The book starts with the most basic concepts of UI/UX design and it takes

you on a journey toward more advanced techniques. It contains all the

necessary information you need about mobile and web application design.

In this book you will:

An all-in-one package to master all the UI/UX principles
• Learn about user interface & user experience design for web & mobile apps
• Learn about UI Elements, Color Theory, Wireframing, Prototyping, etc.
• Learn how to work with Sketch app, InVision Studio, etc.
• Find inspirational resources
• Find helpful tips to find your first clients
• Learn how to create an outstanding portfolio
• Learn how to start your own business as a UI/UX designer

This is a great book both for those who have just begun their design
adventure and for UI/UX designers who want to master all the UI/UX
principles and level up their design skills.

ISBN 978-83-955249-1-2

9 788395 524912
Essentials of
User Interface Design Essentials of
Arash Ahadzadeh

User Interface Design

ISBN: 978-83-955249-1-2
Designed And Written by:
First published 2019 in Warsaw
Editing: Dr. Mohammad Hossein Hariri Asl
Arash Ahadzadeh

All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing in this book are

the property of their own respective owners. An all-in-one package to master all the UI/UX principles for
web & mobile apps
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any
form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the
publisher, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a
review.

Copyright © 2019 Arash Ahadzadeh

Design, Concept & Layout Copyright © 2019 Arash Ahadzadeh

Registered with the IP Rights Office

Copyright Registration Service
Ref: 11143026405
Dedications Table of contents

To my parents who have always supported me in every aspect of my life. 01 Introduction | UI vs. UX, book structure, and tools ………………………………..…….. 6

To my mother, Haleh, who enrolled me in graphic design courses for the

02 Design Basics | Layout, Iconography, Typography, etc. …………..…..……………… 14
first time when I was a 10-year-old child.
03 Sketch Academy | Learn about Sketch App ……………………….……..……………….. 56
To my father, Majid, who always pushed me to a path where I could level up
04 UI Elements | Text Fields, Buttons, Sliders, Cards, etc. ……….….……..…..……… 116
my skills every day and had a great impact on my career advancement.
05 Wireframing | User Flow, Interactive Prototype, etc. ……….….….…………………. 148
Thank you so much for all your support, love, and enthusiasm.
06 Prototyping | Tools, Prototyping in Sketch, etc. ………..………………………………. 158

07 Portfolio | Online Portfolio, How to use Dribbble, etc. ……..……….…………..…… 174

08 Business Ideas | How to get your first client? ……………………….…..…………….… 182

09 Inspiration & Resources | Design Inspiration & Resources …….………..…….… 198

10 What to do next? | What is your next step? ……………………………….………..….… 204

Chapter 01
Introduction
UI vs. UX - Book Structure - Tools
01 UI/UX DESIGN | INTRODUCTION

UI/UX Design

Introduction
What is the difference between UI which stands for User Interface
and UX which stands for User Experience?

Although both elements are crucial to a product and work closely

together, their roles are quite different. UX design is a more
technical and analytical field, however, UI design refers to graphic
design with more complex responsibilities.
BUTTON
If you consider a product like a car, the chassis is the code which
gives it a clear structure. The other parts such as doors, fuel filter,
etc. represent the UX design which lets the car function properly.
On the other hand, UI design represents the appearance of the car,
its sensors, etc.

UX - User Experience UI - User Interface

How a product should How a product should
work look

8 9
02 UI/UX DESIGN | INTRODUCTION | STRUCTURE

Introduction

Book Structure

&
Theoretical Part Practical Part

CHAPTERS CHAPTERS
01 / 02 / 04 / 08 / 09 / 10 03 / 05 / 06 / 07

10 11
03 UI/UX DESIGN | INTRODUCTION | TOOLS

Introduction

Tools
In this book, we are going to use different graphic design tools to
design world-class user interfaces together.

The main software which we are going to use is called Sketch, which
is only available for Mac OS, therefore if you do not have a Mac OS
device, you may not be able to learn the practical parts.

The other tool that you will learn about is InVision Studio. We will
also talk about useful websites such as Dribbble, Behance, etc.

If you don’t have any of the above-mentioned software, make sure

to install them before reading the book.

12 13
Chapter 02
Design Basics
Layout, Iconography, Typography, etc.
01 DESIGN BASICS | LAYOUT

Design Basics 125PX 125PX 140PX 140PX

Layout
20PX
50PX

20PX

Email
The way we show the information in an app or website is so [email protected]
50PX
important when it comes to UI/UX design.
Password
Email Forgot?
*************
[email protected]
You should not look for a specific right way to create your 20PX

composition. You can create a layout based on your own need as Password
Forgot? Sign in
*************
long as it is consistent and understandable to users. 20PX
Or sign in with
50PX 20PX

As you can see in the pictures on the right, both screens are well Facebook Google +
Sign in
designed. Although the spacing is different, the composition is 20PX
50PX
absolutely clear and consistent.
Or sign in with

You need to pay attention to consistency a lot while you are

Facebook Google +
designing a user interface. No matter what kind of platforms you’re
designing for, the same rules apply to all of them. 50PX

16 17
02 DESIGN BASICS | VISUAL HIERARCHY | PART 1

Design Basics

Visual Hierarchy
Visual hierarchy is about how we look at designs. Does it sound
weird? So let’s put it in another way. We as designers should put
ourselves in users’ shoes in order to realize how they see our
designs.

Content in any digital page layout will pursue a particular hierarchy.

For instance, menus go to the top, bottom, left or right of the screen
(or a combination of these). Headers appear above body text.

“Hierarchy” is a simple way of staying organized from most to least

important.

Remember that users define the hierarchy of any app or website.

The item that first grabs the user’s attention is at the top of the
hierarchy.

18 19
02 DESIGN BASICS | VISUAL HIERARCHY | PART 2

Design Basics

Visual Hierarchy New Promotions New Promotions

The visual specifications that a designer can utilize to influence

users’ understanding of the information are:

• Size: The larger the element, the more attention it will attract.
• Color: Bright colors are more noticeable than muted ones.
• Alignment: An element with a different alignment of others will
attract more attention.
New Stories
• Contrast: Sharply contrasting colors will catch the eye
easily. New Stories
• Proximity: Elements which are placed closely together appear
more related.
• Repetition: Repeating styles can indicate that content is
related.
• Whitespace: More space between elements will draw more
attention to them.

20 21
03 DESIGN BASICS | VISUAL NOISE

Design Basics

Visual Noise
Visual noise as you can guess from its title is all about a screen or
part of a digital product which has so much information and many
elements on it.

When you are designing an app or a website, you need to pay Latest News Latest News
attention to details a lot because by the end of the day we want to
design a screen which is user-friendly and easy to walk through.

So make sure to eliminate all the unnecessary elements or

Latest Stories
information from your screen. If you are not sure whether your
design has visual noise or not, it is recommended to ask for users’
feedback.

22 23
04 DESIGN BASICS | ICONOGRAPHY

Design Basics

Iconography
Iconography is a visual language used to demonstrate aspects,
content or functionality. Icons are meant to be simple and clear,
visual elements that are recognizable immediately.

You do not have to redesign well-known icons such as Home icon,

Search icon, etc., or let’s say, do not reinvent the wheel. You can get
access to almost all kinds of icons on websites for free or at
reasonable costs.

But what if you needed to design some icons specifically for your
project? Well, in that case, you should design icons which are in
harmony with your design and other icons.

Keep in mind that icons need to be understood easily by users, so

make sure to show consistency in your design.

24 25
05 DESIGN BASICS | TYPOGRAPHY | FOUNDATION

Properties

Typography
Letter Spacing

Typography

Foundation Baseline

Letter Spacing Comparison

What is Typography? Typography transforms language into a
decorative visual element. DEFAULT SPACING M O D I F I E D S PAC I N G

Typography is one of the most important parts of UI/UX design so it

is worth your time to learn more about it.
Weight

Light Regular Medium Semibold Bold

When you are designing an app or a website, limit the number of
typefaces and sizes you use in order to keep your designs simple.
Start with two fonts at most. One for the headers and the other for
the bodies.
A A A A A
You can use free or paid fonts in your projects but I highly Classification
recommend using free fonts. If you would like to use paid fonts,
Serif Sans Serif

T B
check the license carefully. You should inform your clients that they
need to pay extra for using paid fonts.
T B
26 27
06 DESIGN BASICS | COLOR CONTRAST

Contrast
Design Basics

Color Contrast
Applying colors effectively is a skill that everyone who works with
Contrast
visual compositions must have. So you as a UI designer need to know
how to use colors in your projects. Contrast
When it comes to applying colors, readability and legibility are the
key factors. Researches have shown that vibrant colors enable
enough of contrast helping to increase readability and legibility.
Contrast
Please take into consideration that too much color contrast may
cause difficulty in reading.

