. I would always recommend reaching to a designer in the industry for more advice. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## The End And that is it. I hope you liked our beginners design kit and if you have [**any feedback or questions do let us know.**](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Z4BgtA6f_5O55UpOUPKukV75L0v6EFZKkKU-Ti-E5kk/) If you want to get in touch with me you can always email me on or connect with me on Linkedin. Best, \ **Zoshua Colah**\ **Founder of UX Library** ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # The UX Process Learn what UX design is and become better at UX with our curated books, articles, activities, & processes. [📚Books](/explore/the-ux-process/books) | [📃Articles](/explore/the-ux-process/articles) | [⚡Activities](/explore/the-ux-process/activites) | [⚙️Processes](/explore/the-ux-process/processes) ## What is UX Design? User Experience Design (UX Design) is the conscious iterative process of designing experiences of a product by keeping in mind the people that will use them. While traditional design focuses on crafting beautiful visuals, UX design takes that one step further. UX design focuses on putting the user first, understanding their problems, empathizing with them, and accordingly designing a solution and testing it's effectiveness and usability. ![](/files/-LwDavOh23tNHN5dOOKt) This craft is valued by many top companies today because of the monetary benefit UX designers bring to the table. They can not only identify the user's problems, but also quickly test out various ideas, thus ensuring the companies do not blindly invest a lot of time and money into engineering a solution or product. ## The UX Design Process While there are multiple existing workflows or flavors for approaching a problem as a UX Designer, they all follow a similar process as outlined in the video by inVision below. {% embed url="" %} Credit: inVision {% endembed %} This video demonstrates that the UX process is heavily focused on empathizing and solving the user's problems. The roots of this actually lie in a framework known as "Design Thinking". ## What is Design Thinking? Design Thinking is a 5-stage problem solving framework which shifts the designers view from solving business problems to identifying and understanding real user problems and designing solutions for them. ![The Design Thinking Framework](/files/-LvtLZq_yEcCnSSIBcSR) As you will notice from the image above, it is pretty similar to UX process. In the video below Dee Scarano of AJ\&Smart discusses why design thinking is important for a business and how it compares to other design workflows and why each is important to use. {% embed url="" %} ### Why is it important to study Design Thinking in UX Design? In short, the roots of UX design lie in Design Thinking. So before you start creating beautiful UIs, you must get yourself familiarized and well-versed with the process of empathizing with users and designing to solve their problems. ### **Dive into Design Thinking** Apart from exploring our Design Thinking resources in the tabs below, you can also [read this extremely exhaustive blog post by Roe Zoe](https://vk.com/@336643594-the-most-complete-design-thinking-tools-resource-collections?ref=webdesignernews.com) which provides an in**-**depth overview of what Design Thinking is. {% hint style="info" %} #### **Are you new to Design Thinking?** We recommend that you read the [Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22285809-design-of-everyday-things) which is considered as the bible of Design Thinking. If you are looking for a free or shorter alternative, then we recommend that you read the fantastic e-book ["Design Methods" book by Amy Ko](http://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/books/design-methods/). {% endhint %} ## Learn More Now that you have an understanding of what UX design is, you are ready to explore the Design Thinking books, activities, methods, and articles we have curated together to accelerate your design workflow. {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvyo-TFcFGKtGGKC8LQ" %} [Books](/explore/the-ux-process/books) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvyoD5-kWQj4a1-suj\_" %} [Activites](/explore/the-ux-process/activites) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvyoEjsHoSQApE3vf5m" %} [Processes](/explore/the-ux-process/processes) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvyo9Z0JxQCJRFKnyut" %} [Articles](/explore/the-ux-process/articles) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Books Learn more about design thinking and design methods and improve your design thinking skills & design workflow with our curated recommended books. ## The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman If you are new to the field of design thinking then this book is perfect for you. Written by cognitive scientist and usability engineer Donald Norman, he discusses how design serves as the communication between object and user, and how to optimize that conduit of communication in order to make the experience of using the object pleasurable. {% embed url="" %} ## Design Methods by Amy Ko If you are looking for something shorter and free then the fantastic ["Design Methods" book](http://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/books/design-methods/) by [Amy Ko](https://faculty.washington.edu/ajko/) is a great alternative. Do check it out! {% embed url="" %} ## A Project Guide to UX Design by Russ Unger and Carolyn Chandler An extremely structured book, this book focusses on providing details about each stage of the UX Design process - perfect for a student doing their first UX project. {% embed url="" %} ## Sprint by Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky, and Brakden Kowitz If you want to use the same problem-solving method Google designers use at both Google and for companies they invest in, then this book is perfect for you. This book is a practical guide to conducting a design sprint for groups of any size, from small startups to Fortune 100s, from teachers to non-profits. It’s for anyone with a big opportunity, problem, or idea who needs to get answers today. {% embed url="" %} ## Lean UX by Jeff Gothelf Inspired by Lean and Agile development theories, Lean UX lets you focus on the actual experience being designed, rather than deliverables. This book shows you how to collaborate closely with other members of the product team, and gather feedback early and often. You’ll learn how to drive the design in short, iterative cycles to assess what works best for the business and the user. Lean UX shows you how to make this change—for the better. {% embed url="" %} ## 101 UX Principles 101 UX Principles shows you the 101 most important things you need to know about usability and interface design. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Articles Improve your Design Thinking Process & Workflow with our curated short reads sourced from various authors and publishers. ### Why Read These Design Thinking Articles? While gaining knowledge through practice and books is good, we believe there is an opportunity to still learn more from this curated assorted list of design thinking articles written by designers in the industry. ### Our Favorites {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### More Articles {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Activites Use design thinking in your projects with our curated design thinking activities from Industry leaders. ## Why do you need design thinking activities? Learning Design Thinking via just articles and books is not enough. It is important to actually put it into practice. In this section, you will find a variety of useful design thinking activities used in industry to build real products. We highly recommend that you try these out in a project of your own as these are great forms of project facilitators and enablers. ## Sprint ![](/files/-LwD_m5PSAVN-6kjwGGh) The sprint is a five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers. Developed at [GV](http://gv.com/), it’s a “greatest hits” of business strategy, innovation, behavior science, design thinking, and more—packaged into a battle-tested process that any team can use. Their website a perfect DIY guide, including daily checklists, videos, and other resources to allow you to conduct your own design sprint activities at work. {% embed url="" %} ## Session Lab Library (a must try) ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LvtTkAkdyi5HcLDr8Z8%2F-LvtVcVUprfeChx4FW05%2FScreen%20Shot%202019-12-12%20at%201.48.09%20AM.jpg?alt=media\&token=29cbaf83-6dc6-4a08-b7d9-4393e0138797) Session Lab is a design workshop planning tool but it is their [library](https://www.sessionlab.com/library) that really gets your attention. They have an exhaustive free list of over 700 established methods with detailed instructions and examples. We recommend exploring [their library](https://www.sessionlab.com/library) to see how you can use design thinking for: * [Building Teams](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/team) * [Inspiring teams with Energy](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/energiser) * [Idea Generation and Innovation](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/idea_generation) * [Solving Problems with Issue Resolution](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/issue-resolution) * [Gathering Insights via Issue Analysis ](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/issue-analysis) * [Decision Making and Goal Setting](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/action) * [Leadership and Personal Development](https://www.sessionlab.com/library/skills) ## Frog Design's Collective Action Toolkit One of the world's leading design agencies, Frog’s fieldwork in Africa with the Nike Foundation revealed the need for a universal framework that empowers communities of all shapes and sizes to find and design their own solutions to any problem, any time. With simple vocabulary and concrete insights into how to build a team, carry out research, and develop solutions, the CAT distills design-thinking down to essential building blocks. The result is a stand-alone resource designed to lead anyone, anywhere through the problem-solving process, to any problem, any time. We recommend using this resource to anyone looking to conduct a UX workshop for the first time. {% embed url="" %} ## Voltage Control's Guide to Re-igniting Teams with Design Thinking The pros at conducting design thinking workshops, Voltage Control has made a curated list of the best design thinking exercises to use when tackling your next business challenge. We recommend this list to any business or consultancy team working under tight deadlines to deliver high quality results. {% embed url="" %} ## Plan You Own Activities & UX Workflow ### UX Assist ![](/files/-LwDm9dQKwATTAytTuD4) UX Assist is an app which helps you plan your own UX activities and workflow. With UX Assist, you can select to work with predefined workflows or create your own by adding and rearranging activities. {% embed url="" %} ### UX Recipe Are you ready to create your own UX Design Process? Check out UX recipe. A tool which allows you to select the ingredients for your UX process in each project & estimate the time & monetary cost of the project. They even have[ a mobile app.](https://www.uxlibrary.org/explore/the-ux-process/www.pxdotpt.com) {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Processes Learn about the different UX processes used by industry leaders in today's fast-paced agile work environment. ## Why is it important to learn about the different processes? While the EDIPT (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test) model is the most commonly known design thinking process out there, this process has evolved with each company defining their own approach. Below is a list of articles which we believe will help you define what the UX design process should like for your project or company. ### The Evolution of the UX Process Methodology A perfect start to exploring the other processes out there, this article not only introduces you to the newly processes but deep dives into what caused them to be formed in the first place. {% embed url="" %} Through this article you would have learned of the Google Design Sprint Process and the Lean UX Approach. Below are a list of resources to help you learn more about them. ## The Different Processes ### Google Design Sprint The sprint is a five-day process for answering critical business questions through design, prototyping, and testing ideas with customers. Developed at Google Ventures, it’s a “greatest hits” of business strategy, innovation, behavior science, design thinking, and more—packaged into a battle-tested process that any team can use. We recommend that you not only check their DIY guide on their website but [also buy their book (it is a must have).](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25814544-sprint?ac=1\&from_search=true\&qid=fl8hgd88sr\&rank=1#) {% embed url="" %} ### The Lean UX approach The Lean UX approach to interaction design is tailor-made for today’s web-driven reality. While there are many short blogs about the process online, we believe the book does more justice to explaining the process clearly. {% embed url="" %} #### Lean UX Case Studies In addition to this we also recommend reading these case studies on the Lean UX approach. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## The UX Design Checklist ![](https://ph-files.imgix.net/74b2368c-22e8-43cb-a006-d39dc87f28a4?auto=format\&auto=compress\&codec=mozjpeg\&cs=strip\&w=506.66666666666663\&h=380\&fit=max\&dpr=2) UX Project Checklist is simple tool to keep in mind what you want to consider from a UX point of view while working on a project in an ongoing organization. That's why you won't find there anything specific around personas, journey maps or design style guides; because these are all topics that should be already being covered in your organization. {% embed url="" %} ## How to Work with Developers {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # UX Research Get better user and product insights with our curated books, articles, software & templates. [📚Books](/explore/ux-research/books)| [📃Articles](/explore/ux-research/articles) | [🖥️ Software](/explore/ux-research/software) | [📇Templates](/explore/ux-research/templates) ## What is UX Research? Usually the first stage of a design sprint, UX Research focusses on asking questions using a variety investigative techniques to deliver actionable insights which the team can then use to design a solution. While it may sound academic, UX research as Ben Ralph says is "less of being a scientist and more of being a detective". It is more of strictly following a process to answer a question the team has either to identify new problems or understand already known problems. This is extremely important as doing research can help prevent big design mistakes and save money as highlighted [here](https://uxplanet.org/user-research-can-help-to-avoid-big-design-mistakes-d017239f1986) and [here](https://uxdesign.cc/user-research-but-why-2d399182637b). ![](/files/-LwDmWNVotvK9fRgnY8G) Rather than giving you a crash course ourselves we believe Ben Ralph has already done a fantastic job on it and highly recommend that you read it here: {% embed url="" %} ## UX Research Methods Cheatsheet Before you try to think about which user research method you wish to use, we believe it is important you make yourself aware of each method through [this cheatsheet](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-research-cheat-sheet/) made by the Nielsen Norman group, the industry leaders in providing UX insights. {% embed url="" %} ## Knowing which research method to use when and why When doing UX research, it is important to understand it is impossible and more importantly not necessary to use each user research method to gain insights. You instead need to focus on creating a plan with a goal and accordingly using that to select which method to use. In succession, to the [cheatsheet](https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ux-research-cheat-sheet/) above, this article by the Nielsen Norman group highlights how to go about this selection process. {% embed url="" %} ## Making a User Research Plan Without a plan, things can go haywire very quickly. In the articles below you will learn how researchers make the perfect research plan consisting of five elements: the goal, the research questions, the method, the participants, and the protocol. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Building a Research System to store your insights The insights you collect in one design sprint is not just relevant to the current project you may be doing. It could end up being relevant to a future project and may even eliminate the need for research to be done again if the insight already exists. Therefore it is important to build a UX research system as highlighted in the article below. {% embed url="" %} ## Further Reading {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Learn More Now that you have an understanding of UX Research you are ready to explore the UX Research books, activities, methods, and articles we have curated together to accelerate your research process. {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz6maYneNcfQ8q3VKp" %} [Books](/explore/ux-research/books) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz6u0oHARGuTp5\_3ya" %} [Articles](/explore/ux-research/articles) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz6rXsRCDdq9je9rai" %} [Software](/explore/ux-research/software) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz6zV\_lVI2\_KIvA2o0" %} [Templates](/explore/ux-research/templates) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Books Learn more about UX research and improve the way you conduct and analyze user research with our curated list of recommended books. ## Observing the User Experience by Elizabeth Goodman, Mike Kuniavsky, and Andrea Moed A fantastic read this book is organized into 3 parts: why you should do UX research, the techniques to do, and how to communicate and apply your research results. Overall a great read to get started in the field. {% embed url="" %} ## Quantifying the User Experience by Jeff Sauro and James Lewis Quantifying the User Experience: Practical Statistics for User Research offers a practical guide for using statistics to solve quantitative problems in user research. After reading this book, you’ll know how to compute margins of error or how to determine appropriate sample sizes for research. The authors draw many practical examples from usability studies and tie statistical theory together with practice. {% embed url="" %} ## Just Enough Research by Erika Hall A brief cookbook of research methods, the information in this book will be extremely helpful for organizations where research is not yet a solid part of the design process. Taking into account that it’s a relatively short book (a massive amount of information is packed into a tiny package of 154 pages), it can be a great starting point for learning how to integrate various types of UX research into your process. {% embed url="" %} ## Measuring the User Experience Measuring the User Experience provides the first single source of practical information to enable usability professionals and product developers to effectively measure the usability of any product by choosing the right metric, applying it, and effectively using the information it reveals. {% embed url="" %} ## Ignite Your Research Mojo **User Research** is a practical guide that shows readers how to use the vast array of user research methods available. Covering all the key research methods including face-to-face user testing, card sorting, surveys, A/B testing and many more, the book gives expert insight into the nuances, advantages and disadvantages of each, while also providing guidance on how to interpret, analyze and share the data once it has been obtained. {% embed url="" %} ## Data Driven Marketting Based on new research from the Kellogg School of Management, this book is a clear and convincing guide to using a more rigorous, data-driven strategic approach to deliver significant performance gains from your marketing. {% embed url="" %} Find more UX research books [here](https://xd.adobe.com/ideas/process/user-research/top-10-books-ux-research/). ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Articles Improve your UX Research process with our curated short reads on the best UX Research practices. ## Surveys {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Interviews {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Secondary Research {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Usability Testing {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Turning Data into Insight {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Product & Usability Metrics {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Software Empower your UX research process with these powerful & dedicated user research software. ## User Research Platforms With the number of user research tasks to complete, work and insights can get quickly disorganized. Therefore we recommend selecting and using a user research platform from the list provided below. ### UserBit (a must try) ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LvtxHNTv7AnzTSKyj-m%2F-LvtyGy7lPRooCeUfvXE%2FScreen%20Shot%202019-12-12%20at%203.57.50%20AM.jpg?alt=media\&token=215c4cd0-2e06-47f2-90dd-79208abe6fe7) A newcomer to the market, [UserBit](https://userbitapp.com/), is a real-time collaboration UX research software that allows you to create interview notes, synthesize data, develop personas, generate sitemaps and other design documents that bring founders, designers, and developers on the same page. We recommend that you try it out with their [free account plan](https://userbitapp.com/auth/signup) and [reading their blog](https://blog.userbitapp.com/) to learn the different ways in which you can use the software. {% embed url="" %} ### Optimal Workshop (most popular in industry) ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LvtzA1TjXBSBpukb_m2%2F-LvtzSmC_J-8V-cGNpuM%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=e967f6bb-71d3-4ff8-93fd-958ddbc3d6d9) Optimal Workshop has created a suite of usability tools that help improve your [website navigation](https://www.optimalworkshop.com/treejack), define [information architecture](https://www.optimalworkshop.com/optimalsort), understand [first-clicks](https://www.optimalworkshop.com/chalkmark), capture [qualitative research](https://www.optimalworkshop.com/reframer), and more. Their awesome free plan is perfect to help you decide if it is a good fit in your process as it gives you access to all the necessary functions for a single project. In addition to this, do check out their [demos](https://www.optimalworkshop.com/demos) and [case studies](https://go.optimalworkshop.com/case-study/). {% embed url="" %} ### DoveTail ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-Lvu38xJXKLc54fdg-RX%2F-Lvu3cGSm2DwnBBQLhjK%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=cbcb33a6-6c9b-4d74-81f1-b21b686b8150) Dovetail is a user research platform that allows organizations to collaborate, collect, analyze, and store insights into one searchable cloud repository. {% embed url="" %} ## Survey Tools There are plenty of survey tools out there on the market. Below is a list of our favorite survey tools along with the use case of each. | Use Case | Tools | | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | | Simple & Quick | [Typeform](https://www.typeform.com/), | | Convert Incomplete Responses | [Crowdsignal](https://crowdsignal.com/) | | Integrate into Websites | [Woofoo](https://www.wufoo.com/) | ## Usability Testing Tools Before you select a platform we recommend that you check out this [evaluation of Usability Testing platforms from MeasuringU](https://measuringu.com/ux-testing-platforms/). ### UserTesting.com ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-Lvu1W_fGModUTd7TAj6%2F-Lvu2EIsXTzgQ-uVDtK4%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=44519611-b21c-4b14-a085-35c8c1c8c1f9) One of the many beauties of the internet, today getting feedback is super fast and quick with these platforms. Gone are the days where you had to spend weeks recruiting participants and having them come down to your office. Now you can test with a diverse range of participants in a matter of hours. {% embed url="" %} ### LookBack ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-Lvu-ILbWWP313tvZv3v%2F-Lvu0cWoBgdckcfrvayR%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=794b7694-d4db-4e56-8cfd-0bb6ad6eced7) Lookback allows you to run user tests while remotely recording the screen, the user's face and voice, and their in-app interactions. (Credit: [SanFrancis.co](https://www.sansfrancis.co/)) {% embed url="" %} ### Usability Hub ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-Lvu4FHICE2YY5wqRtrc%2F-Lvu4hu_m6pX7zW6GSwC%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=587ceee7-82c8-4e3f-910b-8a08d3dbfcf0) Usability Hub is an end-to-end remote user testing platform that allows you to test your product with your own or recruited participants. Their platform allows you to do first click tests, design surveys, preference tests, and five seconds tests thus allowing you to make a better design. {% embed url="" %} ### Ethnio Ethnio is a great tool that enables you to screen, recruit, and schedule usability testing participants directly from your app or website. {% embed url="" %} ## Other UX Research Tools ### ShipRight ![](/files/-Lvu6ZTU6AF-aj0__iv-) ShipRight is a tool that allows you to track all user requests in one place to inform product decisions. {% embed url="" %} ### FullStory ![](/files/-LwO2J_ht81AniEmvouk) An [**extremely robust and feature rich**](https://www.fullstory.com/features/) tool, FullStory helps you solve problems, find answers, and fine-tune your customer experience with FullStory’s easy-to-use digital intelligence platform. We highly recommend you give it a try if you are in industry and are looking to improve your website's experience. {% embed url="" %} ### Userforge Create effective user personas, together. A simple tool for designers, agencies and in-house teams. {% embed url="" %} ### Similar Web ![](/files/-Lvu7ALgn-aEKXmf2ilH) SimilarWeb gives you global multi-device market intelligence to understand, track and grow your digital market share. {% embed url="" %} ### Google Trends As highlighted in ["Design Words with Data"](https://medium.com/dropbox-design/design-words-with-data-fe3c525994e7), Google Trends can be a fantastic tool at selecting what words to use as copy on your website or app especially for your action buttons. {% embed url="" %} ### **User Snap** ![](/files/-Lvu8ZdqoOX1aYNeqXxq) User snap is a tool that allows you to add widgets on your website to get actionable user feedback. From screenshot bug reports to experience ratings to preference tests. {% embed url="" %} ### GutCheck If your product doesn't wow users early, it's likely they will churn. Knowing their initial thoughts is critical to building a sticky product. Gutcheck makes this easy. Try out gutcheck. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Templates Fast-track your user research collection & analysis with these industry templates. ## Stakeholder Interview Templates Originally made for startups, these templates are perfect for your projects especially if they are in the realm of consultancy. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## User Research Analysis Templates to accelerate your design process [Geunbae Lee](https://dribbble.com/geunbae-lee), a product designer at Facebook, using his experience over various projects, has made these wonderful research templates available to all for free. Do check them out. ### **Personas** {% embed url="" %} ### **Journey Map Template** {% embed url="" %} ### Affinity Diagram Template {% embed url="" %} #### ⭐ Don't forget to bookmark us & share UX Library with your friends and peers. ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Information Architecture & Content Strategy Create better user journeys with our curated books, articles & tools. [📚 Books](/explore/information-architecture-and-content-strategy/books) | [📃 Articles](/explore/information-architecture-and-content-strategy/articles) | [🖥️ Software](/explore/information-architecture-and-content-strategy/software) ## What is Information Architecture? Information architecture (IA) is the science of organizing and structuring content of the websites, web and mobile applications, and social media software. It aims at organizing content so that users would easily adjust to the functionality of the product and could find everything they need without big effort. ([Credit: UX Planet](https://uxplanet.org/information-architecture-basics-for-designers-b5d43df62e20)) To learn more about how IA is used in UX design we recommend that you read the following article. {% embed url="" %} ## What is Content Strategy? Content strategy focuses on the planning, creation, delivery, and governance of content for websites or apps to ensure that you have useful and usable content, that is well structured and easily found. Therefore content strategists play an important role in UX, as they blend the message smoothly with the designs to create a meaningful user experience. (Credit: [Usability.gov](https://www.usability.gov/what-and-why/content-strategy.html), [Inkoniq](https://medium.com/inkoniq-blog/content-strategy-a-crucial-part-of-user-experience-a6e18ec93eda)) To learn more about how content strategy is used in UX design we recommend that you read the following article. {% embed url="" %} ## Why you need both? {% embed url="" %} ## Learn More Now that you have an understanding of what Information Architecture is you are ready to explore the Information Architecture and Content Strategy books, articles, and software we have curated together to allow you to create better customer journeys. {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz7MXf2id1mmKyckVx" %} [Books](/explore/information-architecture-and-content-strategy/books) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz7\_uy4590TtlHQdR0" %} [Articles](/explore/information-architecture-and-content-strategy/articles) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzbp-PfUnUZbWUazZx" %} [Software](/explore/ui-design/software) {% endcontent-ref %} #### ⭐ Don't forget to bookmark us & share UX Library with your friends and peers. ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Books Learn more about Information Architecture & content strategy and improve your design workflow with our curated list of recommended books. ## Information Architecture for the Web and Beyond Considered as the bible for Information Architecture, this book will provide you with essential concepts, methods, and techniques for digital design that have withstood the test of time.You will learn how to create semantic structures that will help people engage with your message. ([Credit: O'Reily](http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920034674.do)) {% embed url="" %} ## How to Make Sense of Any Mess by Abby Covert This book outlines a step-by-step process for making sense of messes made of information (and people) in different scenarios and also has some awesome worksheets. {% embed url="" %} ## Search Patterns: Design for Discovery by Peter Morville and Jeffery Callender By drawing on their own experience-as well as best practices and evidence-based research-the authors not only offer a practical guide to help you build effective search applications, they also challenge you to imagine the future of discovery. You'll find Search Patterns intriguing and invaluable, whether you're a web practitioner, mobile designer, search entrepreneur, or just interested in the topic. It is also recommended by Irene Au, Director of User Experience, Google! {% embed url="" %} ## Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina Halvorson *Content Strategy for the Web* is the industry’s go-to handbook for creating and executing successful content strategies. You’ll learn how to create and deliver useful, usable content for your online audiences, when and where they need it most. {% embed url="" %} ## The Elements of Content Strategy by Erin Kissane This brief guide explores content strategy’s roots, and quickly and expertly demonstrates not only how it’s done, but how you can do it well. A compelling read for both experienced content strategists and those making the transition from other fields. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Articles Improve the way you map your product's journey with these curated short reads on the best Information Architecture and Content Strategy practices. ## Information Architecture {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## User Experience Mapping {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Content Strategy {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Content Marketing {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Read More Like This {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Software Empower the way you do Information Architecture and Content Strategy these powerful and dedicated IA and Content Strategy software platforms. ## Flowmapp (for large projects) ![](/files/-LvugulNgqkV25Y1GHwI) An extremely robust software, Flowmapp is the perfect information architecture and content strategy tool to integrate into your design workflow. You can create sitemaps, build user flows, create personas, and manage content all in one place. Do give it a try especially if you are taking on a large project. {% embed url="" %} ## Whimsical (for small projects) ![](https://whimsical.com/assets/images/flowcharts/fast-ac59825c45a2b3b337c7361703ba66a7962be5726d831efb585e04deaa952742.gif) A blazing fast tool, Whimsical is perfect for beginners and small projects where the user journey or sitemap needs to be made quickly. [This Whimsical User Flow project](https://whimsical.com/UxwcbKK2aq2c4atPHJNEC1) is a great example of what can be made in it in a matter of just half an hour. {% embed url="" %} ## DynoMapper (paid but robust) ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LvuhMpMKT06GQR_HCy1%2F-LvuhxqJziD7f62JBJ9i%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=16546239-394d-410a-9d65-be8ad893cbb0) With Dynomapper, an industry grade tool, you can organize website projects using visual sitemaps, content inventory, content audit, content planning, daily keyword tracking, and do website accessibility testing. {% embed url="" %} ## WriteMaps ![](/files/-Lx34Fse5ycL6FM3NdIx) A visual sitemap builder for web professionals and website planners. {% embed url="" %} ## TreeJack by Optimal Workshop ![](https://embedwistia-a.akamaihd.net/deliveries/526b8655d2ca070f84fd7ac416a41275dc058875.jpg?image_play_button_size=2x\&image_crop_resized=960x540\&image_play_button=1\&image_play_button_color=a1cc39e0) Take the guesswork out of information architecture with Treejack – the usability testing tool you can use to test your IA without visual distractions. Treejack helps you prove your site structure will work before you get into interface design. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # UI Design Learn UI design and Improve the usability and aesthetics of your prototypes with our curated books, articles, software, UI patterns, & more. [📚 Books](/explore/ux-writing/books) | [📃 Articles](/explore/ui-design/articles) | [🖥️ Software](/explore/ui-design/software) | [🍂UI Patterns & Inspiration](/explore/ui-design/ui-patterns-and-inspiration) | [🛍️Free UI Resources](/explore/ui-design/free-ui-resources) ## What is UI Design? UI design focuses on the user’s visual experience. It determines how a user interacts with an interface - be it an app, a video game or a website. It’s all about how the user navigates from A to B via different visual touch points. Think tapping a button or swiping through pictures. The job of a UI designer is to design all the screens through which a user will move, and to create the visual elements - and their interactive properties - that facilitate this movement. ([Source: Career Foundry](https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/ui-design/what-does-a-ui-designer-actually-do/)) And the process of creating these screens is known as prototyping. ### Additional Reading {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## What is Prototyping? ![](/files/-Lw8ucpY2J6fN_7VHU57) Prototyping is the process of building a preliminary model/s known as a prototype which represent the core logic and architecture of a conceptual idea you may have settled on. We build these prototypes for iterating and testing products before we develop them extensively as this helps us quickly validate ideas and saves costs of fully implementing our idea with engineers. It is also the stage which gets most associated with a UX designer because it is during this stage that the UX designer usually begins to design the user interface. ## The Prototyping Process ![](/files/-Lw8uvNZbBPvXcDnEvqR) The prototyping methodology consists of 4-5 sequential steps which may or may not be repeated. They are: * Sketching / Low-Fidelity Wire-framing * Early Proof of Concept Usability Testing * High-Fidelity Wire-framing * Creating an Interactive Prototype (optional) * High-Fidelity Prototype Usability Testing ### Sketching ![](/files/-Lw8zolWrHdhyB9m8YuU) Using the selected concept from the cycle before, the designers then begin to sketch more fleshed out representations of what the user interface will look like. These are known as low-fidelity wireframes. The reason this stage is considered most important is so that the designer can make many iterations easily and quickly. Thus ensuring the focus remains on the concept and logic and not on the visual aesthetics. {% hint style="info" %} **Tip:** Many designers [sketch mobile apps on index cards](https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/58fa3fe1491af4672a32ecdd/58ffbb8352731615caf42773_9%20-%20JW%20Sketch%202.png) & websites on letter paper as they resemble the real-life size of the devices respectively. Some of them [even purchase UI Stencils](https://www.uistencils.com/collections/sketch-pads) which have printed outlines of the devices. {% endhint %} One key aspect of this process is iteration. Rather than creating just one sketch, the designers create multiple different sketches of different layouts (such as in the sketches below). ![](/files/-Lw92vkXz-qWeRuAF5om) Some designers tend to then make these low-fidelity wireframes digitally [using a collaborative software such as Whimsical](https://whimsical.com/). This is because they look neater and is great for providing touch ups. ![Whimsical](https://whimsical.com/assets/images/wireframes/wireframes-real-time-collaboration@2x-5e3fbfd89791d126b0fd454f60b251337c1817553174b11ea3706728315901a3.gif) ### Early Proof of Concept Usability Testing The designer may then make clickable prototypes of these paper sketches using a tool such as [Pop](https://marvelapp.com/pop/) and then conduct usability testing with [a sample set of 5 users](https://www.google.com/search?q=ux+testing+5+users\&oq=ux+testing+5+users\&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i64l3.4904j0j1\&sourceid=chrome\&ie=UTF-8) for early proof of concept validation. ### **High-Fidelity Wireframing** ![Photo Credit: UX Pin](/files/-Lw9OG7E-W3zzZTwSqQp) The sketches are then converted into digital designs using a software such as Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, or inVision Studio ([learn more](/explore/ui-design/software)). It is during this stage that they begin to focus on the visual aesthetic elements such as the font, color, icon, and images used. {% hint style="info" %} To improve your high fidelity designing skills we recommend reading the book [Refactoring UI](https://refactoringui.com/) and [watching their Youtube videos](https://www.youtube.com/steveschoger). {% endhint %} ### Interactive Prototyping These static high-fidelity wireframes are then usually converted into an interactive animated prototype to mimic the interactions a real user may have with the product. The complexity of these animations vary depending on the requirements of the project with many designers opting to keep them simple. Most UI design software such as Figma and Sketch are able to natively achieve this. Adobe XD & inVision are able to produce even more complex animations & interactions such as the one below. {% embed url="" %} Credit: Joshua Oluwagbemiga {% endembed %} However if the designer wants to build an extremely complex interactive prototype with many animations they may switch to a tool such as Protopie, Principle, Origami, or Framer. Below is an example of a prototype (made in Protopie) of Facebook's panaroma viewer. ![](https://miro.medium.com/max/1200/1*rdW5U9T7lBzsHfseq5KlQA.gif) ### High-Fidelity Prototype Usability Testing The designer will then conduct a usability test of this high fidelity prototype with a sample set of 5 users and make any changes based of the feedback they receive. It is also not uncommon during this stage to conduct an A/B test of two prototypes to test out different ideas. The designer may cycle through this process a few times before they achieve their desired result. After this, the designer then hands-off the design to the developer in [what is known as a design-hand off](https://uxstudioteam.com/ux-blog/design-handoff/). ## Design Systems ![Credit: Akveo's Eva Design System](https://www.sketchappsources.com/resources/source-image/eva-design-system-1.1.png) Ensuring design consistency is a key part of building trust and credibility in one's product. Traditional as small software companies start to scale they begin to notice inconsistencies in fonts, colors, backgrounds, icons and more. Another problem they also face is recreating the wheel, with many designers creating the UI for components which may already exist. Because of this designers today use something known as a design system. A design system consists of the style guide, the components, and the use cases for each component thus ensuring products can scale more efficiently and consistently. This is a problem faced by many organizations with the most well known being Google who then introduced Material Design not just for their own software but for anyone who wanted to make an app or website. Here is a quick preview of it. {% embed url="" %} Today many more organizations have their own design system with many designers crafting the design system as they design the UI during the prototyping stage. We recommend that you read our dedicated section page on since it is an essential skill expected from most UX designers today. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvzdTxsYyNTtmO4QoWN" %} [Design Systems](/explore/ui-design/articles/design-systems) {% endcontent-ref %} ## How to become better at UI Design? A common struggle many new designers face is rapidly improving their UI design skills. As experienced design instructors and as designers ourselves we have noticed the following practices are most effective: 1. **Take a UI Design Course:** Rather than learning the tool on your own, we recommend actually doing a well structured free course on either [Figma](https://designcode.io/design-system-in-figma) or [Sketch](https://designcode.io/sketch-learn) on [designcode.io](https://designcode.io/sketch-learn). This will help ensure you learn the best practices as well as get industry tips & tricks. 2. **Copy from the best:** Go to [mobbin.design](https://mobbin.design/), a website which showcases the UIs of the top apps in the appstore. Select an app of your choice and recreate 3 screens from it. Doing this daily for 30 days will help you learn the best practices as well commonly occurring UI patterns. 3. **Do the Daily UI Challenge:** [Daily UI is a series of daily design challenges](https://www.dailyui.co/) created to make you hone your design skills. Most beginners use this as a launchpad to not only improve their skills but also to quickly create portfolio pieces. 4. **Read Guidelines & Explore Pattern Libraries:** A good way to learn best UI practices and approaches is by doing this. Many design systems have robust guidelines on do's and don'ts for UI elements.To learn more we recommend visiting the [UI patterns & inspiration page](/explore/ui-design/ui-patterns-and-inspiration). 5. **Read Articles on the best UI design practices:** A great way to learn is by reading about articles on established industry practices. We recommend reading our curated list of the best UI design articles which we update daily. These articles are perfect for getting bite sized chunks of information and serve as a great reference when doing a UI design project. 6. **Watch Refactoring UI Videos:** In this [Youtube series](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gdYHlYAKDY\&list=PLDVpvW8ghDr9tasku_YvuTy_l0xPUtOHE), Steve Schoger, a design veteran, will show you how he [improves 6 different website designs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gdYHlYAKDY\&list=PLDVpvW8ghDr9tasku_YvuTy_l0xPUtOHE) using industry best practices & tricks he has learned over the years. **Do Note:** That it is not necessary that you do all of this at once. We recommend doing two or three of these suggestions per month. Improving as a designer is a constant process. {% hint style="info" %} **Are you New to UI Design?** If you are just starting we recommend [reading Material Design's documentation of the use case of each UI component](https://material.io/components/) and [doing a UI design project](http://material.io/design/) using it. {% endhint %} ## Learn More Now that you have an understanding of the Prototyping process, you are ready to explore the UI design books, activities, methods, and articles we have curated together to accelerate your research process. {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzbgd0xjdHmpiaGGNj" %} [Books](/explore/ui-design/books) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvzbtlwsP8u4jo-7qTM" %} [Articles](/explore/ui-design/articles) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvz6rXsRCDdq9je9rai" %} [Software](/explore/ux-research/software) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzc3xXsMczPmyS\_3Rd" %} [UI Patterns & Inspiration](/explore/ui-design/ui-patterns-and-inspiration) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwO6D7kplJiv4-IA2IO" %} [Free UI Resources](/explore/ui-design/free-ui-resources) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Books Learn more about UI design and improve the way you design user interfaces with our curated list of recommended books on ## Refactoring UI by Steve Schoger & Adam Wathan The best UI design book one can purchase. It teaches you how to design beautiful user interfaces using specific tactics & strategies. The tips & tricks to overcome each UI design problem combined with their beautiful component, color, and font library makes this a great buy. As a bonus they make [awesome redesign videos too](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gdYHlYAKDY\&list=PLDVpvW8ghDr9tasku_YvuTy_l0xPUtOHE)! {% embed url="" %} ## Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug A perfect short read for anyone getting started in the field. While the examples may look dated, the problems this book discusses are still relevant and applicable to today's state of design. We would definitely recommend reading this book no matter what stage of your design career you are in. There is something in it for everybody. {% embed url="" %} ## Atomic Design by Brad Frost The design systems book which started it all, Atomic Design, details all that goes into creating and maintaining robust design systems, allowing you to roll out higher quality, more consistent UIs faster than ever before. This book introduces a methodology for thinking of our UIs as thoughtful hierarchies, discusses the qualities of effective pattern libraries, and showcases techniques to transform your team's design and development workflow. You can buy the book or [read it for free](http://atomicdesign.bradfrost.com/table-of-contents/). {% embed url="" %} ## Solving Product Design Exercises by Artiom Dashinsky While not exactly a UI design book, solving product design exercises is perfect for helping you improve your white-boarding skills when creating low-fidelity designs. It has more than 30 plus different scenarios for different verticals and devices which ensure you're well rounded the next time you need to visualize your ideas. {% embed url="" %} ## Design Systems Handbook by DesignBetter.Co This book guides readers through best practices around planning, designing, building, and implementing a design system, with insights and first-hand experiences from experts who have gone through the journey. {% embed url="" %} ## Web Design 101 by Webflow This book for beginners dives deep into all three topics to offer tips, insights, and principles on everything from how to design your design process to how to build landing pages that turn visitors into customers. In short, it’s the kind of stuff you’ll want to reference, well, daily. {% embed url="" %} ## UX Pin Books In addition to the resources above, UX Pin releases some great short reads on UI trends for each year. We recommend you keep an eye out. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Articles Learn how to design better User Interfaces with our curated list of 50+ articles on UI design. ## Hello, We don't usually do this but this section on UI Design is abnormally large. We have more than 50+ articles on UI design! While that is great, putting them all onto one page would be extremely chaotic & would make the page really long. We are sure you wouldn't like that. Therefore to make it an easier navigation & learning experience for you we have divided this into 4 sub-sections. {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzd8PMWNCjvLZq56I7" %} [Sketching & Whiteboarding](/explore/ui-design/articles/sketching-and-whiteboarding) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lw1XnmfXszbIcQ-Yhba" %} [Color, Typography, & Icons](/explore/ui-design/articles/color-typography-and-icons) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvzdI53fNTosUEOsP8N" %} [UI Design Principles & Tips](/explore/ui-design/articles/ui-design) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LvzdTxsYyNTtmO4QoWN" %} [Design Systems](/explore/ui-design/articles/design-systems) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Sketching & Whiteboarding Master sketching & white-boarding with articles courses we have curated together for you. ## Paper Prototyping Basics Most design starts with paper and pen (or should if it isn't!). With paper you can generate & iterate over wireframes at a much faster rate than you could potentially do with a computer. More importantly it helps ensure you don't become too invested or attached to a design. These set of articles are perfect to help you optimize your sketching process. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Become a Pro at Whiteboarding Designing low-fidelity wireframes don't just happen on paper but on whiteboards too especially when collaborating and mapping out user journeys for different scenarios based on constraints and requirements. These articles will give you an essential crash course in ensuring you are able to effectively draw & communicate your ideas when at a whiteboard. P.S. they also work great for preparing you for interviews. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Develop Good Sketch Noting Habits Not everyone is born an artist, but just like design, drawing can be learned and is essential to making you a better designer as it can transform the ways you visualize ideas and scenarios. In these handful of articles, you will see how real-world designers have use sketch-noting to their advantage and how you can too! {% embed url="?" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Color, Typography, & Icons Learn more about the influence of color, typography & icons from the list of articles we have curated for you. When we start a project usually the first step is a challenging hurdle of deciding what colors, fonts, and icons to use. After all you didn't really pay attention to that during the low-fidelity design stage and thank god you didn't. But now you need to. However the bigger challenge is learning how to use these colors, fonts, and icons well and below are the best articles which discuss the best practices for this. We highly recommend reading these articles as they will transform the way you create user interfaces in the future. ## Color Using color responsibly is an art which takes time to master for many. These articles will help accelerate that process by teaching you established industry strategies to using color effectively in UI. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="?" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Typography Making a headline and paragraph legible and easy to read isn't as easy as it seems with many websites and interfaces still not getting it right. In the articles below you will learn the formula behind getting your font sizing, line spacing, line length, and font weight choices right. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### **Also explore our Free Font Resources** {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} ## Icons {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### Also explore our Free Icon Resources {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # UI Design Principles & Tips Learn more about UI design with our curated articles. ## Psychology Principles for UI Design Psychology plays a big part in a user’s experience with an application. By understanding how our designs are *perceived*, we can make adjustments so that the apps we create are more effective in achieving the goals of the user. ([Source: Thanasis Rigopoulos](https://uxplanet.org/the-psychology-principles-every-ui-ux-designer-needs-to-know-24116fd65778)) This first section of articles will give you the foundations on which many UI design principles and patterns have been made. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## A Deep Dive into UI Design Principles Before starting any UI design process it is always good to get yourself familiarized with the principles of UI design. With the articles below you will be able to give yourself a quick crash-course on the most important UI design principles and learn how to become a better UI designer. ### Getting Started While these are different for everyone there are a set of commonly followed rules such as the law of proximity, hicks law, and more which are essential to improving your interface's usability. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Customization & Personalization Today just making an app which can perform a task is not enough. We live in an age of both customization & personalization where we need to cater tailored user experiences for each user. Hence it is important to learn how you can integrate customization & personalization into your UI with these design principles highlighted in the articles below. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### More {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Improve your UI Design Designing your UI can be the most crucial step to ensuring your product is usable and that people don't abandon it. In the articles below you will learn the best industry practices which you can immediately start applying to your project. ### Web Design #### Quick Fixes {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### Reading Patterns {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### Web Layouts {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### Improving Hero Pages {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### Common Web Design Mistakes {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Mobile App Design #### Tips & Tricks {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### Mobile Navigation {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Dashboard Design {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Search Boxes & Search Results {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Forms {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Navigation Menus {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Buttons {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Onboarding {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Also Explore {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzc3xXsMczPmyS\_3Rd" %} [UI Patterns & Inspiration](/explore/ui-design/ui-patterns-and-inspiration) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Design Systems Learn what design systems are, how to make one, and how to maintain it with this crash course of curated articles from us. ## What is a design system? Inspired by Brad Frost's Atomic Design, many organizations today have started to adopt design systems - a single source of truth which group all the elements that will allow teams to design, realize and develop a product. This not only includes the stylesheet and the components but also the voice and tone to use, the overall principles, use cases for each component, and the dev framework (this may vary from team to team). Rather than writing more, we recommend that you read the following three articles to get a solid understanding of the subject as many UX Designers are expected to work with design systems @ work. ### 1. A Comprehensive Guide to Design Systems A perfect start to understanding the subject better, this article covers the basics of design systems and the need for one. {% embed url="" %} ### 2. Building Design Systems with Atomic Design A natural next read, this article uses strong visuals to give you a step by step detailed overview of the journey of a design system from start to finish. {% embed url="" %} ### 3. A Deep Dive into Existing Design Systems Rather than getting more textbook definitions and explanations, this dribble blog post takes a different approach and shows you how design systems vary from organization to organization and how there is no one correct/perfect way of making a design systems. {% embed url="" %} ### 4. Bonus: Read the Design Systems Handbook The Design Better team has collaborated with UX designers from Etsy, Github, and inVision to deliver this perfect book to accompany you in creating your design system. {% embed url="" %} ## Improve your design system workflow {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Stories of How Industry Design Systems were made, improved, & maintained {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## How to use Figma for making your Design System {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## How to use Sketch for making your Design System {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Explore Industry Design Systems A great way to start designing your own design system is to explore pre-existing design systems. Doing this will help you identify what types of components, rules, and pattern guidelines are usually included in a design system. Our favorite design systems to explore for guidance are [Material Design](https://material.io/components/) and [EOS](https://suse.eosdesignsystem.com/). Here is a list of the most popular design systems out there. | Company Name | Design System Name | | -------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Google | [Material Design ](https://material.io/design/) | | IBM | [Carbon](http://carbondesignsystem.com/) | | Shopify | [Polaris](https://polaris.shopify.com/) | | Atlassian | [Atlassian Design Guidelines](https://atlassian.design/guidelines/product/overview) | | Salesforce | [Lightning](https://www.lightningdesignsystem.com/) | | Alibaba | [Ant Design](https://ant.design/) | | Github | [Primer](https://primer.github.io/) | | Buzzfeed | [Solid](http://solid.buzzfeed.com/) | | WeWork | [Plasma](http://plasma.guide/) | | UX Power Tools | [UX Power Tools](https://www.uxpower.tools/?source=post_page-----7d2810bee810----------------------) | To read a more comprehensive list we recommend using [**UX Pin's Adele Design System Search Engine**](https://adele.uxpin.com/) or [**Design Systems Repo**](https://designsystemsrepo.com/design-systems/). ## Also Explore {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzbp-PfUnUZbWUazZx" %} [Software](/explore/ui-design/software) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lvzc3xXsMczPmyS\_3Rd" %} [UI Patterns & Inspiration](/explore/ui-design/ui-patterns-and-inspiration) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Software Create beautiful interfaces and prototypes using these industry-standard UI design software tools. ## Wireframing Software ### Figma | [Figma.com](https://www.uxlibrary.org/explore/ui-design/www.figma.com) (recommended) {% embed url="" %} Figma is the Google Docs for UI Design. With Figma, you can collaborate with designers and have your work always backed up in the cloud, allowing you to focus on what matters the most - Design! [**Start Using Figma**](https://www.figma.com/) | [**Learn Figma for Free Today**](https://designcode.io/design-system-figma) ### Sketch | [Sketchapp.com](https://www.uxlibrary.org/explore/ui-design/www.sketchapp.com) {% embed url="" %} Sketch, is a UI design tool which was once the defacto industry tool. It still holds strong today with more than 50% companies still using it. However it doesn't work on Windows [😔](https://emojipedia.org/pensive-face/). [**Start using Sketch**](https://www.sketch.com/) **|** [**Learn Sketch for Free Today**](https://designcode.io/sketch-learn) ### Adobe XD (a must try) | [Adobe.com/products/xd](https://www.adobe.com/products/xd.html) {% embed url="" %} Adobe XD, is an all-in-one UI design tool, with which you can design beautiful wireframes and interactive prototypes with animation. It works with both Mac and Windows and is for free. They also recently added collaboration. [**Start using Adobe XD**](https://www.adobe.com/products/xd.html) | [**Learn Adobe XD for Free Today**](https://helpx.adobe.com/xd/tutorials.html) ### **InVision Studio |** [**invisionapp.com/studio**](https://www.invisionapp.com/studio) {% embed url="" %} A fantastic powerful new platform inspired by the world’s best design teams. Design, prototype, and animate—all in one place which works on both Mac and Windows. Do give it a try. They have fantastic support, learning resources, and UI kits. Get Started with Studio ### Whimsical (only Low Fidelity) {% embed url="" %} The Balsamiq killer, this blazing fast tool is perfect for people to rapidly visualize their low-fidelity wireframes digitally. It is super intuitive with quick short cuts and pre-made components for almost every use case. If you're not convinced we recommend viewing their [Zappos](https://whimsical.com/FKcRE5Ywmuk3xhSM2QTmCR), [Shopify](https://whimsical.com/MQJZk63o4PSpJES2zPTXLx) and [Dropbox](https://whimsical.com/GjdYs34T6GuXLHz1b5CFTq) example projects to get a better understanding of it's capabilities. [**Start Using Whimsical**](https://whimsical.com/wireframes/) **|** [**Learn Whimsical in 4 Minutes**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsZ9LytmsEM) ## Interactive Prototyping Software ### Protopie | [Protopie.io](https://www.protopie.io/) ![](https://www.protopie.io/public/assets/image/main-page/hero/studio.png) Protopie, is a high fidelity interactive prototyping tool, perfect for creating complex interactions for a variety of gestures & interactions. It is available for both Mac and Windows on a Free Trial. [**Start Using Protopie**](https://www.protopie.io/download/) **|** [**Learn Protopie for Free Today**](https://designcode.io/protopie/) ### Principle | [Principleformac.com](https://principleformac.com/) {% embed url="" %} Principle is an extremely easy to learn software for the Mac which is great for rapidly making interactive animated prototypes. [**Start using Principle**](https://principleformac.com/) **|** [**Learn Principle for Free Today**](https://principleformac.com/tutorial.html) ### Framer | [Framer.com](https://www.uxlibrary.org/explore/ui-design/www.framer.com) {% embed url="" %} Framer, is the most powerful interactive prototyping tool out there where prototypes are built using code. This means it comes with a steep learning curve and many a times takes more time than necessary to make simple interactions. A great tool but we recommended using it to create only extremely complicated interactions. [**Start Using Framer** ](http://framer.com/)**|** [**Learn Framer for Free Today**](https://designcode.io/framer-x/) ### **Origami |** [**Origami.design**](https://origami.design/) ![](/files/-Lw3LIMzqaVSd1cJRVP0) Origami, is a fantastic interactive prototyping built by Facebook which allows you to export you to export your interactions as code directly into XCode. [**Start Using Origami**](https://origami.design/) **|** [**Learn Origami for Free Today** ](https://origami.design/tutorials/) ## Design System Management Software ### Design System Manager | [Invisionapp.com/design-system-manager](https://www.invisionapp.com/design-system-manager) {% embed url="" %} DSM is a one central place to maintain all of your brand and UX components across your design and code to eliminate ambiguity. [**Start using DSM**](https://www.invisionapp.com/design-system-manager) **|** [**Learn DSM for Free Today**](https://www.invisionapp.com/design-system-manager) ### **StoryBook** {% embed url="" %} Storybook is an open source tool for developing UI components in isolation for React, Vue, and Angular. It makes building stunning UIs organized and efficient. [**Start Using StoryBook**](https://storybook.js.org/docs/basics/introduction/) **|** [**Learn StoryBook for Free Today**](https://www.learnstorybook.com/) ### **ZeroHeight** {% embed url="" %} Zeroheight allows you to document your design system, together. Ensuring you create beautiful living styleguides and document all your design system resources in one place. [**Start Using Zero Height** ](https://www.zeroheight.com/images/zhapp/landingv4/hero_new.mp4)**|** [**Read the Zero Height Blog**](https://www.zeroheight.com/images/zhapp/landingv4/hero_new.mp4) ### **Specify** ![](https://www.specifyapp.com/_nuxt/img/840b1a7.webp) Specify is an all-in-one tool for design systems. The first tool fully designed to maintain large products and design systems. All your design primitives, component states and platforms in one place. [**Get Early Access to Specify Today**](https://www.specifyapp.com/) ### **Lingo** ![](/files/-Lx2zmdVsjehDfGcFzYZ) Lingo is the visual home for your brand. Stop wasting time looking for files buried in folders. Visually organize all your assets in one place with Lingo. Create and share living style guides, asset libraries and more. [**Start Using Lingo Today**](https://www.lingoapp.com/) ## Accessibility Checkers ### A11ygator ![](/files/-Lx3-zu7qtt1-3Xb-Rgj) A fantastic free tool which analyses your website's accessibility against the Web Content and Accessibility Guidelines. It provides you with fantastic detailed documentation on how you can fix each issue on your website. Do check it out. [**Start Using A11ygator**](https://a11ygator.chialab.io/) ### Accessible color palette builder ![](/files/-Lx30y0UNoq6aHjCdJ2R) This is a tool to help designers build color palettes with combinations that conform with accessibility standards. [**Start Using Accessibile Color Palette Builder**](https://toolness.github.io/accessible-color-matrix/) ### ColorBox ![](/files/-Lx31Y6azyjBggWUHh32) ColorBox is a tool built by Lyft which allows you to build an accessible color system for your project. [**Start Using Color Box**](http://www.colorbox.io/) ### Colorable ![](/files/-LwNaAHiVqefmszsPlHd) When using color, it is important to consider contrast and accessibility. Color will help you in quickly selecting an accessible color palette for your text and backgrounds. [**Use Colorable Now**](https://colorable.jxnblk.com/) ### **Use Contrast** ![](/files/-Lx320nCdhNrgPJDd4nz) A macOS app for quick access to WCAG color contrast ratios which is used by many designers. [**Start Using Use Contrast**](https://usecontrast.com/) ### **Colors** ![](/files/-Lx33Hff0JQlKJy_iBuJ) Colors is set of 90 accessible color systems you can use in your next design project. [**Start Using Colors**](http://clrs.cc/a11y/) ## **Also Explore** {% content-ref url="/pages/-LuC-lluX38Nqhq0GjG2" %} [Design