User experience (UX) design is a term originally coined in 2008 by a guy named Don Norman and describes a design process that puts the user at the center. Every design decision, every interaction and action taken is subject to An important question about UX design;
What added value does this provide for the user?
You see, UI design has evolved from what it was in the 1990s. UI design needs to be purposeful and not just look pretty. There was a time when HTML features were limited. Technology has evolved and so have its capabilities on the Internet. This has been accompanied by an increase Customer expectations and the standard they expect from a digital product, application or website user experience.
UI design is a feeling
The experience a customer feels when interacting with your business should feel seamless and leave them with no questions about the actions they took or what to do next. Customers should just You instinctively know what to click on and where to go next.
Let’s take a look at five websites that have beautiful interface aesthetics or amazing UX.
1. Nike
I can speak to many web interface designers when I say that Nike is a brand we all look up to. They always have a clean aesthetic that is visually appealing and intuitive for the user. Their user-centric, problem-solving approach to eCommerce allows users to quickly find what they are looking for.
Clean navigation and site search are the star of the Nike website.
Things I love about Nike
- Loads immediately
- UX friendly navigation
- Clean, minimalist and focused
- Smooth image transitions with lazy load
2. InvisionApp: Inside Design
InvisionApp: Inside Design Blog has a big initial impact. Everything a user needs is above the fold and accessible without the user having to scroll.
The amazing use of white space, solid scrolling elements, minimal use of color, and image-centered design make this one of my favorite blog designs at the moment.
Things I love about Inside Design
- Good use of space in the browser
- Small UI interactions add depth to the experience
- Sub navigation
3rd SEJ
SEJ is a marketing and search engine optimization blog that has been around for years. I mentioned these guys because I love the balance they’ve found between advertising and engaging, high-quality content.
You often see websites cramming ad units above the fold (yes, I’m looking at you), and the truth is, they provide customers with terrible website UX. SEJ has found a great balance between bespoke design, SEO, user experience and advertising, which in itself deserves praise because it’s not easy.
My only problem with SEJ is that they neglected screen sizes larger than 1080p. This leads to stretched images and typography issues.
Things I love about SEJ
- Well optimized navigation
- Good balance between advertising and content
- Pop-up has no impact on UX
4. Mayerr
Mayer was named Site of the Day for Mobile Excellence at awwwards.com, and it’s obvious why. Great thought and detail went into the website’s aesthetic, resulting in outstanding mobile UX and typography that is impactful and clearly conveys the brand message.
The little interaction design details that went into the website are a great touch. Not too much, but enough feedback that scrolling feels almost alive.
Things I love about Mayerr
- Great mobile experience
- Communicates movement through interaction design
- Outstanding website typography
5. Bennet tea
Bennet Tea is a typography-focused website design that makes extensive use of flat design patterns. It features a unique layout that requires some adjustment at first. However, the site navigation is clean and the added page transitions are a nice touch.
Bennet’s website is the perfect mix of style, minimalism, animation and color.
Things I love about Bennet Tea
- Violates conventions and works
- Great use of color and contrast
6. Mendo
Mendo’s slogan on their website is “Aesthetically pleasing books,” but as you can see, that’s not the only thing aesthetic about this brand. Not only is your website a feast for the eyes, but it is also user-friendly and easy to navigate. This surprised me because it’s always difficult to combine modern UI design with great UX philosophies.
Things I love about Mendo
- Clear, solid navigation
- Visual scrolling progress indicator
- CSS3 skew transform on hover
7. theLAB Berkley
theLAB Berkley takes interaction design to a new level with subtle JavaScript-based animations linked to scroll events and animated videos, stunning UI visualizations, and a cohesive experience that delivers an impactful UX to the end user.
My only criticism of the user experience of this website is that I have to click on the menu button to access the navigation links. From a design perspective it looks stunning, but from a UX design perspective I think it could be implemented a little better by pulling out the most important links from the navigation overlay and putting them directly into the header.
Things I love about LAB Berkley
- Subtle movement
- Bright gradients
- Crystal clear animation
- Amazing use of the Google Motion Guidelines
