UI Designer: You Can’t Design Without The 5 UI Software!

Design software is the main concern for UI design beginners. In fact, you should spend more time on improving your design ability and creating gorgeous UI, instead of tangling up with UI design tools. It should be a tool to bring you convenience. To solve this question, this article will introduce you the UI software with some correct design concepts.

Nowadays, design revolution of the internet makes a new profession occur, UI designer. More and more people join this emerging profession. Some people value the high payment, some see a bright career prospect. In a word, UI designer becomes popular. As a new UI designer, you have to know something about UI.

UI is the abbreviation of the user interface. It covers a lot of fields, such as design psychology, emotional design, visual design, art principle, and so on.

The product design divides into two parts: UI design and programming design. UI designer needs to make interaction design, operating logic, and beautiful interface.

Due to the different UI designer responsibilities, they usually use different software. According to usage, I introduce the UI software tools from five aspects.

1. UI software for visual design, Adobe Photoshop.

Experienced UI designers will choose vector drawing software to make the small icons. In this way, the enlarged icon has no distortion and virtual edge. Except forPS, CorelDraw, Illustrator, and FreeHand also can make icons. They have no restrictions on use. According to the industry statistics, PS and AI are the most popular visual design tool. They have a lot of downloads in UI software Webstore.

2. UI software for mind maps, MindManager or XMind.

MindManager and XMind are mind mapping software. MindManager is easy to manage the project. It can improve the effectiveness and collaboration of teamwork. XMind helps you start brainstorming at any time. It supports various ways to demo, such as mind mapping, fishbone diagram, tree diagram and so on. It doesn’t matter which software you use, so long as it fits your habits.

Everyone has used mind map in planning analysis and brainstorming. It’s often used in UI design, too. Mind map is helping to organize product architecture, product interaction logic, and understand why the product thinking is important. It helps you understand why the product thinking is important. In a word, it is a good assistant to organize designer’s thoughts before designing.

Mind map is helping to organize product architecture, product interaction logic, and understand why the product thinking is important.

3. Rapid prototyping tools, Axure RP, Sketch or Mockplus.

Axure RP is a strong rapid prototyping tool. Experienced designers can make the wireframe, flow chart, prototype quickly. This professional prototyping tool can create prototypes efficiently while supporting collaboration and version control management.

Sketch is a professional UI software, which can simplify your complicated design process. Also, it emphasizes more on responsive design, interaction, and animation, but less on photo editing and man-made material. It can help you make right & rapid prototyping.

When it comes to rapid prototyping tool, we have to mention Mockplus. Designers can make a prototype by a simple drag. Except for the basic functions of the prototyping design, it also has many innovations. Such as collaborative review, component interaction, seamless prototype previews, template reuse, and unique hand-drawing style. Although it’s an emerging tool, the simple and rapid prototyping way and concept have won many users. Choose it as a UI design tool is also a good choice!

4. UI software for dynamic design, AE (Adobe After Effects).

Dynamic design is widely used in UI design. As a UI designer, why should we make the dynamic design?

The final point is to make users like your product. Due to the dynamic effect design can express static pictures or abstract dynamic effect easily. Thus, UI designers usually make the dynamic design to express abstract interaction design. In this way, the development team can have an intuitive understanding of the product. In short, the dynamic design has many uses in interactive experience design, it’s powerful.

Adobe After Effects is a graphic video processing software. It applies to the institution engaged in the design and video effects. UI designers also can use it to make the simple UI dynamic effect. If you want to make a dynamic design, it’s an indispensable UI design tool.

5. The front end design tool, Dreamweaver.

Dreamweaver is an HMTL development tool. It can write static pages, CSS style, and so on. Front end engineers usually use it. Nonetheless, UI designers also need to learn about the layout and design of the front end, but not to master. If you can make the real good interaction and visual design, you will be an outstanding UI designer.

Why UI designer want to learn front end? This is probably because of gorgeous web page effects or attracting interaction. For an excellent UI designer, the most fulfilling one must something can be saw. HTML and CSS are just for doing this. So at last UI designers can better do product development work with the front end engineers.

Summary:

Although you have known some common UI software, this doesn't mean you have mastered them or you are a good UI designer now, this odds are too small! For any designer, software is only a tool that expresses your design idea. The more important is that you have to own product design thinking, have a clear understanding about the user demand, understand the product vision of enterprise. Eventually, you can design an excellent product which users like and enterprises need.

To be a qualified and excellent UI designer, you should master three abilities at least, visual interface design ability, interactive experience design ability, and user demand study ability. Generally, we focus on the visual design of the interface and interactive design. But for UI designer, analysis user need is the first big thing for a design. Only figure out these, you can be a qualified UI designer. Thus, spending more time improving your design abilities when you have mastered the basic UI software.

Translator: Cherry

Author: UI Design Training

Original website: UI.cn

Original link: http://www.ui.cn/detail/204006.html