Contrast
I highly recommend that designers should create a mid-level of
contrast and for highlighting elements they can use high contrasting
colors.

You can also use websites to provide you with a ratio when Contrast
comparing two colors to see whether there is enough contrast or not.

28 29
07 DESIGN BASICS | COLOR PALETTE | PART 1

Design Basics

Color Palette - Part 1 #245FFD #FB1F60 #1D1D1D #BFBFBF

Creating a color scheme for a product might seem like a hard task
especially if you are a beginner, however, in reality, it is not as 80%
complicated as many designers think.

What is a color scheme?

60%
UI color scheme is a mixture of colors used in your user interface.
Almost every color scheme contains the following groups of colors:

• Primary colors
• Secondary colors 40%

• Accent colors
• Neutrals
• Semantic colors

20%

30 31
07 DESIGN BASICS | COLOR PALETTE | PART 2

Design Basics

Color Palette - Part 2 #245FFD

Primary
#FB1F60

Secondary
#1D1D1D

Secondary
#BFBFBF

Neutral

What are the primary and secondary colors?

Primary and secondary colors are the base colors of your user Company’s Logo Home Services About Contact Login Register

interface. The colors which are used most frequently in your UI

design are called Primary colors.

Most designers usually choose brand colors as primary colors. As a

matter of fact, it’s recommended to have no more than three
primary colors.

Optionally you can use secondary colors in order to distinguish your

products and make more interesting UI designs. Register Now More

32 33
07 DESIGN BASICS | COLOR PALETTE | PART 3

Color Wheel

Design Basics

Color Palette - Part 3

How to choose colors properly?

When you are working with colors, you should not create a
combination of random colors because the result would not be the
one you expect.

In order to understand how to work with colors, first you need to

know what the color wheel is and how it works.

Here are important color combinations you need to know:

• Complementary: Two colors that are on opposite sides of the

color wheel
• Monochromatic: Three shades, tones and tints of one base
color
• Analogous: Three colors that are side by side on the color
wheel

34 35
08 DESIGN BASICS | SPACING

50PX
Design Basics
New pictures

Spacing
8PX
Let’s look at the newest photos
together.
16PX

Consistency plays a key role in UI design. So when you are

designing you need to measure everything and keep it consistent.

As a designer, spacing is up to you but once you set it, you need to
use the same spacing patterns in your designs. Best pictures
8PX
Here are the best taken photos of the
week.
For example, if you set the spacing between the header and body 16PX

text to 8px, you should always use the same spacing throughout
your project.

As you can see in the picture all the spacing has been measured
accurately and it makes the design clearer.

125PX 125PX

36 37
09 DESIGN BASICS | COMPOSITION

Design Basics

Composition
What is the Golden Ratio?

The golden ratio is a mathematical proportion between the elements of

different sizes which is thought to be the most aesthetically pleasing
proportion for human eyes.

The golden ratio equals 1:1.618 and it is usually illustrated with

seashell-shaped spirals. This number was used in creating proportions
for architecture, paintings, photography, design, etc.

How to use the Golden Ratio in your design?

If you have a screen with the width of 1200px, you need to divide it by
1.618 and the result will be 741.6 and now we can say 1200-741= 459.
So we have two sections with the width of 741px and 459px.

38 39
10 DESIGN BASICS | DESIGN GUIDE

Design Basics
Button Button
Design Guide
Button Button
What is a Design Guide?

A design guide is a system that can help you to keep your design
consistent. It can also accelerate your design process.

The examples you are looking at are only a few components that can
be used in your design guide. There are lots of things that can be
included in your design guide such as: London
Tower Bridge

Country
• UI Elements More Germany
• Typography
• Iconography
• Sizing & Spacing
• Color Palettes

40 41
11 DESIGN BASICS | CONSISTENCY | FONTS

Consistency

Fonts
Montserrat

Fashion San Francisco

Fashion is a popular style, especially in clothing, footwear, lifestyle,

As a designer you always work with different fonts, so you need to accessories, makeup, hairstyle and body. Fashion is a distinctive and
know how to use them properly. often constant trend in which people present themselves. A fashion can
become the prevailing style in behaviour or manifest the newest
As it was mentioned in the Typography section, it is recommended to creations of designers, technologists, engineers, and design managers.
work with 2 different fonts at most to keep your UI simple. Roboto

What are the best fonts for UI design? Food San Francisco

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the

• San Francisco: Best for modern websites and mobile apps body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential
• Open Sans: Best for websites and mobile apps
nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals.
• Montserrat: Best for minimal websites and mobile apps
The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the
• Proxima Nova: Modern, content-centric websites & mobile
organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or
apps
stimulate growth.
• Roboto: Best for modern websites and mobile apps

42 43
12 DESIGN BASICS | CONSISTENCY | COLORS

Consistency

Colors
Applying colors to your UI elements is one of the most crucial parts of
the UI design process.

Do you remember what was playing a key role in UI designing? You are
right, consistency. So you need to keep your colors consistent as
well.

For instance, if you apply blue to titles on one page, you need to apply
the same color to titles on other pages. Or if you apply red to a
purchase button, you should use the same color for any other
purchase button(s) on other pages. This is why we need a design
guide and a style guide.

44 45
13 DESIGN BASICS | CONSISTENCY | ICONS

Consistency

Icons
You may think that working with icons is an easy part of the UI design, however,
if you do not pay attention to details you will not get an appropriate result.

Here are some important points that you need to take care of:

• Test scalability: Check if your icons can still be recognized at

small sizes such as 15 x 15 px.
• Properly sized: The recommended target size for touchscreen
objects is 7–10mm. Also, remember to add padding between
icons to prevent incorrect taps.
• Internal consistency: Use the same color scheme for all icons
Consistent Iconography Inconsistent Iconography
and also the same styling attributes (such as the size of
borders). Using outline icons. Using outline and solid
icons at the same time.
• Perfect alignment: Always try to have perfect alignment in
iconography but sometimes because you have icons with
different sizes you need to balance them by yourself.

46 47
14 DESIGN BASICS | CONSISTENCY | UI ELEMENTS

Consistency

UI Elements
Button Button

One of the things that you always work with while you are designing a
user interface is a UI element.

What are the UI elements? $400

London
$300

• Buttons
Tower Bridge $200
-5%
• Cards
• Text Fields $100

More
• Sliders 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12 13/12

• Dialogs
• Charts Name

• Steps Sam

• Tables
Surname
• Selection Controls
Smith5
• Menus
• Snackbars

48 49
15 DESIGN BASICS | FONT RESOURCES

Design Basics

Font Resources
Sometimes choosing the right fonts for your projects could be tricky
and time-consuming. So, in this part, you are going to know about the
best online resources to get your fonts easily.

• Google Fonts - www.fonts.google.com (Free)

• MyFonts - www.myfonts.com (Free & Paid)
• Adobe Fonts - www.fonts.adobe.com (Paid)

If you are having troubles with pairing fonts, you can also use:

• Typewolf - www.typewolf.com
• FontPair - www.fontpair.co

50 51
16 DESIGN BASICS | COLOR RESOURCES

Design Basics

Color Resources
Now it is time to look for our colors in order to use them in our
projects. Most of the time finding good colors is a difficult task for UI
designers especially if you are a beginner.

Here are some absoloutly useful resources for finding colors:

• Color Hunt - www.colorhunt.co

• Adobe Color - www.color.adobe.com
• Coolors - www.coolors.co
• WebGradients - www.webgradients.com

Make sure to spend enough time finding the best possible color
palette for your projects.

52 53
17 DESIGN BASICS | ICON RESOURCES

Design Basics

Icon Resources
As mentioned before, iconography is an essential part of the UI design
process and it is so important to know where you can find engaging
and standard icons.

Here are some useful resources for finding icons:

• Flat Icon - www.flaticon.com

• IconFinder - www.iconfinder.com
• Nucleo - www.nucleoapp.com

Make sure to use the icons, which are easy to recognize by users.

54 55
Chapter 03
Sketch Academy
Credits: The content of this chapter has been
written based on the material on www.Sketch.com.

iMac Mockup
01 SKETCH ACADEMY | INTRODUCTION TO SKETCH

Sketch Academy

Introduction to Sketch
What is Sketch? Sketch is a professional vector editor which is
designed for those who want to turn their ideas into incredible
products.

Vector-based Export Presets Code Export

As mentioned before, Sketch is not suitable for raster graphics.
Instead, it’s a vector editor which is developed for UI/UX design and
it's really good for this purpose.

If you want to try it out, you can get a trial version of it and then
purchase a one-year license. By purchasing it, you will get all the
updates until the end of your subscription. Great Community Non-destructive Sketch Cloud
Editing

So if you’re a fan of Adobe Photoshop, I need to tell you that it is not a

good software program for UI/UX design.

www.Sketch.com

58 59
02 SKETCH ACADEMY | SKETCH REQUIREMENTS

Sketch Academy

Sketch Requirements
If you want to use Sketch as your design tool you need to access at least
one of the macOS devices. It does not have to be the latest or greatest
version but it needs to be able to have macOS High Sierra or a newer
macOS.

If you want to make sure that you can update your Sketch from time to iMac Mockup

time, it is recommended to keep your macOS updated to the latest

version.

Whether you are sure about your operating system or not, I recommend
that you should get the 30-day trial version before purchasing any license.
So in that way you can be 100% sure that everything works perfectly.

If you are working with more complex documents, involving multiple pages
and hundreds of artboards, a powerful Mac with more RAM will definitely
improve the performance.

60 61
03 SKETCH ACADEMY | SKETCH ENVIRONMENT

Sketch Academy 4 Canvas 1 Toolbar

Sketch Environment
Sketch’s interface is designed minimally. Right at the top, you can find
the Toolbar that contains all the important tools and actions. On the
right, you can see the Inspector that lets you modify the properties of
the selected layer(s).

The Layer List is the pane on the left side and it lists all the Artboards
and the Layers in your document. Last but not least, the Canvas is in
the middle where you will see all your designs.

So as you can see we can divide the Sketch interface into 4 main
sections.

• Toolbar: It contains all the essential tools you need.

• Layer List: It lists all the Layers and Artboards.
• Inspector: It lets you customize the properties of your layers. 2 Layer List 3 Inspector

• Canvas: It shows all your artboards in one place.

62 63
04 SKETCH ACADEMY | LAYER BASICS | PART 1

PAGES
Sketch Academy
Page 1

Layer Basics Symbols

2 Desktop HD

The layer list contains all the layers on the current page. We as Header
designers work with layers all the time and it is so important to know 3 Headline
1 Insert a Page
how they work. As you can see in the picture, you are able to insert as Subheading
2 The Artboard
many pages as you want with the help of the plus button at the top.
Dispatches from the
3 Selected Layer
Sign Up / Normal
Whenever you add something to your artboard, it appears in the form 4 Group
4 Hero
of a layer in the layer list, no matter what it is. For instance, the 5 Locked Layer
Guides
“Headline” in this layer list is a text layer and you can recognize it from
Our latest guides
its unique icon.
Australia

For hiding a layer you can hover your mouse over that specific layer Ho Chi Minh

and an eye icon appears immediately. By clicking on that, you can hide Portugal

the layer and vice versa. City Features

Video
For renaming a layer you should click on its name and you can change Map 5
it easily. Green Block

64 65
04 SKETCH ACADEMY | LAYER BASICS | PART 2

PAGES PAGES

Sketch Academy Page 1 Page 1

Layer Basics Symbols Symbols

Desktop HD Desktop HD

One of the most important things about layers is the way we organize Header Header

them. I have seen so many designers that do not care about well Headline Dispatches from the

organizing their layers and it is not good at all. Subheading Subheading

Dispatches from the Headline

Here is why. When you are collaborating with a team of designers, the Sign Up / Normal Sign Up / Normal
way you manage your layers matters a lot because if it is untidy, other Hero Hero
team members cannot understand the hierarchy of your project and in Guides Guides
order to modify anything they have to spend considerable time.
Our latest guides Our latest guides

Australia Australia
So make sure to name your layers once they are created, and keep
Ho Chi Minh Ho Chi Minh
them as organized as possible.
Portugal Portugal

City Features City Features

The other important point is the order of placing layers in the layer list
so that the layer at the top would appear above the other layers in your Video Video

artboard. Map Map

Green Block Green Block

66 67
05 SKETCH ACADEMY | TOOLBAR | PART 1

Sketch Academy 100%

Sketch_UI

Toolbar
Insert Data Create Symbol Zoom Group Ungroup Edit Rotate Mask Scale Flatten Union Subtract Intersect Difference View Play Cloud Export

100%
The toolbar in Sketch contains all the tools you need to create your
Insert Data Create Symbol Zoom Group Ungroup
incredible design. When you install Sketch on your computer there is a
default toolbar. But the good news is that you can easily customize it
as you wish. To customize the toolbar you can right click on it and
choose Customize Toolbar from the options.

Edit Rotate Mask Scale Flatten

So let’s take a look at the toolbar and see what our default tools are.
Right on your left, you can see the Insert pop-up menu which lets you
draw a new layer.

The Data will apply a random image to shape layers or text content to Union Subtract Intersect Difference

text layers.

Create Symbol lets you convert the selected layer or group into a
symbol. We will talk about the Symbols in future lessons.
View Play Cloud Export

68 69
05 SKETCH ACADEMY | TOOLBAR | PART 2

Sketch Academy 100%

Sketch_UI

Toolbar
Insert Data Create Symbol Zoom Group Ungroup Edit Rotate Mask Scale Flatten Union Subtract Intersect Difference View Play Cloud Export

100%
The Zoom buttons allow you to see more or less of your document
Insert Data Create Symbol Zoom Group Ungroup
depending on the zoom level. The Group and Ungroup buttons let you
organize your Layer List which is so useful.

The next 5 buttons which are editing controls allow you to modify and
manipulate your selected shape. Mask and Scale also become active Edit Rotate Mask Scale Flatten
when a shape is selected, and these tools will allow you to clip layers to
shapes and resize them respectively.

Flatten button is for applying transformations and flattening a shape to

a single layer and resetting its origin. Union Subtract Intersect Difference

The next set of icons are the boolean operations which are used to
combine shapes.

View Play Cloud Export

70 71
05 SKETCH ACADEMY | TOOLBAR | PART 3

Sketch Academy 100%

Sketch_UI

Toolbar
Insert Data Create Symbol Zoom Group Ungroup Edit Rotate Mask Scale Flatten Union Subtract Intersect Difference View Play Cloud Export

100%
The View menu allows you to show and hide visual aids that can be
Insert Data Create Symbol Zoom Group Ungroup
used while working on complex projects. For instance, you can show
grids, layouts, rulers, etc.

The Preview button is for previewing your artboard in a new window on

iOS devices or web. Edit Rotate Mask Scale Flatten

The Cloud icon is for sharing your design with your friends, clients or
colleagues through the Sketch Cloud. Last but not least, the Export
button lets you export your assets.
Union Subtract Intersect Difference

Alternatively, you can use shortcuts to choose the right tool and it can
really help you to accelerate your design process.

You can find the list of most important shortcuts at the end of this
View Play Cloud Export
module.

72 73
06 SKETCH ACADEMY | SHAPES

Sketch Academy

Shapes Rectangle Oval Triangle

Shapes are the most common type of layers in your design. There is a
wide diversity of default shapes provided with Sketch such as stars,
rectangles, ovals, line, etc.

To add a new shape to your artboard, choose a shape tool from the
Insert › Shape pop-up menu in the toolbar. Click-and-drag anywhere
in the Canvas to insert your shape. While you are dragging to insert the
Line Polygon Rounded
shape, Sketch will demonstrate how large the inserted shape will
become.

You can also find more details about your shapes in the Inspector and
you can change the variables as you wish.

Some shapes have extra options, such as the ability to add more sides
to a polygon or round corners.

74 75
07 SKETCH ACADEMY | EDITING SHAPES | PART 1

Sketch Academy

Editing Shapes
Sometimes you need to edit shapes in a way you want and it is a very
simple thing to do. Sketch allows you to edit shapes easily and
conveniently.

First of all, let’s choose Rectangle from the Insert › Shape pop-up
menu. Second of all, we need to draw it on the Canvas and after that,
we can double-click on it (or press the Enter key) to begin editing.

Once we are in edit mode we will see a circular point in each of the
corners. Now, let’s click-and-drag on any of these points to change
their position and we will see how the shape changes. We can also add
additional points to shape by hovering over the path between two
points and clicking to insert.

To delete a point, click to select it and press the Backspace key on

your keyboard.

76 77
07 SKETCH ACADEMY | EDITING SHAPES | PART 2

Sketch Academy

Editing Shapes
The path between points can appear as either straight lines or curves.
It depends on the type of point that is connecting them. If you double-
click on a point on a rectangle, the point type will immediately change
to create a curved path.

By doing that, you will see two handles on either side of the point that
control the curvature of the path. These are called handle control
points.

In order to understand how they work, think of them as if they were

pulling the path towards themselves.

There is a good shortcut for changing the point type and that is
pressing numbers between 1 to 4 on your keyboard.

78 79
08 SKETCH ACADEMY | BOOLEAN OPERATIONS

Union Subtract

Sketch Academy

Boolean Operations
Sometimes you look for a shape which does not exist in Sketch. In that
case, you need to create your own shape. Although you can create a
shape by using the Vector tool, it is much easier to make a shape by
Intersect Difference
combining basic shapes together.

For instance, think of a cloud which is a rounded rectangle combined

with a circle. Haven’t you thought about that before? There are countless
shapes that we can break down into basic shapes.

How boolean operations work?

• Union: The result is a vector that is the sum of both vectors’ areas.
Example
• Subtract: The result is a vector where the area of the top shape
is removed from the one under it.
• Intersect: The result is a vector consisting of the parts where the + =
original shapes overlap.
• Difference: It’s the inverse of an intersect operation.

80 81
09 SKETCH ACADEMY | TEXT

Sketch Academy

Text
It is a text box with a fixed It is a text box with a fixed
You can add text by choosing the Text tool from the Insert menu in the size and it will automatically size and it will automatically
toolbar (or press T). Then the pointer will change to the Text Input tool add a new line in order to fit add a new line in order to fit
icon and finally, you can click anywhere in the Canvas to insert your the content. the content.
text layer at that point. A new text layer will be inserted with “Type
something” already selected, ready to be replaced.
It is a normal text which will increase its width to fit the content.
If you want to create a text box you can click-and-drag and then you
will have a fixed size text box. So in this case when the text gets too
long to fit inside the box it will create a new line, unlike a normal text Typographical Emphasis
which increases its width to fit the content.

Normal Bold Italic Underline

When you select a text and click on the Text menu item in Sketch, you
can find a number of options available. You can change the typeface,
italicize, bold or underline your text layer and much more. For more
complex modifications, you can also use Kern, Ligature, Baseline, etc.

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10 SKETCH ACADEMY | TEXT INSPECTOR

Sketch Academy

Text Inspector
TEXT

Playfair Display 20

Bold
Whenever you select a text, you will notice that the Inspector has
changed to show you all the properties which apply to text. auto 30 0
Character Line Paragraph Fixed
Apart from what was mentioned before, you can also modify most of
them, including typeface, font size, alignment, etc. right in the Alignment
Inspector section. However, if you want to use bullet points, for
example, you should use the Text menu at the top.

One of the most important things you should pay attention to while
working with texts is the Line value which basically adjusts the line Text Options
height. If you are not sure how much your line height should be, do not
worry. There is a good formula that you can use in order to get an
appropriate line height. The formula is Font Size × 1.5 = Line Height. Decoration Transform

For instance, if the font size is 20 pt, then the Line value should be 30.

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11 SKETCH ACADEMY | TEXT STYLE

Layer › Create new Text Style

Sketch Academy
OR

Text Style Click the text that reads “No Text Style” in the
Inspector and choose Create new Text Style from
the menu.
When you are working on a complex project which contains a lot of text
layers, many of those layers will contain the same text properties. So
APPEARANCE
Sketch allows you to create a Text Style and apply it to those text
layers.
No Text Style

You may ask yourself, "What is the point of using the Text Styles?"
Opacity (Normal)
Well, let me explain it to you with an example. Suppose that you have
100 %
been working on a website for one month and you have used a specific
font in your project. Then you would get a phone call from your client
TEXT
and he or she would ask you to change the font of all body texts to
something else. Playfair Display 20

So in this case, if you have used a text style for your body text, you Bold
could update it once and the changes would apply to all across the
project. auto 30 0
Character Line Paragraph Fixed

Isn’t that pretty cool? That is awesome!

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12 SKETCH ACADEMY | IMAGES & BITMAPS

Sketch Academy

Images & Bitmaps

As Sketch is a vector editor, you may be wondering how you could edit
your images without jumping between different design tools. Well,
1 2 3
there is nothing to worry about because Sketch allows you to use the
most common bitmap editing capabilities to make your life even easier.

To start editing your image, you need to select it by double-clicking on

it. The Inspector will show you two selection tools. First of all, you need
to select an area on the Canvas, and then pick the tool you want.

• Selection: Select a rectangular area on the image.

• Magic Wand: Click and drag anywhere on the image to select an
area.

Image Tools
Once you have selected an area of your image, you can either cut/copy
1 Invert: The area that was not selected will be selected now and vice versa.
the selection and use it for a new bitmap layer or use one of the options
2 Crop: It crops the layer to only include the selected area.
in the Inspector.
3 Fill: It lets you fill the selected area with colors.

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13 SKETCH ACADEMY | STYLING | FILLS

STYLE

Styling Fills

Fills
Borders

Shadows

Inner Shadows

Blurs
One of the most important panes of Sketch is the Inspector. Here you can
find a variety of options and tools that will allow you to apply effects such
as shadows, change the color of a layer, etc.

In this part, we will learn how to use Fills in your design. In order to use
Fills, you should click on the add button + in the Fills section title. You can
apply a range of different fills to layers including solid color, gradients
and image fill. In addition, you can add as many fills as you want to your
layer which will be stacked on top of each other from bottom to top.

Fill options from left to right:

• Solid Fill
• Linear Gradient
• Radial Gradient
• Angular Gradient
• Image Fill

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14 SKETCH ACADEMY | STYLING | BORDERS

Styling Border Positions:

Borders Center Inside Outside

All layers in Sketch can contain as many borders as you want except text
layers. You can modify their thickness, colors, etc.

Just like Fills, in order to add a border to your layer, you should click on
the add button + in the Border section title. Not only can you customize
their appearance, such as colors, thickness, etc. but also you can choose
how they should be positioned. The border position can be modified on
closed shapes, by being placed on either inside, center or outside of the
STYLE
shape's outline.
Fills

Additionally, there are some Border Options that you can use such as Borders
Ends and Joins that let you control how the border should end and how it
Shadows
should join the joining points. You can also use Arrowheads by using the
Inner Shadows
Start and End options and Dashed Lines by using the Dash and Gap
options. Blurs

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15 SKETCH ACADEMY | STYLING | SHADOWS

Styling

Shadows
Nowadays you can see shadows in almost every kind of design, however, ADD IMAGE ADD IMAGE
knowing how to use shadows appropriately is so important.

There are two kinds of shadows in Sketch (Shadow and Inner Shadow).
They behave in much the same way. The only difference is that Shadow
will spread outside of the shape it applies to, however, Inner Shadow will
cast inside the shape.

You can adjust shadows as you wish by changing their X and Y value and
also modifying the Blur and Spread amount. Not to mention that you can
change the color of shadows to whatever you want.

Tip 1: Keep the opacity of your shadows as low as possible.

Tip 2: Do not use dark shadows for colorful objects. Try to use the
object’s color as the shadow color and decrease its opacity.

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16 SKETCH ACADEMY | STYLING | BLURS

Gaussian Blur Motion Blur

Styling

Blurs
In general, there are four kinds of blur effects that you can apply to layers
in Sketch. You can choose between them by clicking on the title section
in the Inspector, and choosing from the pop-up menu.

• Gaussian Blur: It is a common blur type that will accurately blur in

all directions.
Zoom Blur Background Blur
• Motion Blur: It blurs the layer only in one direction and it gives the
user the illusion of motion.
• Zoom Blur: It blurs from one specific point out.
• Background Blur: It blurs any content that appears behind the
layer.

Unlike other kinds of blurs, Background Blur requires you to modify the
opacity of your fill(s) in order for the effect to be seen.

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17 SKETCH ACADEMY | STYLING | GRADIENTS

Gradient Types:
Styling

Gradients
Linear Radial Angular

Gradients are so popular nowadays because it helps designers to attract

user’s attention. As I mentioned in the Fills section, you can use three
different kinds of gradients. Linear, Radial and Angular Gradients,
however, the most common gradient is the Linear Gradient and you can
find this kind of gradient in almost 90% of designs in one way or another.

One important thing about Gradients you need to know is that you cannot Linear Gradients:
combine any random colors to make a gradient. For instance, you can use
analogous colors from the color wheel in order to create a good gradient.

