Well, as the first search result from google says, “Design is the creation of a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system.” In simpler terms, Design is something that involves thorough planning as well as ideation of the way your product would function. Most often than not, it is the process which is completed before actually ‘developing’ the product.
It would not be very difficult for you to deduce that it is a type of design. But the main fact about UI Design is, that it involves the ideation and creation of design, keeping in mind the usability factor. So, if you are someone who has just started his/her hand at designing, you can think of it as ‘design of a product with an emphasis on user-friendliness.’ User interface (UI) design focuses on how an interface should look or behave to improve the experience of using a software. A designer's goal is to design interfaces that are easy to use and convenient for users.
In the words of the American Institute of Graphic Arts, graphic design is defined as “the art and practice of planning and projecting ideas and experiences with visual and textual content.” Overall, there are four major principles that need to be taken into consideration while designing, which are typography, colour, imagery, and form.
Even though, for the purpose of the competition, graphic design and UI design are separately going to be held, in the end they both go hand in hand.
Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator are two of the most popular softwares, but you can even use UI Design specific softwares like Sketch (on Mac) and Adobe XD. There are some amazing online tools like Figma and Balsamiq which are quite popular, so you can also try them. Also, don’t let our recommendations restrict you. We are giving you an insight as to what the mainstream designers do, but if you find something new that serves your purpose, you should definitely go for it!
The best way to learn any software is by playing with the software yourself and by binge-watching YouTube tutorials.
As cliche as it sounds, Design Inspirations are literally everywhere. If you look around yourself, you will be able to find design components in the form of colour combinations, architecture and usability everywhere. Doesn’t matter if you are inside your room or in your garden.
If your surroundings aren't enough of an inspiration for you (which is the case for almost every beginner) you can browse for beautiful designs on the internet. Here's a list of platforms to get you started:
We am going to list down certain projects that you can check out before working on your own design.
UI/UX Design: