Usefulness of sketches for designers (usage descriptions)
Jigna Jain
Software Quality Engineer in the Streaming Paramount + (OTT, Mobile) (US Citizen)
SKETCH Sketching ideas are the first steps in the design process and something every designer should do. Sketching is not just limited to designers, it occurs in many careers that require something to get built. The beauty of sketching are not required to be an artist to produce them. Sketching is only to help explore and explain design concepts. Sketches can be easily created using pen and paper or a whiteboard. Using something permanent like a pen or marker is best. The idea is to keep sketches fast, rough and dirty. This helps you worry less on design aesthetics and focus more on rapid formulation of ideas. WIREFRAMES There is a common misconception that sketches and wireframes are the same; however, they are not. Wireframes are more of a refinement of the ideas formed during the sketching process and dictates the finer details of a user interface. Sketching should always come before the wireframe stage. WORKING AS A GROUP If working in a group, sketches from team members are reviewed together in order to compare and consolidate the best ideas. Group feedback can be verbal (or written on
Usefulness of sketches for designers (usage descriptions) post-it notes) and appended to the sketches. The best ideas from each group member’s sketches are reviewed and often a super vote will take place. The super vote process helps determine the best ideas from each sketch. At this point, another round of sketching can take place or you can move directly into the wireframing process. Wireframing is a low fidelity design (usually in black and white) that shows all of the ideas from the sketch phase laid out in a structured fashion. Creating wireframes can be done with ease. There are many wireframing software.
SKETCHING BENEFITS ? Saves time in the workflow process. ? Great for brainstorming ideas and collaborating with team members. ? Refines the wireframing process ? Helps evaluate the feasibility of features and eliminate layout and functionality issues. ? Anyone can sketch ideas. SKETCHING TOOLS ? Pen ? Paper ? Sharpie marker ? Highlighter ? Post-it notes ? Graph paper ? Whiteboard Conclusion Some of the best ideas start with a sketch. Sketching is a powerful process to use because it always helps discover the best ideas and solutions to a design problem. It is a difficult task to ‘freestyle’ a complex design out of midair without hashing out the details. This is why sketching will remain an important step in the design and development process.
Usefulness of sketches for designers (usage descriptions) Dark mode users find reading easier in low light with less eye strain. They also claim it helps them fall asleep quickly and stay asleep longer. This could be because screens expose you to more blue light at night, which could disrupt your circadian rhythm. Dark mode extends battery life Smartphone and laptop sellers often use long battery lives as selling points that will convince consumers to spend more money on devices. Battery life certainly matters in a mobile device, but users probably have much more control than they think about how long charges will last. You can explore more design options with dark mode Dark mode gives designers more opportunities to explore design options for their products. A white screen can make it difficult to view certain colors. Light blue, for example, may force you to concentrate on text much carefully against a light background than a dark one. The move toward darker designs has been much more prevalent in smartphone apps than websites. Many a pp designers like to dim the lights because the darker environment: Increases contrast between backgrounds, oversized images, and text. Makes it easier for image-heavy designs to look professional. Younger people who play a lot of video games have gotten used to dark color schemes, so they expect to find a similar aesthetic used by apps. Tips for Effective Mobile App Dark Theme Design Dark mode is one of the most requested features over the past few years. Both Apple and Google made the dark theme an essential part of the UI. Dark mode’s reduced luminance provides safety in dark environments and can minimize eye strain.
There are certain processes that need to work properly when creating dark mode UI. After all, you want your product to be amazing, right? Let’s check off all the boxes for a best practices checklist on how to design a dark mode for your app.
1. Avoid the pure black color A dark theme must not be of white text on black background. In fact, it can be difficult to look into a high contrast screen. When you add dark mode to your app, it is safest to use dark grey as the primary color for the dark mode components, as it lowers the eye strain and also it is a lot easier to look at shadows on a grey surface compared to black.
2. Avoid the use of saturated colors on the dark themes The saturated colors that look great on the light surfaces can vibrate against the dark background, making the text extremely difficult to read. You should use light tones for they have better readability and they don’t make the UI unnecessarily expressive, which saves unnecessary eye strain.
3. Consider the emotional side of your app design When you design a dark theme for your app, chances are that you must be aiming for translating the same emotional feel of your light theme design in the dark theme as well. But it is unwise to do so. Because, ultimately different colors project different emotions. As a result, your dark mode colors will evoke a different feeling. This is why it is necessary to find a common ground emotional set for both your theme UIs.
4. Test the design in both the appearances Just like how your users would toggle between both the theme UIs at different times of the day, it is necessary to test the app two times of the day to see how it is functioning in different light conditions. And to ensure it meets your criteria.
5. Incorporate dark mode into animations and illustrations If your app contains animations or heavy graphical elements, you will have to prepare for their adoption in dark theme as well. In case the illustration contains a subject and a background, it would be good to fully desaturate the background colors to help keep the attention on the subject.
6. Meet accessibility color contrast standards Ensure that your content remains comfortably legible in Dark Mode. Dark theme surfaces must be dark enough to display white text. Google Material Design recommends using a contrast level of at least 15.8:1 between text and the background. Use color contrast tools to test contrast ratio.
7. Don’t just reverse If you’re transitioning from standard to dark mode, the original theme may provide useful visual signals. To create a dark theme, don’t simply flip the colours. You could be transforming colours with psychological significance into meaningless bland tones. Make a conscious decision regarding the colours you use.
8. Use the right “on” colors ‘On’ colors are found on top of key surfaces and elements. Usually, they are used for text. For a dark theme, the default ‘on’ color is pure white. But it’s a bright color and would vibrate visually against dark backgrounds. For this reason, Google Material Design suggests using a little darker white. ? Disabled text utilizes darkness of 38%. ? At 60%, medium-emphasis text is executed. ? High-emphasis text must have the darkness of 87%.
9. Get deep The higher a layer is, the lighter it should be. This will create a visual hierarchy in dark mode that goes from the most used elements in your display to the least. With this, you now know everything there’s to know about designing the dark mode version of your app. The next actionable step is to talk to a team of experts who have implemented the UI in applications. You should see this as a way of getting closer to achieving your intent to offer a healthy experience to your end users.
Sketch: 2 and 3 The second sketch is a side view of the phone. It shows the device’s thin and lightweight design. The sketch also showcases the device’s volume and power buttons, which are positioned for easy access. Light color Lay out used: Lighter colors create a sense of more open space. When it comes to how users “feel” about color, users typically don’t notice a light or white background. Conclusion: Using Black VS White Sketches Color is more than an aesthetic tool. It has a direct impact on usability. (Just think: If every element on the screen is black, where would you tap to make something happen?) Color comes to play in a number of ways but very specifically can influence interactions and signals users as to how to use the interface. Static items vs. functionality items Status or state changes Notifications and micro-interactions Design 4 smartphone is all screen with no buttons or borders Sketches Explanation: Sketches
4. Charging is done wirelessly, buttons have been replaced by pressure-sensitive panels, and e-SIM niche technology replaces the SIM card slot Eliminating the headphone jack or minimizing the number of buttons on handsets to make phones more water resistant. There’s one intriguing way that phone makers could take the notion to the extreme: by getting rid of buttons altogether. The move may sound revolutionary or improbable, but it’s not. A button-less future may be some years away, but there are signs in recent features that it’s where smartphones are headed. The first was the elimination of the home button. Faulty home buttons used to be a common failure point in smartphones. Press it too many times (or accidentally spill a sugary drink on your phone) and the button would cease functioning. The move to eliminate buttons would have numerous benefits. It would make phones virtually impermeable to damage from water or debris, eliminate hardware failing points, and offer a more personalized user experience. (Paired with wireless charging, a phone could one day be a completely solid, port-and-buttonfree device.) Like we’ve seen with virtual home buttons and fingerprint sensors, eliminating a button doesn’t necessarily mean eliminating a spot on the device you can feel with your fingertip. For things like the power button and volume adjustment, grooves, texture, or indentations in a handset could still indicate the placement of these functions even if a physical button has been removed. But by using a wraparound display or pressure sensor on the side of a device, it may be possible to reroute what traditional buttons accomplish. Instead of a mute button, you could use that area to turn on and off GPS tracking or airplane mode with a long press or specific tap; instead of a volume slider, you could use that area for adjusting screen brightness. Answer 3: Emotional Impact: The emotional impact of the design concept is centered around the ideal that the phone should not only be functional and useful, but also create an emotional connection with the user. The unique texture and pattern on the back of the phone as well as sleek and modern design. Creates a personal touch that makes the device feel like an extension of the user’s own personality. The emphasis on the phone’s light weight and comfortable grip also creates a sense of comfort and ease of use, which enhances the user’s emotional connection with the device. Evidence of emotional impact Last design without button: The design with a 90-degree corner may give off a modern and sleek appearance, creating an impression of technical sophistication and professional workmanship. It may evoke a sense of reliability and precision, which can be appealing for users who value these qualities in their technology. the design with rounded corners may evoke a feeling of friendliness and approachability, as rounded shapes are often associated with warmth and comfort. This type of design can be appealing for those who value a userfriendly, easy-to-use device.