Alternatively, you can get inspired by nature. For example, it’s possible to
get your colors from the photo of a landscape. To do that you could use
online tools to accelerate the process.

Tip 1: DO NOT overuse gradients in your design. FFCF24 F54EA2 17EAD9

Tip 2: Double-check the contrast of your content. FF6464 FF7676 6078EA

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18 SKETCH ACADEMY | STYLING | SHARED LAYER STYLE

Styling

Shared Layer Style APPEARANCE

No Layer Style
You can create and apply a Layer Style to any layer just like Text Styles. It
can help you to save a set of stylistic elements which can reuse them
Opacity (Normal)
across any of your layers in the project you are working on. Just like Text
100 %
Styles, Layer Styles allow you to keep the appearance of your layers both
consistent and up-to-date, if you make any changes to their appearance.

To create a Layer Style, click on the text that reads “No Layer Style” in the
Inspector and choose Create new Layer Style from the menu.

You can also do the following after creating a Layer Style:

• Update Layer Style: It updates all the layers using the same Layer
Style.
• Reset Layer Style: It removes the changes made to that Layer Style.
• Detach from Layer Style: It keeps the changes you’ve made to that
layer but removes the Layer Style attribute from the layer.

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19 SKETCH ACADEMY | MASKING

Sketch Academy

Masking
Outline Mask Alpha Mask

Masks in Sketch let you select and show parts of other layers. For
instance, you can mask an image layer to a circle and it will give the
image a circular shape.

There are many ways you can use masks in Sketch, however, the most
convenient one is to select your shape layers and click on the Mask
button in the toolbar.

Remember that the order of placing your layers is so important while

working with Masks. For example, if you select three shape layers and
click on the Mask button, the two layers above the last one will be clipped
to the third layer.

Another way to use masks is to give it a gradient, which is called Alpha

Mask.
Layer › Mask › Mask Mode › Alpha Mask from the menu

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20 SKETCH ACADEMY | SYMBOLS

Sketch Academy

Symbols
Symbols is a great feature in Sketch that allows you to reuse elements
easily across your Artboards and Pages or even multiple documents.
Create Symbol
We can break down Symbols into two parts: a “master”, which takes the
appearance of an Artboard and an “instance” which is a flattened
representation of the master. As a matter of fact, a Symbol instance is a
single layer that mirrors the content from its master. You can recognize it
with the help of a purple icon with syncing arrows .

You can create a Symbol simply by selecting an object and clicking on the
Create Symbol button in the toolbar. Then you will be prompted to choose
a name for your symbol and, in the end, press OK.

You can find your Symbols on the Symbols page and you can customize
each instance with Overrides. You can find the Overrides section in the
Inspector.

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21 SKETCH ACADEMY | CANVAS

Sketch Academy

Canvas
Sketch’s Canvas is infinite in size. It is basically where your Artboards will
be placed and you can easily navigate around. By using the scroll-wheel
on your mouse or a trackpad, you can scroll in any direction.

Additionally, you can hold the Spacebar and click-and-drag the Canvas to
pan around. If there is no object selected, you can also use the arrow
keys to pan the Canvas.

There are times when you want to zoom in and zoom out in order to see
more details or the entire Canvas respectively. To do that, you can use
the Zoom item in the toolbar. Optionally you can hold the command key
and use your scroll-wheel on your mouse.

The maximum zoom level is 256,000%, and the minimum one is 1%.

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22 SKETCH ACADEMY | PLUGINS

Sketch Academy

Plugins
Plugins are an important part of any design tool. You can extend Sketch’s
functionality by installing plugins. All plugins have been developed by
third-party developers and can be downloaded for free, or purchased
from the developer.

You can find the newest plugins on the Extensions page of Sketch
website. Once your plugin is installed, you can access it via the Plugins
menu in the menu bar.

Sometimes after an update, plugins may become incompatible with

Sketch. In that case, your Sketch may crash and you can fix it by
disabling plugins. To do that, you can hold down the Shift key during
launch time to disable all plugins you have installed.

If you choose Plugins › Manage Plugins, you can access the Plugins
preference pane where you can manage your plugins.

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23 SKETCH ACADEMY | EXPORTING | PART 1

Sketch Academy

Exporting
Export
When you’ve finished your design process you will probably want to
export parts of your creation or even all of it. In Sketch, you can easily
export your design in no time.

To see all your exportable files, you can click on the Export button in the
toolbar and then mark what you want to export. To mark any layer, group,
or Artboard exportable in Sketch, make sure it is selected, and click on
the “Make Exportable” button at the bottom of the Inspector.

After that, a view will appear and you can modify and define the settings
for export and these settings will be applied when the layer is exported.
If you click on the add button + once again Sketch will add another scale
to your export.

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23 SKETCH ACADEMY | EXPORTING | PART 2

Sketch Academy

Exporting
If you have more than one export scale defined, then you need at least
one prefix or suffix to append to the start or end respectively, of the
exported file’s name to tell them apart.

Typically, objects exported at a ‘2x’ scale will have the suffix of “@2x” as
this meets the naming conventions required by Apple when designing for
their operating systems. If you’re designing for Android, however, ‘2x’ is
represented by the “xhdpi/” prefix.

You can choose your desired file format by clicking on the format button.
Exporting is not limited to files; you can also export some of your design
as code. You can easily copy the CSS attributes and SVG code by
selecting any number of elements in the Canvas and then hold the
Control key and click and choose Copy CSS Attributes or Copy SVG
Code. It is an amazing feature for web designers.

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24 SKETCH ACADEMY | IMPORTANT SHORTCUTS

General Shortcuts Inserting Layers Text Editing Arranging Layers

⌘ c Copy R Rectangle ⌘ T Change typeface ⌘ G Group

⌘ x Cut O Oval ⌘ B Bold ⇧ ⌘ G Ungroup

⌘ v Paste L Line ⌘ I Italic ⌘ R Rename layer

⌘ + Zoom in U Rounded ⌘ U Underline ⌥ ⌘ ↑ Bring forward

⌘ - Zoom out V Vector Tool ⇧ Return Insert a line break ⌥ ⌘ ↓ Send backward

⌘ z Undo T Text Tool ⇧ ⌘ { Align left ⇧ ⌘ H Hide/show layer

⇧ ⌘ z Redo A Artboard Tool ⇧ ⌘ | Align center ⇧ ⌘ L Lock/unlock layer

114 115
Chapter 04
UI Elements
Text Fields, Buttons, Sliders, Cards, etc.
01 UI ELEMENTS | TEXT FIELDS

UI Elements Anatomy

Text Fields 1 2 3

Label
As you may know, text fields are UI elements which allow users to
enter a text into a UI. They usually appear in dialogs and forms.
Input
4

1 Label text
Almost every mobile apps and also websites use at least one kind of Label
5
text fields. For instance, you can use them for entering dates, names, 2 Input text Input

time, etc. 3 Trailing icon (optional)

4 Activation indicator Label

6
Input
As a UI designer, you need to know the anatomy of a text field as 5 Voice input icon

described in the picture. You may find different kinds of text fields on 6 Dropdown icon
different platforms.
Hint text Input tex
So it is recommended to know about the standard UI elements that a
specific operating system uses. Hint text Input text

Username or Password is Incorrect

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02 UI ELEMENTS | BUTTONS

UI Elements
Active Active

Buttons ADD IMAGE CONFIRM

Buttons let users take actions. So whenever a user needs to do

Inactive Tapped
something, buttons come into play. I think now you understand how
important it is to know about button designing.
NEXT CONFIRM
When you are designing a button, make sure to pay attention to the
following points:

1 Text Button 2 Outlined Button

• States: Design all states of the button such as active, inactive,
tapped, hover, etc.
NEXT CONFIRM
• Hierarchy: Know about the hierarchy of your buttons (high-
emphasis, medium-emphasis, low-emphasis)
3 Contained Button 4 Toggle Button
• Placement: Multiple button types can be utilized to represent
various emphasis levels.
CONFIRM I B U
• Text Button: Text buttons are typically used for less-
pronounced actions, for example, in dialogs and cards.
• Contrast: Buttons should have enough contrast to express the
importance of their functionality.

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03 UI ELEMENTS | SLIDERS

UI Elements

Sliders Continuous Slider

Sliders allow users to make selections from a range of values. They

are ideal for adjusting settings such as brightness, volume, etc. Sliders
$50 $250
can have icons on both sides of the bar.

When you are designing a slider, make sure to pay attention to the
following points:

• States: Design all states of the slider such as enable, disable, Discrete slider

tapped, hover, etc.

