7 Common Terms Used in the Digital Design Industry

Every person has the potential to become a designer. They can understand the basic design principles whether they know it or not. For instance, when approaching a door, you will clearly know if you have to push or pull it open. You push or pull a door according to the icons displayed on it.

There are moments where a handle is not labeled correctly as a push or pull, causing confusion for the public, who think about if it could be designed better. Similarly, there are specific terms in the web design world, which everyone must know even if they are not a designer, to be better connected with their site design and its usability. A few important design terms are shared by the Medialinkers webdesign team:

1.       User Interface (UI)

The interface n a computer screen refers to the LOGIN button to your favorite site as it open its virtual door to it. The LOGIN button makes it easy for you to enter a site and the background behind it makes everything easy on the digital screen to become part of the site’s user interface. The User Interface needs to be created the same way a physical object or space is treated. It has to be super intuitive, direct and clean in purpose.

2.       Usability

When taking the interface into consideration, there is another method which makes interaction of user interface and user possible.  This communication between the two is called “user experience” and usability” of the interface measures how successful the interaction is between both parties.  If you are not able to navigate successfully through a site, then that is called a bad user experience. Pin pointing the weaknesses of a specific User Experience is a key to increasing the user conversions and its effectiveness.

3.       Visual Hierarchy

When entering any building, the first thing you need to see is its entrance. Second is to see the entrance name where as third is to see if you are pushing, swiping, pulling, scanning a retina or hastening through the door for entering the building. Visual hierarchy makes sure that you do not see the PULL lettering in large letters before knowing the door to enter through in the first place.

Visual hierarchy is about guiding the users through user experience, taking a narrative form about what will happen next.

4.       User Conventions

Another great way is to think about a design convention by understanding the benefits of consistency. Every time a doorway method to open a building changes, minutes and seconds of time is spent unlearning the previous method and for learning the new one. This comes under inconsistency which can be fixed by maintaining conventions.

If a door had a same push bar to push and pull a door then it becomes hard to forget how to open any door. This consistency is also called convention and saves many people a lot of time into thinking twice about it. Another term to refer it is known as UI pattern.

You need to research great looking designs and embed the similarities between these campaigns and designs you see and respond t in your designs.  These will layout these in your design.

5.       Intuitive Designs

Ever tried pulling a door which has no handle and just a flat metal panel? Most cases, the design of the door is such that your only intuitive option is to push the door. This design type is called affordance as it makes the available options obvious to process to the users. The elements displayed on the page needs to behave in accordance with how things feel like they need to behave naturally.

6.       Responsive

This is quite easy to explain. You may have pets at your home and whenever they walk in to your home, they use a small vent in the door, installed to meet their small body needs. Same is the case with a website design. It has to be different in size for a desktop, tablet and Smartphone screen. A good design needs to behave according to the different device sizes and screens.

7.       Minimalism

Take example of door again. If you have installed features that allow push on one side and pull on another, you have created an intuitive and minimalist design. Simplicity in a digital design helps to avoid unnecessary details and confusion at the same time.

You can also gain knowledge from Kennesaw web design experts about the common terms used in web design.