Courses](/more/design-courses) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # UI Patterns & Inspiration Discover different design solutions used to commonly used UI components through our curated list of UI Pattern Libraries & inspiration websites. ## UI Patterns You can always learn from others. Especially from those who do design for a living. These pattern library websites are not just a collection screenshots. They are a visual representation of how different approaches can be used to design the same UI component such as a search bar, a card, a sign up page, a form or a navigation bar. {% hint style="info" %} **Tip:** We recommend bookmarking the pattern libraries you love and visiting them when you start designing UIs next. {% endhint %} ### CheckList Design (a must see) No matter how many times the founder of this website would design a product, there was always small touches that he missed when wrapping up his work. A link here, a back button there - there was always that minor but meaningful piece he would miss. Here therefore made this website as an attempt at listing out all the minimum requirements a page needs to satisfy the user experience for you, incase you ever get caught up with the finer details. {% embed url="" %} ### Really Good UX (a must see) This website doesn't just look at good UI practice for individual components but focusses rather on the UI throughout the user journey and how that overall impacts the user experience. This website offers a fantastic collection of visual examples of how a bunch of different companies design their user experiences, whether it's by means of in-app messaging, or just design in general. {% embed url="" %} ### Mobbin Mobbin is a hand-picked collection of the latest mobile design patterns from apps that reflect the best in design. They have carefully hand-picked over 170 apps and 10,000 patterns (screenshots from iPhone X) from app stores of different countries, not just the US. For example, they have put up great apps like Timetree, ofo and Tik Tok which are designed and created in Asian countries. Do check it out. {% embed url="" %} ### UX Archive UXArchive is the world's largest library of mobile user flows to find mobile UX trends from the world’s top mobile apps. If you liked Mobbin, you will love their site too! {% embed url="" %} ### SaasFrame As a growth marketer, the founder of SaasFrame, always found themselves reinventing the wheel for their clients. This is when they decide to change this and built an airtable of inspiration which soon translated into this rich website of SaaS marketing pages, email flows and product designs. {% embed url="" %} ### PageFlows When designing common, but vital flows like [onboarding](https://pageflows.com/user-flow/user-onboarding/), [upgrading](https://pageflows.com/user-flow/upgrading/), and [inviting friends](https://pageflows.com/user-flow/inviting-people/), start from a solid base of knowledge by seeing how successful products do it with PageFlows. Pageflows has a growing library of 1,262 recordings of tried & tested products which is trusted by hundreds of happy customers from leading brands such as Google, Disney, Sonos, Booking.com and Vimeo. A must see especially due to their video recording feature. {% embed url="" %} ### Good UI A Good User Interface Gets Better With New Evidence Be it landing pages, funnels, e-commerce sites or apps, they all get better with UI changes backed by positive design experiments - the more the better. And so Good UI actively publishes results of amazing companies that learn from experimentation: {% embed url="" %} ### WaveGuide Waveguide is a massive design knowledge bank with curated design learning content and thousands of artificially enriched examples of product and brand experience. {% embed url="" %} ### UI Recipes Each week UI Recipes will analyze the **top UI patterns** and the **latest design trends** from the **🔥 hottest mobile and web apps**, and turn them into **actionable 🍲 UI Recipes** for designing specific user tasks. {% embed url="" %} ### UI Patterns User Interface Design patterns are recurring solutions that solve common design problems. This library is considered to the be the de-facto reference for the experienced user interface designer. {% embed url="" %} ### UIPatterns.io This is not just another pattern library website. What makes this website is different that you can not just see the different design solutions **but also interact with it** to see the complete experience. {% embed url="" %} ### SaasPages The aim of this website is to help SaaS companies build the best landing pages so that they can convert visitors to paying customers. {% embed url="" %} ### Google Material Design While the Google Material Design Components section only focusses on their own components, they have fantastic examples of how their components compare to other solutions out there with clear Do's and Don'ts. {% embed url="" %} ### Mental Health Design Patterns Digital services and products for mental health and wellbeing are increasingly common, but lacking a shared repository of best practices, agencies and innovators repeatedly re-identify the same user needs and re-solve the same service delivery challenges. This library has therefore been created to support more consistent and effective digital tools for mental health, combining clinical and design best practices. {% embed url="" %} ### Web Accessibility Patterns While not exactly a pattern library, these websites cover the standards which need to be followed when designing and creating accessible websites for mobiles, laptops, and desktops. {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Design Inspiration ### Discover Scrnshts A collection of beautiful app screenshots from the iOS App store similar to the beautiful Mobbin Library. {% embed url="" %} ### Muzli (every designer's favorite plugin) Muzli instantly delivers cutting-edge design projects and news each time a new tab is open in your browser. Discover the best web and mobile design inspiration from design experts across the web and around the world. {% embed url="" %} ### Collect UI A platform for your daily inspiration collected from the daily ui challenge & beyond. Based on Dribbble shots, hand picked. {% embed url="" %} ### More ### Pttrns.com {% embed url="" %} ### Dribbble {% embed url="" %} ### BestFolios {% embed url="" %} ### LandBook - Landing Page Inspiration {% embed url="" %} ### Lappa {% embed url="" %} ### LandingFolio {% embed url="" %} ### CoDrops {% embed url="" %} ### Code My UI {% embed url="" %} ### User Onboard {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Free UI Resources Find the perfect UI Kits, Fonts, Photos, Icons, and Illustrations for your next project from our curated list of over 100+ resources. ### Hello, We don't usually do this but we have too many resources. 124 to be exact. While that is great, putting them all onto one page would be extremely chaotic & would make the page really long. We are sure you wouldn't like that. Therefore to make it an easier navigation & learning experience we have divided this into 5 sub-sections. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYtBIsn7P82AHoE8p" %} [Photos](/more/free-resources/photos) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZ3OzilxMphoP8mms" %} [Illustrations](/more/free-resources/illustrations) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # UX Writing Learn what UX Writing is and write better UX copy with our curated lists of books, articles, & software. ## What is UX Writing? Powerful-but-minimalist copy is fundamental to a great user experience. It’s what gives life to a product and ensures that the process of interacting with a digital product is not confusing or frustrating. While visuals still drive that experience, the words also need to be on point, not an afterthought. ([Source:Stephanie Van Ness](https://blog.prototypr.io/ux-writing-skills-now-vital-for-designers-8319a1604fcc)) This is why today UX just like traditional publishing has dedicated copywriters also known as UX Writers. They focus of designing the words which go into each component of the website/app. This includes the copy which goes into headlines, paragraphs, buttons, menus, forms, error messages, security notes, terms and conditions, as well as instructions and documentation. To learn the impact a UX writer can have on a project we highly recommend reading these articles by [John Saito, a UX Writer at DropBox](https://medium.com/@jsaito?source=post_page-----63d6965051e9----------------------). {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ### Does Every Team Have a UX Writer? No. Since the field is still in it's infancy there are not many UX writers out there with [many companies expecting their in-house UX designers to wear this hat as well ](https://blog.prototypr.io/ux-writing-skills-now-vital-for-designers-8319a1604fcc)(at least for the time-being). Therefore currently a UX writer either works with multiple teams on multiple projects at the same time or the UX designer wears the hat of the UX writer themselves. These articles give a good take on how the UX writer fits into today's UX design teams. {% embed url="" %} ### UX Writing in the UX Process A UX writer typically joins the UX process in the following scenarios: #### **Once a Product is Already Complete** Since the field is in it's infancy, many companies have only recently hired UX writers. Therefore the initial projects, UX writers tend to work on tend to be fixing copy in already existing shipped products. It is during this time, that they also do a copy audit and begin to formulate guidelines which they may use in future projects. #### **During the IA, Content Strategy, and Prototyping Stage** The ideal way, this happens on newer projects once the writing guidelines have been or about to be set in place. UX writers tend to work closely with the Information Architects, Content Strategists, and UI designers once the ideation stage begins. They focus from how the user journey will unfold right down to how the content will be structured and end with writing the micro-copy for each component. Thus ensuring, the tone and personality remain consistent and follow the writing guidelines set by them. **When Writing Guidelines are required** This is especially common in large organizations in which there are multiple teams. This task tends to happen in conjunction to fixing the old copy as the UX writers begin to identify common mistakes and are forming the theme and personality for the company's copy. Today UX writers directly contribute to design systems with notes on how to write copy for each component. These guidelines may also extend to the company blogs and social media posts. They not only cover macro details such as tone & voice but also use cases, examples, and do's and don'ts. You can explore the work of awesome UX writers in this article below. {% embed url="" %} ## Become a better UX Writer in 15 Days If you are new to UX Writing or looking to amp up your UX Writing skills we recommend that you sign up for this fantastic newsletter by Daily UX Writing. You will get a UX writing prompt in your inbox every weekday for 14 days—and a final full-length content challenge on day 15. These are actual prompts from the largest product organizations in the world. No spam. Just practice. Free forever. [**Signup now.**](https://dailyuxwriting.com/) **Pro Tip:** Join their awesome [Facebook group](https://www.facebook.com/groups/dailyuxwriting) where you can post your solutions, get feedback, and connect with other UX Writers. {% embed url="" %} ## Foundations of UX Writing Course In this FREE industry-leading course, you’ll learn about UX writing processes, testing, research, and best practices. Plus, they will show you the tools UX writers can't live without, the blogs they follow, the podcasts they listen to, give you killer microcopy examples from top companies, and so much more. {% embed url="" %} ## Learn More Now that you have an understanding of what UX writing is you are ready to explore the UX writing books, articles, and software we have curated together to help you write better copy. {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lw3W5ZGAJh9DssuXvkA" %} [Books](/explore/ux-writing/books) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lw2EWByG3BJxMNBaif\_" %} [Articles](/explore/ux-writing/articles) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-Lw3Re2hPZb3VRnTVDBu" %} [Software](/explore/ux-writing/tools) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Books Improve your design workflow with our curated books on UX writing. ## Strategic Writing for UX by Torrey Podmajersky When you depend on users to perform specific actions--like buying tickets, playing a game, or riding public transit--well-placed words are most effective. But how do you choose the right words? And how do you know if they work? With this practical book, you'll learn how to write strategically for UX, using tools to build foundational pieces for UI text and UX voice strategy. {% embed url="" %} ## Microcopy by Niaw de Leon In this book, you will learn how: * One retail firm increased its monthly revenues by $25,000,000 by changing one word * A website prevented hundreds of credit card billing errors using a single sentence * An enterprise chat app used playful microcopy to grow to a $3.8B valuation {% embed url="" %} ## Nicely Said by Nicole Fenton & Kate Kiefer Lee Learn from real-world examples and interviews with people who work in the world of UX writing and content strategy every day: Kristina Halvorson of Brain Traffic, Tiffani Jones Brown of Pinterest, Gabrielle Blair of Design Mom, Mandy Brown of Editorially, Randy J. Hunt of Etsy, Sarah Richards of GOV.UK, and more. {% embed url="" %} ## Conversational Design by Erika Hall In this book, research and information design expert Erika Hall explains what makes an interaction truly conversational and how to get more comfortable using language in design. From understanding the human interface, to effectively using the power of personality, to getting it all done, you’ll find out how the art of communication can elevate technology. {% embed url="" %} Find more books [here](https://blog.usejournal.com/a-mega-list-of-ux-writing-resources-d9f200d6dfde). ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Articles Learn more about UX writing with our curated list of articles. How many times have you found yourself looking around the web for microcopy examples and references? Here are a list of articles that bring microcopy inspiration to all of the UX writers, content strategists, product designers, and anyone else out there that enjoys digital product microcopy as much as we do. ## Write Better Words {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="?" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Words in Screens {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="?" %} ## Landing Page Copy Writing {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Email Copy Writing {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} ## Read More Remain updated with these blogs by the best content strategists in the business ([source: Noteworthy](https://blog.usejournal.com/a-mega-list-of-ux-writing-resources-d9f200d6dfde)). * [Brain Traffic](http://braintraffic.com/blog) * [Content Design London](https://contentdesign.london/blog/) * [E-consultancy](https://www.econsultancy.com/blog/) * [GOV.UK](https://www.blog.gov.uk/) * [Sticky Content](https://stickycontent.com/blog) * [UX Writing Hub](http://uxwritinghub.com/category/ux-writing-blog/) ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Software Improve the UX copy you write for your apps and websites with these software platforms. ## HemingWay App ![](http://www.hemingwayapp.com/desktop/img/editing5.gif) Hemingway helps you write with power and clarity by highlighting adverbs, passive voice, and dull, complicated words. It cuts the dead weight from your writing. It highlights wordy sentences in yellow and more egregious ones in red. A must try for all UX writers. *PS: They have a Figma plug-in too.* {% embed url="" %} ## Grammarly Compose bold, clear, mistake-free writing with Grammarly’s AI-powered writing assistant. From grammar and spelling to style and tone, Grammarly helps you eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself. {% embed url="" %} ## Readable ![](/files/-LwCRj1yxo55u7kBpNMP) An quick and easy way to test the readability of your work this tool by WebFX is used many a time by designers wanting to quickly evaluate what changes they need to make. {% embed url="" %} ## Visual Thesauras ![](/files/-LwCTY_3ZOC2nRRPNzuM) The Visual Thesaurus is an interactive dictionary and thesaurus which creates word maps that blossom with meanings and branch to related words. Its innovative display encourages exploration and learning. You'll understand language in a powerful new way. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Job Hunting Accelerate your UX design job hunting process with this guide. ## The 4 Stages of the Job Hunt The job-hunting process as a UX designer can be a long one, especially as a new designer. But don't fear we are here to help. Usually, the job hunt consists of 5 essential steps: * Making Your Resume * Creating your Portfolio * Applying for UX Design Jobs * Doing a Design Interview * Starting on the job Make important notes as you read our guide and make a projected schedule of when you want to start applying for jobs and interviewing as this is going to be extremely important. ### Making your Resume Writing a resume can be tough, especially when you are not sure exactly what content to keep or write but fear no more. Make your Resume in less than an hour with these steps: #### **‌1. Start by looking at the best.** A great way to start learning the best tricks to making a resume is by reading resumes of designers in top companies. You can view these on websites such as [**BestFolios**](https://www.bestfolios.com/resumes) and [**CoFolios**](http://cofolios.com/)**.** {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### **2. Open Google Docs & select either the Serif of Swiss Template.** Yes it is okay to use a template. What matters more is the content. You can always make aesthetic changes later. Alternatively you can use [**this awesome Product Design resume template from Pathrise**](https://www.pathrise.com/guides/important-tips-for-your-product-design-resume-with-sample-resume/)**.** Ensure you give the document a name the following format:\[FirstName]\_\[Second Name]\_UX\_Design\_Resume\_\[Date] #### **3. Start to enter information about yourself & information about each of your experiences.** * We recommend first quickly typing out as much as you can remember about your job experiences and then starting to refine each line. * Ensure you mention which tools you used in your projects & job experiences. This is extremely important as recruiters are always scanning for these. * When writing about each experience, remember to focus on impact & not grunt. For example, instead of saying ‘Designed X for Y’ say ‘Accomplished X by implementing Y, which led to Z’. ([Credit: Pathrise](https://www.pathrise.com/guides/important-tips-for-your-product-design-resume-with-sample-resume/)) * Try to quantify your work if possible. A great way to do this is by describing either the scale or results of the projects. ([Credit: Pathrise](https://www.pathrise.com/guides/important-tips-for-your-product-design-resume-with-sample-resume/)) * If your company is not well known, we recommend putting a small blurb about who they are, how big they are, & what they do. #### 4. Get Feedback on your Resume from your college career advisor We cannot stress the importance of this enough. Getting feedback from different people is extremely important to tweaking your resume and fixing any confusing statements. If you do not have a college advisor then ask your design friends or on [**Facebook design groups**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/1487708811477672/) or reach out to a design recruiter on Linkedin. #### 5. Download the Resume as a PDF and start applying. ### Creating your Portfolio Getting started with making your portfolio can be difficult. This is why we have made this short crash-course of how to go ahead and make your portfolio website. ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-L_1alTJW-HfiKYe_wZc%2F-L_1aogOtBi7UU0n8rMB%2FScreen%20Shot%202019-03-03%20at%2012.10.28%20AM.png?alt=media\&token=75467787-6d50-4a7b-af92-b235199bb8ef) #### 1. Look at Awesome Portfolios for Inspiration Start by exploring portfolios of established UX Designers on [**Bestfolios.com**](https://www.bestfolios.com/portfolios) and [**Cofolios.com**](http://cofolios.com/). By exploring these you will be able to start noticing common patterns as well as somethings you may want to do in your portfolio. **Some of our favorite UX portfolios are:** * **Siddharth Naik:** [**siddharthnnaik.com**](https://siddharthnnaik.com/) * **Yang Qian:** [**yangq.design**](https://www.yangq.design/) * **Vristhi Bhowmik:** [**vrishtibhowmik.com**](https://www.vrishtibhowmik.com/) * **Geunabe Lee:** [**geunbae-lee.github.io**](https://geunbae-lee.github.io/portfolio/portfolio.html) * **Chengsu Chen:** [**chengsuchen.com**](https://www.chengsuchen.com/) **2. Read these guidelines from UX designers to learn the best practices for creating a portfolio website. This will help save you a lot of time later in the process.** {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} #### 3. Start to write 3-5 fantastic case studies in Google Docs or Notion or Word or Medium or any text editor of your choice. We always recommend to start with content first so as to remain focused. In each case study you write ensure you: * **Mention your role, the project duration, and the team members** * **Write descriptive headers such as "Adding a custom recipe is very frustrating" vs "UX Research or Stakeholder interviews"**. This is extremely important as recruiters will be scanning your case studies first and only then reading for more detail. * **Include Annotated Screenshots** highlighting the design decisions you made. This helps to connect back to the written text. * **Include Results with Statistics** on how the design impacted the users and the organization. If it is a redesign then you may showcase a before and after along with usability testing results. Common examples of this are increased sales, signups, customer retention, brand awareness or perception, engagement, total posts mades, or app reviews. * **Aggressively work on reducing word count.** You do not need to write everything about your project. Focus on the important points. * **There are no spelling or grammatical errors.** A great way to check for this is by putting your case study in [**Grammarly**](https://app.grammarly.com/). * **Provide Testimonials if available.** These can be from users or from your manager or from your class instructor or professor. * **Add Motion to your Portfolio (Optional):** [**This article**](https://medium.com/bridge-collection/adding-a-little-motion-to-your-portfolio-7f1afae9bec5) gives you a perfect run down of how to do it. An awesome place to find case studies is [**Bestfolios.com's**](https://www.bestfolios.com/casestudy) case study section. Some of our favorite case studies are: * [**Matchy by Yang Qian**](https://www.yangq.design/projects/matchy) * [**Sound by Siddharth Naik**](https://siddharthnnaik.com/sound.html) * [**Space OS by Vristhi Bhowmik**](https://www.vrishtibhowmik.com/spaces) * [**Grocery Help AR by Geunbae Lee**](https://geunbae-lee.github.io/portfolio/grocery.html) * [**Making Shopify Better by Cordell Yee**](http://cordellyee.com/shopify.html) If you need to make a few projects first we recommend subscribing to the [Product Design Interview newsletter](https://productdesigninterview.com/) or attending a hackathon! {% embed url="" %} And if you are doing or documenting a redesign project, we recommend checking out this article: {% embed url="" %} #### **4. Draw a low fidelity wireframe of your design on paper or on** [**Whimsical.com**](https://whimsical.com/) This step is extremely important so that you don't stress later on the layout when using the portfolio building tool of your choice. We recommend designing for a layout with a maximum of 2 cards per row. This is a great time to also start thinking about the copy of your website. We recommend keeping attractive project headers and using large visuals. *Ensure your navigation bar has the following tabs: About Me, Work, Resume, Linkedin, Email* #### **5. Create your Portfolio in a Website Builder** There are many portfolio website builders out there. If you are looking to make a portfolio really quickly then we recommend using [**Squarespace**](https://www.squarespace.com/) or [**Adobe Portfolio**](https://portfolio.adobe.com/) or [**UXfolio**](https://uxfol.io/). If you are looking to invest more time and making your website more personalized you can try out [**Semplice**](http://www.semplicelabs.com/) or [**Webflow**](https://webflow.com/) or HTML & CSS. Mind you, they have a steep learning curve. Start to pull all your content together. Remember to include alt tags for your images and to ensure they are optimized for the web in terms of file size. The last thing you want is your website taking forever to load when a recruiter visits it. We also recommend ensuring you provide metadata for each page to improve your search ranking. This is the stage at which you may also want to purchase a custom domain. Try using a domain ending with .com or .design or .io (if you coded it it yourself). #### **6. Publish your Portfolio & Get Feedback** This is really important. Conduct a usability test of your website and at least two case studies with 5 users. It is key to see how quickly they are scrolling and at what points do they stop to read or observe more. Ask them if there are phrases or words which are confusing or if any graphic element could improve. {% hint style="info" %} **Pro Tip:** Post your resume on the [**Designer's Guild Monthly Portfolio Feedback thread**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/designguild/) as you can get advice from the industry's leading designers free of cost! Isn't that awesome? {% endhint %} Using that feedback, improve your website & publish the changes. #### 7. Start Applying!!! We providing tips for that process below! ### Applying for Jobs Applying for jobs is a numbers game. The more you apply to the better your chances. The first step to applying for jobs is by visiting the company website's career page of the top tech companies and then shifting your focus to job boards. For each position ensure you provide a customized resume and cover letter which caters exactly to the skills they are looking for. {% hint style="info" %} **Pro Tip** [**The Pathrise company guides page**](https://www.pathrise.com/guides/how-to-get-a-job-at-company) **has a curated list of 200+ top companies**. Use this list to ensure you apply to UX design positions at each of these companies. **We also** [**recommend using Huntr to track your application progress.** ](https://huntr.co/home) {% endhint %} #### Job Boards Below is a list of all the job boards you can use to apply for jobs. | Job Board Name | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | [**Linkedin**](https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/) | | [**Indeed**](http://indeed.com/) | | [**Glassdoor**](https://www.uxlibrary.org/more/www.glassdoor.com) | | [**Angel List**](https://angel.co/jobs) | | [**YCombinator**](https://news.ycombinator.com/jobs/) | | [**Stella**](https://www.stella.ai/) | | [**Dribbble**](https://dribbble.com/jobs) | In the article below you will get to learn some fantastic tips on how to ensure you have nailed each job application. {% embed url="" %} ### Design Interviews Design is a process of constant iteration. You got to keep doing user research and testing to improve your design. You need to treat preparing for a design interview in a similar way. This is why we have written a short crash course of 3 steps you need to keep repeating in a cycle until you land that job! #### **1. Practice White-boarding Exercises.** We recommend purchasing the [**Solving Product Design Exercises book**](https://productdesigninterview.com/) and practicing the listed exercises along with a design peer. In addition to this you can use the following website to generate design interview problems for practice: * [Sharpen Design](https://sharpen.design/) * [UX Challenge Co](http://www.uxchallenge.co/) * [Daily UX Challenge](https://2is0.com/dailyux/) * [100 UX Problems](https://uxdesign.cc/100-example-ux-problems-f90e7f61dd9f) * [DesignerCize](https://designercize.com/?ref=producthunt) #### **2. Prepare an awesome portfolio slide deck which consist of 3 case studies and 1 for back-up.** Try and reach out to at least two UX designers in the field for feedback and to do a practice session with. Now repeat the entire cycle till you start to get offers! #### 3. Read on interview questions asked at each company. A great resource for this is the [Pathrise's Company Guides](https://productdesigninterview.com) which lists the interview questions for more than 200+ companies. In addition to this you can find information on [Blind](https://www.teamblind.com/articles/Tech-Careers), [Glassdoor](https://www.uxlibrary.org/more/www.glassdoor.com), and [Subtle Asian Tech](https://www.facebook.com/groups/2129028140676009/?fref=nf). #### 4. Bonus * [Design Critique Coach](https://designcritiquecoach.com) is a great website to help you practice and prepare for random questions regarding design decisions which may be asked to you during interviews. * Read [Julie Zhuo's Advice on Twitter](https://twitter.com/joulee/status/1117832445196247040) ## Read More {% tabs %} {% tab title="Make Your Portfolio" %} ## Articles to Help Improve your Portfolio {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% endtab %} {% tab title="Design Interviews" %} ## Articles to Make you Better at Design Interviews {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% endtab %} {% endtabs %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Design Courses Learn new skills from these awesome online UI/UX design courses we have curated together for you. ## Learn UX Design ### User Experience Research and Design Specialization by University of Michigan This FREE course will help you gain a solid foundation in UX Research and Design to create great products and advance your career. As a student you will gain hands-on experience with taking a product from initial concept, through user research, ideation and refinement, formal analysis, prototyping, and user testing, applying perspectives and methods to ensure a great user experience at every step. {% embed url="" %} [A similar version of this course is also offered by the University of California San Diego.](https://www.coursera.org/specializations/interaction-design?ranMID=40328\&ranEAID=DqiaAnGlGE8\&ranSiteID=DqiaAnGlGE8-ZNovadSz7xHESZiYXCOEVg\&siteID=DqiaAnGlGE8-ZNovadSz7xHESZiYXCOEVg\&utm_content=3\&utm_medium=partners\&utm_source=linkshare\&utm_campaign=DqiaAnGlGE8\&source=post_page-----52154a188af3----------------------#courses) ### Product Design by Google & Udacity Created in collaboration with Google, this course blends theory and practice to teach you product validation, UI/UX practices, Google’s Design Sprint and the process for setting and tracking actionable metrics. Do note that they offer both a free & paid version of this course. {% embed url="" %} ### DesignerUp DesignerUp school aims to cultivate more mindful UI/UX designers that are better equipped with the hard and soft skills to have fulfilling careers creating products for the digital world. Through their online **live webinars, tutorials, podcasts and full Product Design Master Course** they are making high-quality design education more accessible and affordable **for aspiring designers everywhere**. {% embed url="" %} ### Hack Design The world's best designers have created a digestible and iterative lesson plans for you to learn the critical elements of design. {% embed url="" %} ## Introduction to UX and Accessible Design Explore the world of accessible design, and discover how you can start a career as a UX designer. {% embed url="" %} ## Learn UX Research ### Zero to UX By Kevin Liang On his channel, on how to conduct UX Research and when and what methods to use. In addition to this you will also get access to videos on how to ace the UX research interview. {% embed url="" %} ## Learn UI Design ### UI Design Tools by DesignCode.io {% embed url="" %} This is a fantastic website with complete free courses on the best UI design software. They have free courses on [Sketch](https://designcode.io/sketch-learn), [Figma](https://designcode.io/design-system-figma), [Framer](https://designcode.io/framer-x/), [Webflow](https://designcode.io/webflow-course/) and [Protopie](https://www.protopie.io/). Apart from this they also have paid courses on how to code out the prototypes you make using CSS, JSock, Swift, React, React Native, Swift UI and Vue.js. [**Start Learning Today**](https://designcode.io/) ### **Learn UI Design by Eric Kennedy** With over [20 hours of video lessons](https://learnui.design/#syllabus), filled with strategies and live examples covering all major areas of UI design. Watch Erik, as he *actually* design dozens of examples right in front of you. {% embed url="" %} ### Meaningful Motion UI Meaningful Motion UI is a course where you learn how to integrate motion to your user interfaces using inVision Studio. Not only does it teach you the software but also the concepts necessary to understand the impact motion can have as well as the practical tips and techniques to apply them. {% embed url="" %} ### Sketch App TV ![](/files/-LwCj9mkQPcut3TWJGuu) Learn Sketch by watching these free tutorials. The Sketch tutorials feature workflows, plugins and inspiration for new user interfaces. They also a free course on Principle and a ton of UI Kit freebies. [**Start Learning Today**](https://sketchapp.tv/) ### Refactoring UI {% embed url="" %} Steve Schoger of the Refactoring UI team has a set of 6 fantastic videos which show you how he improves the design of 6 websites using a set of design strategies and tricks. [**Start Learning Today**](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxqiDtkXtOCNJdckODHk9YA/videos) ### Daily Design {% embed url="" %} In this Youtube series Mackenzie Child will be designing a new UI element every single day... Whether that be a little widget or a full page design (like today). [**Start Learning Today**](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL23ZvcdS3XPLj9eyU-9whn27EJuUZ0W2b) ### **UI Talks** ![](/files/-LwD4TaC_nBg1nVfZ_Aq) Find conference talks on anything related to **User Experience** design {% embed url="" %} ## Learn UX Writing ### Foundations of UX Writing In this FREE industry-leading course, you’ll learn about UX writing processes, testing, research, and best practices. Plus, they will show you the tools UX writers can't live without, the blogs they follow, the podcasts they listen to, give you killer microcopy examples from top companies, and so much more. {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Free Resources Find the perfect UI Kits, Fonts, Photos, Icons, and Illustrations for your next project from our curated list of over 100+ resources. ### Hello, We don't usually do this but we have too many resources. 124 to be exact. While that is great, putting them all onto one page would be extremely chaotic & would make the page really long. We are sure you wouldn't like that. Therefore to make it an easier navigation & learning experience we have divided this into 5 sub-sections. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYtBIsn7P82AHoE8p" %} [Photos](/more/free-resources/photos) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZ3OzilxMphoP8mms" %} [Illustrations](/more/free-resources/illustrations) {% endcontent-ref %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # UI Kits Find an awesome UI kit for your next project from our curated list of awesome free UI kit websites. ## **SketchApp Sources** ![](http://img.sur.ly/thumbnails/620x343/s/sketchappsources.com.png) This is our favorite website to find free high quality UI Kits. Not only do they independently created UI Kits but also the UI kits of industry websites & apps such as Snapchat, Google, Facebook, Youtube. We personally love using UI kits when we are ideating through some basic wireframe ideas for our projects as they are a really fast way to move from low-fidelity to high-fidelity. Do check it out. {% hint style="info" %} **Pro Tip:** Sketch files can be opened not just in Sketch but also in Figma, Adobe XD & inVision Studio too! So you can download these sketch files and then open them in a software of your choice. {% endhint %} {% embed url="" %} ## inVision UI Kits ![](http://www.sketchappsources.com/resources/source-image/relate-ui-kit-invision.png) InVision is happy to offer free design resources, including UI kits, icon packs, and mockups. Their UI kits can be opened in Sketch, inVision, and Photoshop and technically Figma and Adobe Figma too. Check out their free design kits to help bring your prototypes to life. {% embed url="" %} ## **SketchRepo** ![](https://cdn.sketchrepo.com/resources/sketchrepo_share_new.png) Sketch Repo helps designers find free, high-quality Sketch resources for their next project. It is still a young website, so telling people about us would be greatly appreciated. {% embed url="" %} ## **Figma Freebies** ![](https://cms-assets.tutsplus.com/uploads/users/30/posts/32053/image/figma_freebies.jpg) If you love Figma, then you will love Figma Freebies. Each of these freebies have been carefully handcrafted for Figma itself and therefore are great to use when starting a collaborative UI design project. {% embed url="" %} ## UI8 Freebies ![](/files/-LwCe78ZP5qTAczoys06) More than 350 Epic design freebies to get you started in your next UI design project. {% embed url="" %} ## Marvel UI Kits for iOS Marvel decided to share goodies for those of you who work with mobile UI design or want to start. {% embed url="" %} ## XD Guru ![](/files/-LwCcVBA6fCC8F_gKCrq) The best resource for robust Adobe XD UI kits created by the Adobe XD community which are available for free. You will find many premium UI kits for free for limited time periods here so keep an eye out for them. {% embed url="" %} ## UpLabs UpLabs is a website for designers and developers to find and share resources to build apps and sites. {% embed url="" %} ## Frames for Sketch (free trial) Design beautiful websites and apps faster, using top-notch components built with extreme attention to details with this UI kit which has designs for 140 Layouts in 13 Categories. {% embed url="" %} ## Plaster Design System (free demo) Create better products using bulletproof guidelines built within Android & iOS components. {% embed url="" %} ## Our Personal Library of UI Kits I have put together some commonly required design assets which you can checkout here: * [Adobe XD UI Kits](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdZk1HZXNpeGh5dTg) * [Sketch and Figma Kits](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdM2k0RklMVzluSm8) ## More Free Design Resources If you liked these resources do check out more of our free resources we have curated together for you from around the web. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYtBIsn7P82AHoE8p" %} [Photos](/more/free-resources/photos) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZ3OzilxMphoP8mms" %} [Illustrations](/more/free-resources/illustrations) {% endcontent-ref %} # Fonts Find a fantastic legible font for your next UI design project from the list of awesome FREE websites we have curated for you. ## Google Fonts Google Fonts is a library of 960 free licensed fonts. You can not only download them but also directly access them from Figma itself. What is more awesome is that developers love Google fonts due to their simple API to import fonts into CSS & Android. We recommend always select a font with at-least 10 styles for your UI design project so that you have a wide variety of weights. [This article by inVision](https://www.invisionapp.com/inside-design/11-best-google-fonts/) lists out the best Google fonts out there for UI design. {% embed url="" %} ## Font Squirrel Free fonts have met their match. Font Squirrel has done the hard work, hand-selecting these free high quality typefaces and presenting them in an easy-to-use format. All the fonts on the site have free desktop licenses, meaning they can be used in commercial graphics and images free of charge. Do check it out. {% embed url="" %} ## ThemeUI.Net Fonts A growing collection of amazing free fonts and typefaces for designers. Free for both personal & commercial use. {% embed url="" %} ## Lost Type Lost Type is the first of its kind, a Pay-What-You-Want type foundry. Since 2011 Lost Type has been a source for unique typefaces, with a collection of over 50 different faces from contributors all over the world. 100% of the funds from sales of these fonts go directly to their respective designers. {% embed url="" %} ## More Free Design Resources If you liked these resources do check out more of our free resources we have curated together for you from around the web. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYtBIsn7P82AHoE8p" %} [Photos](/more/free-resources/photos) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZ3OzilxMphoP8mms" %} [Illustrations](/more/free-resources/illustrations) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} # Photos Find a fantastic set of photos for your next UI design project from our curated list of wonderful free photo websites. ## Unsplash (Must Try) ![](/files/-LwCpodLSjFN4HK1wwhV) Over 1 million free high-resolution images brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers. {% embed url="" %} ## Pexels ![](/files/-LwCqEFzaBrpqnPnVNax) Pexels provides high quality and completely free stock photos licensed under the Pexels license. All photos are nicely tagged, searchable and also easy to discover through our discover pages. {% embed url="" %} ## SplitShire ![](/files/-LwCqXnzMghVxlC5dP4v) Splitshire was created with the simple aim of giving life to photographs that would have gone into oblivion without any utility. In the course of almost ten years of photography the founder has accumulated many files, thousands, who were in the hard disk gathering dust. So he began to upload the first 100 high-resolution photos that you can freely download and use for personal an commercial purposes. {% embed url="" %} ## Death to Stock (Free Trial) ![](/files/-LwCrrCPLNgEIpFOoSFU) Death to Stock is an Artist Owned Co-op that provides you with the most authentic stock photos and videos; with unlimited downloads and new work added every month. {% embed url="" %} ## UI Faces by Caleb Ogden No more having to find profile pictures on your own. Use this site to quickly get sample avatars for your UI mockups. {% embed url="" %} ## Tiny Faces Free stock avatars for everyone. Tiny Faces is a free crowd-sourced avatar gallery to use in your personal or commercial projects {% embed url="" %} ## Cool Backgrounds ![](https://ph-files.imgix.net/f63b0d64-aa06-434e-958d-03ee1a7961bc?auto=format\&auto=compress\&codec=mozjpeg\&cs=strip\&w=620\&h=380\&fit=max\&dpr=2) Cool Backgrounds is a collection of tools to create compelling, colorful images for blogs, social media, and websites. Beyond backgrounds, the images generated can be used as 🖥 desktop wallpapers or cropped for 📱 mobile wallpapers. {% embed url="" %} ## BlobMaker ![](https://ph-files.imgix.net/e6d80169-33ae-4327-b509-a52e54bc7060?auto=format\&auto=compress\&codec=mozjpeg\&cs=strip\&w=457.3304157549234\&h=380\&fit=max\&dpr=2) Blobmaker is a free generative design tool made with 💕 by [z creative labs](https://www.zcreativelabs.com/), to help you quickly create random, unique, and organic-looking SVG shapes. {% embed url="" %} ## Hero Patterns ![](https://ph-files.imgix.net/990d41dc-59c5-4172-99c8-56300b96ddd4?auto=format\&auto=compress\&codec=mozjpeg\&cs=strip\&w=709.3333333333333\&h=380\&fit=max\&dpr=2) Hero Patterns is a collection of repeatable SVG background patterns for you to use on your digital projects. Steve Schoger created Hero Patterns so that you can easily incorporate high quality backgrounds in to your digital products. {% embed url="" %} ## Nova Patterns ![](https://ph-files.imgix.net/bf6fc09f-a95a-473a-a079-dc8794b3f3a4?auto=format\&auto=compress\&codec=mozjpeg\&cs=strip\&w=675.5555555555555\&h=380\&fit=max\&dpr=2) Nova Patterns is a directory of well-designed patterns you can download for free, with all content licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. {% embed url="" %} ## Made with Unsplash A showcase of the most creative things built with images from Unsplash. {% embed url="" %} ## Curated Photos Commonly Required for UX Design Projects **We have put together a few folders of commonly required photos for UX design mockups:** * [Faces / Humans / Profile Photos](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0Bwc1bjS476HdZnRXZ3JDaTdqYnc?usp=sharing) * [Nature](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdNF9aQ3dIX3dHUXM) * [Places](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdeVU1dTlrTG9PX28) * [Food](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdSTJadUlZSmRaVkU) * [Cities](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdanJSRFBrVGQ0cEU) * [College](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdbEM3d2ljVmNTSms) * [Activities](https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwc1bjS476HdcUthNXJCQk41d00) ## More Free Design Resources If you liked these resources do check out more of our free resources we have curated together for you from around the web. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZ3OzilxMphoP8mms" %} [Illustrations](/more/free-resources/illustrations) {% endcontent-ref %} # Icons Find an excellent set of icons for your next UI design project from our curated list of free icon websites. ## Icons8 {% embed url="" %} ## The Noun Project {% embed url="" %} ## Tabler Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Elasto UI {% embed url="" %} ## Fonts Ninja {% embed url="" %} ## Orion Icon Library {% embed url="" %} ## Lordicon {% embed url="" %} ## KeyIcons {% embed url="" %} ## Delesign {% embed url="" %} ## Zwicon {% embed url="" %} ## Tilda Icons {% embed url="" %} ## IconSVG {% embed url="" %} ## Joy Pixels {% embed url="" %} ## Simple Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Icon Scout {% embed url="" %} ## Streamline Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Ioni Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Twemoji {% embed url="" %} ## Ikonate {% embed url="" %} ## Material Icons Library {% embed url="" %} ## UseAnimations {% embed url="" %} ## Animated Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Flaticon {% embed url="" %} ## Feather {% embed url="" %} ## Essentials Icon Pack {% embed url="" %} ## SwiftIcons {% embed url="" %} ## Illustrio {% embed url="" %} ## Digital Nomad Icons {% embed url="" %} ## RemixIcon {% embed url="" %} ## EvaIcons {% embed url="" %} ## Evericons {% embed url="" %} ## Iconstore.co {% embed url="" %} ## IconBros {% embed url="" %} ## Potlab Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Visual Farm Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Polaris Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Material.io Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Potlab Icons {% embed url="" %} ## BoxIcons {% embed url="" %} ## IconScout {% embed url="" %} ## Animaticons {% embed url="" %} ## IconStor Free Icons {% embed url="" %} ## Icon Monstr {% embed url="" %} ## Font Awesome {% embed url="" %} ## Xicons {% embed url="" %} ## More Free Design Resources If you liked these resources do check out more of our free resources we have curated together for you from around the web. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYtBIsn7P82AHoE8p" %} [Photos](/more/free-resources/photos) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZ3OzilxMphoP8mms" %} [Illustrations](/more/free-resources/illustrations) {% endcontent-ref %} # Illustrations Find an incredible set of illustrations for your next UI design project from our curated list of free illustration websites. ## Story Set {% embed url="" %} ## **Highlights** {% embed url="" %} ## **Undraw** {% embed url="" %} ## **Ouch** {% embed url="" %} ## **Scale** {% embed url="" %} ## **Animatly** {% embed url="" %} ## **Paaatterns** {% embed url="" %} ## **DrawKit** {% embed url="" %} ## **Smash Illustrations** {% embed url="" %} ## **Open Doodles** {% embed url="" %} ## **Black Illustrations** Black illustrations is a series of FREE digital designs of black people for your next online project. Use our designs anywhere. From your websites, web applications to mobile apps, they have built these designs to be used anywhere and everywhere. {% embed url="" %} ## **Vector Creator** {% embed url="" %} ## **Paper Illustrations** {% embed url="" %} ## **Whoosh!** {% embed url="" %} ## **Charco Illustrations** {% embed url="" %} ## **Delesign** {% embed url="" %} ## **404 Illustrations** {% embed url="" %} ## **IsoFlat** {% embed url="" %} ## **Stubborn** {% embed url="" %} ## **Iradesign** {% embed url="" %} ## **Dimensional** {% embed url="" %} ## **Growww** {% embed url="" %} ## **Many Pixels** {% embed url="" %} ## **Lukas Zadam's Illustrations** {% embed url="" %} ## **Absurd** {% embed url="" %} ## **Humaaans** {% embed url="" %} ## **Glazestock** {% embed url="" %} ## **Avataaars** {% embed url="" %} ## More Free Design Resources If you liked these resources do check out more of our free resources we have curated together for you from around the web. {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZW-iTirRRWhrzf59" %} [UI Kits](/more/free-resources/ui-kits) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYwSPISDtxU5B2vOJ" %} [Fonts](/more/free-resources/fonts) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCZv3I1YS3ZrVPKWgH" %} [Icons](/more/free-resources/icons) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LwCYtBIsn7P82AHoE8p" %} [Photos](/more/free-resources/photos) {% endcontent-ref %} # Podcasts Learn by listening to UX design podcasts from the list we have specially curated for you. ## Why listen to a UX Podcast? While reading articles are a great way to learn industry practices, they mostly tend to not discuss the personal stories and intricate details of how design works in the real world. Not just that, our lives today are very busy. We don't always have time to sit and read. Therefore listening to a UX podcast is a great option. You can listen to them on the move and also feel more engaged with the community as most podcast episodes have a visiting design speaker. ## Recommended Podcasts ### The Design Better Podcast Design Better, is an inVision initiative which provides unprecedented access to the insights that power the world’s best design teams spanning over 3 seasons with bonus episodes too! {% embed url="" %} ### Jake and Jonathan (formerly Product Breakfast Club) A behind the scenes look at how some of the best companies in the world design their products. Jake Knapp, NY Times best-selling author of "Sprint", has helped companies like Slack, Nest and 23andMe build successful products. Jonathan Courtney, co-founder of AJ\&Smart, has worked with companies like RedBull, eBay and the United Nations, to help them build better products faster. In this new, exciting podcast, the two of them have teamed up to discuss things like product design, innovation and productivity. {% embed url="" %} ### UI Breakfast Podcast Exciting conversations about UI/UX design, products, marketing, and so much more. Their awesome guests are industry experts who share actionable knowledge — so that you can apply it in your business today. {% embed url="" %} ### Design Details A weekly conversation about design process and culture with more than 300 episodes. They create podcasts to encourage the right conversations, promote the right tools and processes, and provide a culture of constant learning and improvement to the global community of developers and designers. {% embed url="" %} ### Design Matters The world's first podcast about design and an inquiry into the broader world of creative culture through wide-ranging conversations with designers, writers, artists, curators, musicians, and other luminaries of contemporary thought. {% embed url="" %} ### User Defenders For those more recently diving into UX and gaining experience, it can be quite daunting to stay inpired and enlightened in this ever-changing/evolving landscape. This podcast is aimed at highlighting those leading the way in their craft by diving deeper into who they are, and what makes them tick/successful, in order to inspire and equip those aspiring to do the same. {% embed url="" %} ### UX Podcast UXPodcast™ is a twice-monthly digital design podcast sharing insights about business, technology and people since 2011. The UX Podcast team wants to push the boundaries of how user experience is perceived and boost your confidence in the work you do. {% embed url="" %} ### Ramblings of a Designer Podcast Ramblings of a Designer is a weekly podcast which discusses the latest design news from around the web that is hosted by Adan Zepeda (@adanzepeda) and Terri Rodriguez-Hong (@flaxenink). {% embed url="" %} ### The Big Web Show The award winning Big Web Show features special guests and topics like web publishing, art direction, content strategy, typography, web technology, and more. It's everything web that matters. Hosted by Jeffrey Zeldman. {% embed url="" %} ### The 99% Invisible Podcast Design is everywhere in our lives, perhaps most importantly in the places where we've just stopped noticing. 99% Invisible is a weekly exploration of the process and power of design and architecture. {% embed url="" %} ### Wireframe Wireframe reveals the stories behind user experience design, for UX/UI designers, graphic designers, and the design-curious. Hosted by Khoi Vinh, principal designer at Adobe and one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business, the podcast explores unexpected ways that user experience design helps technology fit into our lives. {% embed url="" %} ### Users Know Hate reading and enjoy listening to people argue over the details of user experience design? Sure! Who can blame you. Listen to What is Wrong with UX, the podcast where two old ladies yell at each other about how to make products suck slightly less. {% embed url="" %} ### The Hacking UI Podcast The Hacking UI Podcast is hosted by Sagi Shrieber and David Tintner, who are both a designer and developer as well as entrepreneurs, bloggers, productivity/time-hacker maniacs, and all around tech geeks. In the podcast they discuss these topics, often through interviews of well known and highly-experienced thought leaders at companies like Facebook, Intercom, Invision and more. {% embed url="" %} ### The O'Reilly Design Podcast The O'Reilly Design Podcast explores how experience design—and experience designers—are shaping business, the Internet of Things, and other domains. Subscribe on [iTunes](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/oreilly-design-podcast/id1022433707), [Stitcher](http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/oreilly-media-2/oreilly-design-podcast), [SoundCloud](https://soundcloud.com/oreilly-radar/sets/oreilly-design-podcast), and [RSS](http://feeds.podtrac.com/mval_omN-dea). {% embed url="" %} ### The UX Intern A monthly podcast interviewing seasoned User Experience Designers from the perspective of a UX Intern. {% embed url="" %} ### UX Radio UX-radio, Inc. was created by Lara Fedoroff out of a love for user-centered design, information architecture, content strategy, interaction and design. UX-Radio, is a podcast about IA, UX and Design. The show features collaborative discussions with industry experts with the purpose to inspire, educate and share resources with the community. {% embed url="" %} ### Health ReDesigned In age of smart health it is important to get a weekly dosage on building digital products for better health and wellness. {% embed url="" %} ### This Week in Startups The most interesting, outrageous & illuminating stories from the world of entrepreneurship. Jason Calacanis, a podcasting pioneer, gives you an insider’s look at what’s happening in the tech industry with his trademark blunt style and good humor. So if you are looking to start your own startup or are looking to learn business strategy, then your journey starts here. {% embed url="" %} ### Aureliuslab The best user research & product thinking insights from the people who make and improve digital products and services for companies ranging from Fortune 100s to startups. They get research because they walk in your shoes every day. {% embed url="" %} ## Other Podcasts to listen to * [**Mixed Methods**](https://www.mixed-methods.org/episodes/) * [**High Resolution**](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/high-resolution/id1204941994?mt=2) **- sitting down with 25 design leaders in the industry** * [**After School UX**](https://podfanatic.com/podcast/after-school-ux/episode/episode-1-binaebi-rachel) * [**The Totally Incomplete and Utterly Unfinished List of “Non White Male” Designers to Follow and Listen to.**](https://medium.com/@mento_coach/totally-incomplete-and-utterly-unfinished-list-of-non-white-male-designers-to-follow-and-listen-to-6c20408d4a2?ref=webdesignernews.com) {% embed url="" %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Facebook Groups Interact with other people who share the same interest for UI/UX as you with the Facebook groups we have curated together for you. ## Must Joins ### HH Design ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LuCJDHfoWmynPPhghcB%2F-LuCJFP9L2c8D1iYmJ-N%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=77173810-55cc-428d-9fe3-a9e450b5fa53) A community built around design within the context of technology. This is the perfect place to ask questions, receive critique, and get matched to a mentor. [**Join Now**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/designxtech/) ### **The Designers League** ![](https://blobscdn.gitbook.com/v0/b/gitbook-28427.appspot.com/o/assets%2F-LXimC0bwl-iiW3Q7dFD%2F-LuCJuSozAZcj3eIO2ZW%2F-LuCKCuN7o18-_MLT0AA%2Fimage.png?alt=media\&token=ccdb8e88-90d5-40de-86f5-c39d0fe87dda) Another favorite of ours, the designer's league features more experienced designers focussing more on product thinking & critique. [**Join Now**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/thedesignersleague) ### **The Designers Guild** ![](/files/-LuCLW2mVyig1leTsQBn) A professional community of 20,000+ designers in 100+ countries, Designers Guild is your secret weapon for leveling up your design career. It’s where world class designers share valuable advice and resources, discuss the future of design, and provide mentorship and job opportunities. Their mission is to elevate the design profession at large. [**Join Now**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/designguild/) ## **Other Groups** * [**UI & UX Designers**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/461999237551673/?ref=br_rs) * [**Mobile Design India**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/mobiledesignindia/) * [**UX Design**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/333331966875849/?ref=br_rs) * [**UI/UX Design**](https://www.facebook.com/groups/153692614977217/?ref=br_rs) ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # Books & Blogs Continue learning UX design with our curated list of recommended books to read & blogs to follow. {% tabs %} {% tab title="Recommended Books" %} ## Books ### **If you are new to UX** * [Design of Everyday Things](https://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Revised-Expanded/dp/0465050654/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books\&ie=UTF8\&qid=1478996391\&sr=1-1\&keywords=the+design+of+everyday+things\&linkCode=sl1\&tag=uxtools-20\&linkId=c6588ec0f5ac303e23f22c7233438a9f) * [Don’t Make Me Think](https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Think-Revisited-Usability/dp/0321965515/ref=as_li_ss_tl?s=books\&ie=UTF8\&qid=1478996337\&sr=1-1\&keywords=don%27t+make+me+think\&linkCode=sl1\&tag=uxtools-20\&linkId=99ad72455d5bb4d4c035d03beb0af82e) * [A Project Guide to UX Design](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321815386/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8\&linkCode=sl1\&tag=uxtools-20\&linkId=d452e7f650974f1e88a7abca70878cc8) ### **Other Great Reads** * [Design for the Mind: Seven Psychological Principles of Persuasive Design](https://www.amazon.com/Design-Mind-Psychological-Principles-Persuasive/dp/1617292958/\&tag=uxbo09-20) * [Design is a Job](https://smile.amazon.com/Design-Job-Mike-Monteiro/dp/1937557049/ref=sr_1_1?s=books\&ie=UTF8\&qid=1509260534\&sr=1-1\&keywords=Design+is+a+Job) * [Sketching User Experiences](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005NZ5K3E/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8\&linkCode=sl1\&tag=uxtools-20\&linkId=a013df34b71855f62e94590864092f4c) * [A Project Guide to UX Design](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321815386/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8\&linkCode=sl1\&tag=uxtools-20\&linkId=d452e7f650974f1e88a7abca70878cc8) * [Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Design](https://smile.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\&qid=1509260123\&sr=8-1\&keywords=hooked) * [Designing for Emotions](https://smile.amazon.com/Designing-Emotion-Aaron-Walter/dp/1937557006?sa-no-redirect=1) * [Design for Real Life](https://smile.amazon.com/Design-Real-Life-Sara-Wachter-Boettcher/dp/1937557405?sa-no-redirect=1) * [Content Strategy for the Web](https://www.amazon.com/Content-Strategy-Web-Kristina-Halvorson/dp/0321620062) * [Practical Design Discovery](https://abookapart.com/products/practical-design-discovery) * [The Best Interface is No Interface](https://www.amazon.com/Best-Interface-No-brilliant-technology/dp/0133890333/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\&qid=1481406425\&sr=8-1\&keywords=the+best+ui+is+no+ui) * [Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days](https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas/dp/150112174X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\&qid=1481406453\&sr=8-1\&keywords=sprint+google) * [Designing Design](https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Design-Kenya-Hara/dp/3037784504/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8\&qid=1481406409\&sr=8-1\&keywords=designing+design) * [Change by Design](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6671664-change-by-design?from_search=true) * [Lean UX](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13436116-lean-ux?from_search=true) * [The User Experience Team of One](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18177290-the-user-experience-team-of-one?from_search=true) * [Algorithms to Live by](http://algorithmstoliveby.com/) * [Games User Research](https://global.oup.com/academic/product/games-user-research-9780198794844?cc=gb\&lang=en&) * [Magic and Loss](https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Loss-Internet-as-Art/dp/1501132679) * [Crossing the Chasm](https://www.amazon.com/Crossing-Chasm-Marketing-High-Tech-Mainstream/dp/0060517123) * [Show Me the Numbers](https://www.amazon.com/Show-Me-Numbers-Designing-Enlighten/dp/0970601999) * [The Stuff of Thought](https://www.amazon.com/Stuff-Thought-Language-Window-Nature/dp/0143114247) * [The Non Designer’s Design Book](https://www.amazon.com/Non-Designers-Design-Book-3rd/dp/0321534042) * [Draw a Better Business](https://graphicchangeacademy.com/draw-a-better-business-book/) * [The Design Thinking Playbook](https://www.design-thinking-playbook.com/playbook-en) * [Solving Product Design Exercises](https://productdesigninterview.com/) * [Thinking Fast and Slow](https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555) {% endtab %} {% tab title="Blogs to Follow" %} ## Why Read a Blog? Design blogs are a fantastic way to learn something new about UX design every day in bite-sized chunks. Whether you are a beginner or a pro there is a publication for each type of designer out there. {% hint style="info" %} **Pro Tip:** We recommend downloading the [Medium app](https://help.medium.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005056008-Download-Medium-apps) on your phone and creating a [Medium Account](https://medium.com/) as most design blogs post their articles on Medium. {% endhint %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% embed url="" %} {% endtab %} {% endtabs %} ![](/files/-LyTzMN_2df8kzPj8tGD) # About Us & Feedback Learn More about who we are! ## **Who Created This & Why?** Hello, I am Zosh, a recent graduate of the [UW Informatics program](https://ischool.uw.edu/programs/informatics). 4 years ago, when I started to learn UX design I would always discover and use websites such as [ResourceCards](https://resourcecards.com/) for my project. They had fantastic UI design resources which made my designs look much better than they would have otherwise. As we all know though, UI Design is not UX design. It is just a small segment of it. I would always struggle to find something similar for the rest of UX especially learning resources. I managed through but I noticed that my peers had the same desire. I would have friends and students come up and ask me "hey, where can I learn more about UX design? " and I would send them a list of links. Soon this transformed into a Google Doc which would then become too long and difficult to navigate. And that is how UX Library was born. In our first year we had **over 5000 visitors from 28 countries** and had a **happiness rating of 92.8%!** We also learned what you liked and didn't like. Yes, we agree the long unorganized navigation had to go and we needed to provide better guidance about how to use the stuff we list. So we fixed that(tried to), added new content, and ensured there was something here for everyone and not just UI designers. And today I am happy to announce that we have launched v2 of UX Library. We hope you like/love it. **I would also like to thank each person who supported us in this effort:** * **Scott Barker,** our mentor, who was also the first person to support our idea and encourage us to make it. * **Misty Weaver,** the iSchool content strategy professor for providing with us support in restructuring the website. * **Michael Robbins,** a design director at Lumedic who provided us with insights on how to structure our content. * **Shwetha Sanapoori and Utsav Pinto,** for helping with content edits and re-writes. * **Vrishti Bhowmik**, for being the first person to extend support and help when we first launched. * **Michelle Wong,** who gave us the idea of adding icons to the navigation (turns out we can only add emojis). * **Ashmann Syngle,** who envisioned and tested the different ways this website could be used. * **Kassandra Franco and Vanessa Lin,** for providing us with detailed feedback about their experiences. * **Shane Martin,** for writing, editing, designing, and building our newsletter. Best, \ **Zoshua Colah ()**\ Founder of UX Design Library ## Feedback We love Feedback. We want to know how we can become better and read your suggestions: [**goo.gl/forms/HPgMx5EtgA02hTVH3**](https://goo.gl/forms/HPgMx5EtgA02hTVH3) ## **Join our Team** **If you're here on this page, you must really love us, and we love you for that. We currently have two openings:** * **Graphic Designer:** We are looking for a designer to volunteer to lead the branding of this website! If you want to join please email us your resume and a link to your portfolio website at . * **Content Curator:** There are too many articles out there for our team of 3 designers to read and organize. We would love someone to volunteer and help us curate our never ending list of articles. If you want to join please email us your resume at ## **Disclaimer** We have not created any of these tools or written any of these articles. We have only compiled all these amazing tools and articles in one place to help designers. All credit for the content goes to the respective authors and developers**.** ### **Contact Us** For any questions related to our website please contact me on .