• Adjusting: Sliders should only be used for choosing selections
from a range of values.
• Quickness: Sliders should react immediately, so changes must
be instantaneous.
• Accessibility: Sliders should provide the whole range of
choices available to the user to select from.

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04 UI ELEMENTS | TOOLTIPS

UI Elements

Tooltips
Tooltips are for displaying informative text when users hover over,
I B U
focus on, or tap an element.

Bold (⌘ B)
When you are designing a tooltip, make sure to pay attention to the
following points:

• Conciseness: Tooltips should only display a brief text. Do not

add an image or detailed information.
• Pairing: Tooltips are always paired nearby the element with CONFIRM
which they are associated.
• Transitory: Tooltips appear on hover, focus, or touch, and
disappear after a short duration. The recommended time is 1.5
Save
seconds.

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05 UI ELEMENTS | SELECTION CONTROLS

Switches

UI Elements

Selection Controls
For toggling a single option on
or off.
Selection controls allow users to easily select between different
options. It is useful for declaring preferences such as settings.
Radio Buttons

When you are designing a selection control, make sure to pay

attention to the following things:

• Familiarity: Selection controls have been used in UI design for a

long time and should be utilized as expected. For selecting a single option from
a list.
• Efficiency: Selection controls let users easily compare two or
more options.
• Scannable: Selection controls should appear in a way that users Checkboxes
can recognize them at a glance. Selected items should be
visually distinguishable from unselected items.

For selecting one or multiple items

from a list.

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06 UI ELEMENTS | CHIPS

UI Elements

Chips John White

Chips allow users to make selections, trigger actions, enter

information, etc. Unlike buttons, which should be a consistent call to Sarah Davis
action, chips should appear dynamically as a group of multiple
interactive elements.

When you are designing a chip, make sure to pay attention to the Selected
following things:

Choice chip
• States: Design all states of your chips such as enable, disable, Selected
tapped, hover, etc.
Choice chip
• Relevancy: Chips should have a helpful relationship with the
content or task they represent.
• Compactness: Chips are compact elements that represent Art
distinct information.

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07 UI ELEMENTS | CARDS

UI Elements

Cards
Cards are containers that display content and actions on a single
subject. They must be easy to scan and elements such as images or
texts should be placed on them in a way that certainly indicates the HEALTHY LIFE HAVE FUN WORKSPACE
It can be hard to find options that also come with We didn’t realize we were making memories, we just We understand the importance of making your
hierarchy. vitamin and minerals. knew we were having fun. talented employees feel at home.

When you are designing cards, make sure to pay attention to the
following things:
Happiness

Happiness in its broad sense is the label for a family of

• Individual: A card cannot be divided into multiple cards. You pleasant emotional states, such as joy, amusement,
satisfaction, gratification, euphoria, and triumph.
should not merge a card with another one.
Happiness can be examined in experiential and evaluative

• Independence: A card does not need to rely on its contexts. Experiential well-being, or "objective happiness",
is happiness measured in the moment via questions such

surrounding elements; it can stand alone.

as "How good or bad is your experience now?". In contrast,
evaluative well-being asks questions such as "How good
was your vacation?" and measures one's subjective
London
• Components: A card can optionally have rich media (images, thoughts and feelings about happiness in the past. Tower Bridge

videos), text, buttons, icons and thumbnails.

1055 732 More

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08 UI ELEMENTS | DIALOGS

UI Elements Set up account

Dialogs [email protected]

[email protected]

Dialogs inform users about critical information or even tasks. They also ask
[email protected]
users to make a decision or choose between different options.
For instance, dialogs can be used for asking for permission or even
Reset settings? Add account
choosing from a range of different variables on a slider and so much more.
This will reset your device to
its default factory settings.
When you are designing dialogs, make sure to pay attention to the following
Favorite colors:
things: CANCEL ACCEPT

Black
• Hierarchy: A dialog has the highest hierarchy and it blocks the
White
app usage until the user takes a dialog action.
Blue
• Visibility: A dialog must be recognizable easily so I recommend
adding a dark overlay to the view and putting the dialog on top of that. Red

• Straightforward: A dialog should convey the message in an Yellow

understandable and clear way. Green
• Buttons: I recommend using side-by-side buttons on a dialog as
CANCEL OK
you can see in the picture.

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09 UI ELEMENTS | LISTS

UI Elements
Your contacts:

Lists [email protected]

[email protected]

Lists are a continuous group of images or texts. They are composed of

items including primary and secondary actions, which are represented [email protected]

by icons and texts.

[email protected]

When you are designing lists, make sure to pay attention to the
following things:

Your friends:
• Consistency: Lists must present icons, texts and actions in a
Elena Smith
consistent format.
[email protected]
• Action: Lists show content in a way that makes it easy to
Sarah Jones
recognize a specific item in a collection and act on it. [email protected]
• Scannable: Lists should be classified in logical ways that make
Angela Williams
content easy to scan. [email protected]

Alex Wilson
[email protected]

134 135
10 UI ELEMENTS | TABLES

UI Elements

Tables New Users (9) Old Users (40) All Users (49)

Name Surname Age Credit ($)

Tables are containers that show users different records, such as

products, prices, status, dates, etc. A data table contains a header row Elena Smith 22 250

at the top that lists column names followed by rows for data. They are Alex Wilson 25 1000

usually scrollable and easy to scan. So if you need to populate some

Angela Williams 20 750
data which are sortable and follow the same pattern, you can use
tables. Sarah Jones 28 375

Emily Hill 31 500

When you are designing tables, make sure to pay attention to the
Dylan Wood 22 540
following things:
Anthony Harris 25 960

• Expandable: Rows in a table can be expandable in order to allow Samuel Clark 34 500

the user to evaluate additional information without losing its

Liam Adams 28 375
context.
• Pagination: Pagination works by presenting a set of numbers in
a view, with the ability to navigate to another set.
• Fixed Headers: Fixing the row header while a user scrolls
through a table helps the user to know about the column name.

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11 UI ELEMENTS | NAVIGATION

UI Elements

Navigation
Navigation is the act of moving between screens of an app to complete
tasks. For instance, you can navigate from Explore page of an app to
the Profile page.

There are different types of navigation:

• Lateral: It refers to moving between screens at the same level of

hierarchy. The main app’s navigation component should provide
access to all destinations at the top level of its hierarchy.
• Forward: It refers to moving between screens at consecutive
levels of hierarchy.
• Reverse: It refers to moving backward through screens either
hierarchically (within an app) or chronologically (within one app
or across different apps).

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12 UI ELEMENTS | MENUS

UI Elements

Menus
A menu displays a list of choices on a provisional surface. It appears
when users interact with a button, action, or other kinds of controls.
Menus allow users to make a selection from multiple options. Unlike
selection controls, menus are less outstanding and take less space.

When you are designing menus, make sure to pay attention to the
following things:

• Scannable: Menu options should be easy to scan.

• Quick: Menus should be easy to open, close, and interact with.
• Placement: Menus appear in front of all other UI elements.

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13 UI ELEMENTS | CHARTS

UI Elements

Charts
One

Two
-5%

400 Three

Four
Charts help users to compare values in a visualized way. When it
300

-5%
comes to comparing many values, it is much easier to look at charts 200
Five

0 100 200 300 400 500

rather than numbers in a grid.
100

When you are designing charts, make sure to pay attention to the 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12 13/12

following things: 400

300
• Visibility: Visibility of a chart is so important because sometimes -5%

you have a chart with very small details. 200

• Consistency: Place your charts on a card in order to keep your

100
design clean and consistent.
$20,994
• Margins: Make sure that there is enough white space between Total 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12 13/12

your charts and other elements.

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14 UI ELEMENTS | STEPPERS

UI Elements 1 Shipping 2 Payment 3 Receipt

Steppers
Shipping 2 Payment 3 Receipt
Steppers show progress through a sequence of logical and numbered
steps. Sometimes you may use them for navigation. Steppers may
display a temporary feedback message after a step is saved. Using
steppers could help users to avoid losing their focus when they need Shipping Payment Receipt
to fill up forms or take some action.

When you are designing steppers, make sure to pay attention to the
following things: Shipping Shipping

• Sections: Do not embed steppers into other steppers or use

multiple steppers on one page.
2 Payment Payment
• Types: Generally there are two types of steps, editable steps
and non-editable steps. We have horizontal steppers and vertical
steppers.
• Feedback: You can optionally design transient feedback to 3 Receipt Receipt
show the users the progression. You should only use feedback
whenever there is a long latency between steps.

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15 UI ELEMENTS | SNACKBARS

UI Elements

Snackbars
Review sent UNDO
Snackbars provide concise feedback about an operation through a
message at the bottom of the screen. They should contain a single line
of text directly related to the operation performed. They may contain a Message is archived.

button as well.

When you are designing snackbars, make sure to pay attention to the
following things:

• Brief: Snackbars should only display brief information about an

operation, and not detailed information. Review sent UNDO DISMISS
• Transient: Snackbars automatically time out from the screen. So
they should disappear quickly.
Review sent UNDO
• Hierarchy: If the action is important enough to block the app
usage, you can use dialogs instead of snackbars. In snackbars
only use one button if it is needed, and not more.

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Chapter 05
Wireframing
User Flow, Interactive Prototype, etc.
Right
01 WIREFRAMING | INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Wireframing
Wireframing is a way to design an app or website services at the
structural level. A wireframe is generally used to layout content and
functionalities on a page which take user needs and experiences into
account. We can consider wireframing a graphical skeleton.

Similar to the blueprint of a car, the wireframe determines the details of

the whole project at the initial stage as the project description.

Most beginners think that wireframing and prototyping are somehow

the same, however, they are not. A wireframe is a low-fidelity design,
so it does not illustrate the final appearance of the user interface. On
the other hand, a prototype is a high-fidelity design and it is dynamic
and interactive. Prototyping looks almost like the final product.

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02 WIREFRAMING | USER FLOW

Wireframing

User Flow
User flow is a path taken by a prototypical user on an app or website to
complete a task. The user flow directs them from their entry point
through a set of phases towards a successful outcome and final action,
such as sending a message or purchasing an item.

item description add item checkout payment

Let me give you an example of a very simplified user flow for an e-
commerce app:

1. The user starts from the homepage.

2. From the homepage, the user clicks onto a category page.
3. From the category page, the user clicks on a product.
4. From the product page, the user adds an item to the cart.
5. From the homepage, the user clicks onto a category page.
6. From the shopping cart, the user checks out.
7. From the checkout page, the user completes the payment.
8. In the end, the user can get his/her receipt.

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03 WIREFRAMING | INTERACTIVE PROTOTYPE

Wireframing

Interactive Prototype
Nowadays, prototyping is playing an increasingly vital role in the design
process. So you as a UI/UX designer, need to know how to make a
high-fidelity prototype of your project in a way that it can clearly
Right
convey the message of your design and also the exact interaction you
want to achieve.

Not only can prototyping help you as a designer to show off your work,
but also it can help developers to know how your design should be
converted to code.

Here are some useful tools you can use for interactive prototyping:

• Sketch: It can be used for simple interactive prototyping.

• InVision Studio: It can be used for modern and complicated
interactive prototyping.
• Principle: It can be used for modern and detailed
interactive prototyping.

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04 WIREFRAMING | WIREFRAME TOOLS

Wireframing

Wireframe Tools
Now that you know the importance of wireframing in UI/UX design, it is
time to talk about the tools which are absolutely useful for preparing
your wireframe.

Although some designers prefer to use standalone software for

wireframing, there are designers who prefer to use web-based tools
for wireframing. No matter what way you like to choose, make sure to
keep your wireframing consistent.

Here are some useful tools you can use for wireframing:

• MockFlow - www.mockflow.com | Free & Paid

• Figma - www.figma.com | Free & Paid
• Sketch - macOS | Paid
• Adobe XD - macOS & Windows | Free

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Chapter 06
Prototyping
Tools, Prototyping in Sketch, etc.

Fade
01 PROTOTYPING | TOOLS

Prototyping

Tools
In this lesson, I am going to introduce you to some of the best tools for
prototyping your projects. As a matter of fact, you can make a prototype
by using Sketch, however, if you want to make a fancy and complex
prototype, I recommend that you use other websites and applications.

What are the best prototyping tools?

• ProtoPie - www.protopie.io
• Zeplin - www.zeplin.io
• Framer X - www.framer.com
• InVision Studio - www.invisionapp.com
• Sketch - www.sketch.com
• Marvel - www.marvelapp.com

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02 PROTOTYPING | PROTOTYPING IN SKETCH | PART 1

Sign in page Homepage

Prototyping

Prototyping in Sketch
Now that you have designed your app or website, it is time to prototype it
in Sketch. Thanks to Sketch, prototyping is not that time-consuming as
before.

Fade
To start prototyping, first, you need to select an object on one of your
artboards, for example, a button. Then you should click on the Link button
in the toolbar. Now a floating arrow appears and you can point this arrow
to anything, for example, another artboard.

Suppose that you have a login screen and you want to interact with the
Login button. So what we do is selecting the Sign in button and clicking on
the Link button in the toolbar. Then we will select the Home artboard. So
whenever you click on Sign in button, it will direct you to the homepage.

In order to check how your prototype works, you can click on the Preview
button in the toolbar.

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02 PROTOTYPING | PROTOTYPING IN SKETCH | PART 2

Prototyping

Prototyping in Sketch
In this lesson, we are going to talk about the type of animations when you
are prototyping. After doing the first part that we discussed in the
Sign in page Homepage
previous lesson, you can see the Prototyping section in the Inspector.

In this section, you will be able to modify a few things. First of all, you can
change the Target. What is the target? It is the destination of each
transition. So in our example target is “Homepage”.

The other thing that you can customize is the Animation type. Basically,
Fade
you have five different options to choose from. From left to right, the first
option is “No Artboard Animation” which disables animation. The next
options are “Animate Artboard From Right”, “Animate Artboard From
Bottom”, “Animate Artboard From Left” and “Animate Artboard From
Top”.

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02 PROTOTYPING | PROTOTYPING IN SKETCH | PART 3

Prototyping

Prototyping in Sketch
The last option in the Prototyping section is “Fix position when scrolling”
which lets you fix the position of your layers or Hotspots. It is a great
feature for fixing the header or footer of your project while the rest of
your content moves behind it.

What are Hotspots?

There are some cases where simply adding a Link to a layer may not be
useful. For instance, if you want the clickable area of an icon or menu
item to be larger than the layer which is inside, you can use Hotspots.
They allow you to create a tap target over any part of your design and link
it to an Artboard.

You can add a Hotspot from the Insert menu or you can simply press H to
start drawing one.

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03 PROTOTYPING | PROTOTYPING IN INVISION STUDIO | PART 1

Prototyping

Prototyping in InVision
Studio
In this lesson, you are going to learn how to prototype in InVision Studio,
one of the best applications in the design industry. First of all, you can
download and install the InVision Studio on both Mac OS and Windows for
free.

Second of all, you need to import your Sketch file into the InVision Studio.
To do this, you can easily click on the “Open Studio or Sketch file”
button.

Alternatively, you can choose File > Import and select your Sketch file.

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03 PROTOTYPING | PROTOTYPING IN INVISION STUDIO | PART 2

Prototyping

Prototyping in InVision
Studio
Now that you have successfully imported your Sketch file into the app, it
is time to start prototyping. Let’s start with the basics. In order to create
an interaction in Invision Studio, first, you need to select an object in one Fade

of the screens and in this project, we are going to select the Search
button. Then you can either press C on your keyboard or just click on the
icon at the top.

Afterwards, you should select the second object or screen to complete

the chain of creating an interaction just like Sketch app. So we are going
to select the Search Results screen on the right. By doing so, a screen will
pop up and you can modify some important options, such as Trigger, type
of Transition, etc. After clicking on the Save button, our interaction will be
ready. Remember that you can always modify these options later on.

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03 PROTOTYPING | PROTOTYPING IN INVISION STUDIO | PART 3

Prototyping

Prototyping in InVision
Studio
One of the best features of InVision Studio is the ability to modify the
keyframes of your animation with the help of Timeline.

In order to open up the Timeline window, you can head over to the
Interactions section on the right side and change the Transition from
Preset to Motion. As you can see, there is a button called Edit Timeline
and by clicking on that you can go to the Timeline window and customize
your animation as you wish.

Not only does this feature help you to play the animation at a low speed,
but also it lets you create seamless and beautiful animations. So make
sure to try it out.

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Chapter 07
Portfolio
Online Portfolio, How to use Dribbble, etc.
01 PORTFOLIO | ONLINE PORTFOLIO

Portfolio

Online Portfolio
You as a UI/UX designer absolutely need an online portfolio to show off your
abilities and design skills. It is extremely essential to have an outstanding
portfolio in order for you to get a good job whether as a full-time designer or
a freelancer.

So how can you create your own online portfolio without writing a single line
of code? To do that, you can use websites such as Dribbble or Behance
which are designed for designers and almost every employer needs to check
out your profile on one of these websites.

Behance is an online platform to showcase and discover creative work. It is

owned by Adobe and you can create a great portfolio using it for free.
Alternatively, you can use Dribbble in order to showcase your artwork and it
automatically creates an online portfolio for you. You can also customize
your portfolio as you wish. In order to use Dribbble services for free, you
need to be invited by other designers otherwise, you can purchase the
premium subscription.

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02 PORTFOLIO | HOW TO USE DRIBBBLE?

Portfolio

How to use Dribbble?

In order to use Dribbble services, first you need to have an account. Once
you create your account, you can whether browse other designers’
artwork for inspiration or you can upload your own creative artwork.

Each month you can upload 48 shots and your shots should meet the
Dribbble’s guidelines. You can upload high-resolution images (PNG,
JPEG, GIF) and also animated GIFs to your profile. Additionally, if you are
a Pro member, you can upload videos as well.

After uploading your artwork, you can set a title for it. You can also add
relative tags to let other users find your artwork easier. Last but not least,
you should write a short description for your shot and then you can
publish it right away or in the future.

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03 PORTFOLIO | HOW TO USE BEHANCE?

Portfolio

How to use Behance?

Just like using Dribbble, in order to use Behance services, you need to
have an account first. Then you can browse and check out other
designers’ artwork or create your own project. The main difference
between Dribbble and Behance is the aspect ratio of your shots or
projects.

On Dribbble, you cannot upload a vertical shot like a landing page

completely, however, on Behance you can upload images with any aspect
ratio to showcase your artwork. I recommend using both Behance and
Dribbble at the same time and trying to use their unique features to
present your design perfectly.

Behance also lets you upload your high-quality images and videos in a
single project which is a great feature to present an interactive product in
no time.

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Chapter 08
Business Ideas
How to get your first client and start your own
business?
01 BUSINESS IDEAS | HOW TO GET YOUR FIRST CLIENT?

Business Ideas

How to Get Your First

Client?
www.freelancer.com www.fiverr.com

As a UI designer, you may be wondering how you can get your first client.
Well hopefully, there are plenty of ways to start with. The first stage of
finding clients is to have a strong portfolio. If you haven’t read about that
yet, I suggest you read chapter 7 of this book.
www.upwork.com www.99designs.com

After creating your portfolio, you need to ask yourself what type of jobs
you like to have. Do you want to work as a full-time designer or you want
to work as a freelancer? If you want to work as a full-time UI designer,
you need to prepare your resume and apply for the companies you wish
to work in. On the other hand, if you want to work as a freelancer, you can www.dribbble.com www.toptal.com
register on some freelancing websites and find your first client easily.

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02 BUSINESS IDEAS | HOW TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS? | PART 1

Business Ideas

How to Start Your Own

Business? Idea
Analysis Revenue
Starting a business is hard, so you need to determine the level of your
motivation before getting into this process. When you are thinking about
Clients Legality
starting a business, you should know that it takes so much time, energy, and
patience to achieve your goals. If you are aware of all of these aspects, you
are ready to take the next step.

First of all, you should evaluate your skills level and find out what kind of

Starting Business
services you like to offer. Then you need to find out who your potential
clients are. In addition, you should work on your pricing and analyze your
numbers.

Second of all, you need to register your own company. In this regard, I
recommend getting some advice from a lawyer and making sure you
understand all the legal requirements associated with registering a company.

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02 BUSINESS IDEAS | HOW TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS? | PART 2

Business Ideas

How to Start Your Own

Business? Idea
Analysis Revenue
After registering your company, you need to start creating your own
brand. Design a logo for your company and choose your brand colors.
Clients Legality
Last but not least, you should definitely design your own website because
it is the most crucial part of your business.

Now that you have your website ready, it is time to think about your
marketing strategy. If you could not offer your services and skills to the

Starting Business
right people, your business would not be successful, no matter how
professional and useful your skills are.

So make sure that you have a great marketing plan and execute it
accurately.

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03 BUSINESS IDEAS | HOW TO SCALE YOUR BUSINESS? | PART 1

Business Ideas

How to Scale Your

Business?
Now that you are running your own business, you may be wondering how
you can scale your business or, in other words, how you can increase the
revenue of your business dramatically.

When it comes to online businesses, most entrepreneurs usually focus on

one geographic region for the sake of simplicity. It is a great idea for
starting your journey, however, it is not enough for developing a
profitable business.

So as you may guess, the best solution is to expand your global options
and get customers from all over the world.

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03 BUSINESS IDEAS | HOW TO SCALE YOUR BUSINESS? | PART 2

Business Ideas

How to Scale Your

Business?
The next step is trying to automate your manual processes, which can
prevent wasting your time because no matter how many customers you
have, there are only 24 hours in a day.

You can utilize Buffer website to manage your social media automatically
and also there are plenty of other tools to remind your customers about
their invoices in no time.

So you do not need to spend so much time on those tasks that can be
delegated and done automatically. Instead, you should focus on your
content and the outcome of each project.

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04 BUSINESS IDEAS | COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR CLIENTS

Business Ideas

Communicating With
Your Clients
Efficient communication with clients plays a key role in any kind of
business and for designers, there are no exceptions. The way you interact
with your clients is so important if you want to be a successful
entrepreneur.

How should you handle the situation if something goes wrong?

Well, in any kind of business, there are times that something goes wrong
and it is normal, however, the way you face these difficulties is so
important. Suppose that you set a deadline to hand over the final project
to the client and, in the middle of the design process, you understand that
it might take longer. Well, in this case, you need to inform your client
about it as soon as possible and try to find a good solution that works for
both of you.

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05 BUSINESS IDEAS | CONTRACT

Business Ideas

Contract
Just like any other businesses, you should have a proper contract in place
for starting a project. No matter how big or how small that project is,
having a contract keeps everything clear and protects both parties’
rights.

What should be included in the agreement?

The most important thing you need to add to the contract is the
declaration of your services in a clear way and sometimes also it is even
better to mention what you will not do for the client.

Make sure to mention the deadline for delivering the project and also
about the payment schedule. Remember that the contract should not be
only about those things that might go wrong; it is better to focus on what
should be done right. In general, it is a good idea to get legal advice from
a lawyer in advance.

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Chapter 09
Inspiration &
Resources
World-class Design Inspiration & Resources
01 INSPIRATION & RESOURCES | WORLD-CLASS DESIGN INSPIRATION

Inspiration & Resources

World-class Design
Inspiration
Being inspired by other designers is absolutely fine and important,
however, you need to make sure that you do not copy their works. If you www.behance.com www.dribbble.com
are interested in their designs and you would like to use parts of them in
your project, you need to ask for permission first.

As you may remember, we talked about Behance and Dribbble in chapter

7 of this book. These two websites are the most popular places to find
www.uplabs.com www.awwwards.com
artistic inspiration.

There are so many websites and Instagram pages that you can refer to as
a source of inspiration. You can also show your clients what you have got
as an inspiration to know what their expectations are.

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02 INSPIRATION & RESOURCES | IMAGE RESOURCES

Inspiration & Resources

Image Resources
We as designers work with images a lot; it could be any kind of images in
the form of profiles, products, etc. So having efficient resources is
absolutely essential in order to get the most appropriate images for our
projects. www.unsplash.com www.pexels.com

There are so many websites that offer you a variety of images; some of
them are paid and some of them are free, however, if you are looking for
royalty-free images to use in your projects without any doubt about their
license, I suggest you use www.unsplash.com.
www.stocksnap.io www.reshot.com

It is one of the best websites out there for finding almost any kind of
images in different categories. Remember that you should make sure
about the licensing of images you wish to use; otherwise, you may be in
trouble.

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Chapter 10
What to do next?
What is your next step?
01 WHAT TO DO NEXT? | THE NEXT STEP

What to do Next?

The Next Step

Now that you have learned so much about User Interface design, it is time
to take the next step. You are now ready to start designing amazing
mobile apps and websites. As a designer, you should always be creative.
So, try to challenge yourself every single day to find out hidden secrets of
UI/UX design.

You must have probably heard that practice makes perfect but remember
that your design should not be always perfect. The only thing that
matters is your progression and improvements. So I think it is a good idea
to change that famous phrase to “practice makes progress” and with that
said you should become a better designer every single day.

Last but not least, I should thank you for reading this book. It has been a
long journey for both of us and I hope you enjoyed it. I wish you the best
of luck and I cannot wait to see your artworks.

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