The Perfect Spacing Framework in UI Design | Figma Tutorial
Summary
TLDRThis video script outlines a UI design tutorial focused on the four-point grid system, a method for creating consistent and visually appealing designs. The instructor demonstrates how to apply this system to various UI elements, emphasizing that spacing should be divisible by four to maintain harmony. Examples from mobile and web app designs are used to illustrate the concept, showing how it ensures scalability and ease of understanding for developers. The script also suggests tools like Figma, Token Studio, Zeppelin, and Storybook.js to enhance UI design consistency and project management.
Takeaways
- 📏 The four-point grid system is a UI design principle where spacing between elements should be divisible by four.
- 🎯 Consistent use of the four-point grid system ensures alignment and harmony in UI design.
- 📈 Incremental spacing values such as 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, and 60 pixels are recommended.
- 📱 The system is applicable across different platforms, including mobile and web applications.
- 🔍 Spacing inside a container should be less than the spacing of the container itself to create a sense of grouping.
- 👥 For elements that are not part of a group, larger spacing can be used to visually separate them.
- 🛠️ Tools like Figma, Token Studio, Zeppelin, and Storybook.js can aid in managing and maintaining consistent UI designs.
- 💡 The four-point grid system simplifies communication with developers regarding spacing in UI designs.
- 🌐 The tutorial provides practical examples of how to apply the four-point grid system in different design scenarios.
- 📚 Further learning resources, such as the Figma masterclass course, are available for advanced UI design techniques.
Q & A
What is the main concept of the four point grid system for UI design?
-The main concept of the four point grid system is to ensure that the space between any element in a UI design is divisible by four, which helps in creating consistent and scalable designs.
Why is it important to use the four point grid system in UI design?
-Using the four point grid system in UI design is important because it provides consistency, scalability, and ease of understanding for developers, which in turn leads to better alignment and spacing in the design.
How does the four point grid system help in aligning UI elements?
-The four point grid system helps in aligning UI elements by ensuring that the spacing between elements is a multiple of four, which creates a harmonious and visually appealing layout.
What are some of the spacing increments suggested by the four point grid system?
-The spacing increments suggested by the four point grid system are 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, and 60 pixels, all in increments of four.
How does the speaker demonstrate the practical application of the four point grid system in the tutorial?
-The speaker demonstrates the practical application of the four point grid system by showing three different designs, adjusting the spacing between elements, and explaining how the system helps in achieving a consistent look.
What is the relationship between the spacing of container elements and the elements inside them according to the tutorial?
-According to the tutorial, the spacing of elements inside a container should be less than the spacing of the container itself to create a sense of grouping and relevance among the internal elements.
How does the speaker use the four point grid system to create a hierarchy in the design?
-The speaker uses the four point grid system to create a hierarchy in the design by starting with broader measurements and then decreasing the spacing as the design goes deeper, ensuring that each level has a consistent and visually distinct spacing.
What tools does the speaker recommend for managing tokens and project files in UI design?
-The speaker recommends using the Figma plugin Token Studio for managing tokens and Zeppelin for managing the entire project, including grid layouts, Design Systems, and project files for developers.
How does the speaker address the issue of spacing in different types of UI designs, such as mobile and web?
-The speaker addresses the issue of spacing in different types of UI designs by emphasizing that the four point grid system is applicable and effective for both mobile and web designs, ensuring consistency across platforms.
What is the significance of using divisible-by-four measurements in the four point grid system?
-Using divisible-by-four measurements in the four point grid system is significant because it provides a consistent baseline that helps in creating a harmonious and visually balanced design, which is easier for developers to implement and maintain.
Outlines
🎨 'The Four Point Grid System for UI Design Consistency'
The speaker introduces a UI design masterclass focusing on the four point grid system. This system advocates for consistent spacing in UI design, where all space between elements should be divisible by four. The speaker recites a sequence of spacing increments (4, 8, 12, 16, etc.) and demonstrates how this system can be applied practically to different UI elements in mobile and web designs. The goal is to achieve a harmonious and visually appealing layout that is also developer-friendly. The speaker also mentions a Figma masterclass for more advanced techniques and tools like Token Studio for managing design tokens.
🛠️ 'Applying the Four Point Grid System in Various UI Scenarios'
In this paragraph, the speaker elaborates on how the four point grid system can be applied across different UI design scenarios. They discuss how to maintain consistency in spacing by using multiples of four for padding and margins, regardless of whether the design is for mobile or web. The speaker provides examples, including a sidebar with 20 pixels of padding and a hero section with 32 pixels on the sides, illustrating how spacing can vary within different components while still adhering to the grid system. They also recommend tools like Zeppelin for project management and Storybook.js for design systems, emphasizing the importance of consistency in UI design.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡UI design
💡Spacing
💡Four-point grid system
💡Auto layout
💡Consistency
💡Divisible by four
💡Figma
💡Design Systems
💡Project Management Tools
💡Tokens
Highlights
Introduction to the four-point grid system for UI design
Spacing should be divisible by four for consistency
Recitation of the four-point grid system increments
Practical application of the grid system in UI design examples
Importance of aligning internal spacing with container spacing
Using Auto Layout in Figma to manage spacing
How spacing affects the perception of grouped elements
Consistency in spacing for scalability and developer understanding
Tutorial on applying the grid system to different design elements
Maintaining consistency with the four-point grid in various designs
Explanation of spacing in a welcome banner design
Demonstration of spacing in a crypto coin container
Application of the grid system in a web app design
Creating systematic spacing between design elements
Use of the four-point grid system in a search listings page design
Visual communication through spacing in UI design
Recommendation of tools for managing tokens and project management
Encouragement to subscribe for more design tutorials
Transcripts
have you able to take a look at your
designs your UI design specifically and
thought what the hell am I doing yes I
do inconsistent spacing things don't
look aligned but you can't seem to
figure out what the actual problem is
let me tell you the solution is so
simple in this all-in-one spacing
masterclass for UI designers I'm going
to teach you the four point grid system
so the entire concept and the entire
premise around the four point grid
system is that whenever you are creating
space between any element it should be
divisible by four so with my eyes closed
I am going to recite to you the four
point grid system so it's either going
to be four eight sixteen sorry take that
back 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56
60 and just increments of four
[Applause]
it's that simple so let's take a look at
three different designs that I've done
and I'm going to show you how you can
utilize this practically so over here
you can see that we have two mobile
screens so if I go ahead and select the
top component which is the overview
component over on the right hand side
because I'm using Auto layout in figma I
can go ahead and create space in between
all the elements inside so you can see
that right now it's 8 pixels it could be
12 pixels it could be 16 pixels but you
can see that for some odd reason as you
start to increase that spacing from 8 to
16 it just looks a little bit off as you
can see so if we go back and turn it
back to 8 pixels the reason why it looks
a little bit better at 8 pixel is
because if you go ahead and look at the
proximity of this design this entire box
on the outside we have created spacing
for 16 pixels right so it's divisible by
4 so on the left and right in the top
and bottom you can see that there is 16
pixels so any elements on the inside it
has to have less spacing than the
container element okay so once you go to
let's just make it 16 it looks a little
bit weird because we've created the
bounding space of this container to be
16 already so for the elements inside it
has to feel closer together to feel like
they are a relevant group so if we use
12 looks a little bit better if we use
eight looks even better and let's just
take a look at four might even look the
best so as you can see utilizing the
four point grid system first keeps all
your measurements very consistent it's
scalable and it's easy for developers to
actually understand what sort of spacing
we're going to be using now if you want
to learn more about Auto layouts more
Advanced Techniques learn my end-to-end
process for how to manage an entire
project all within figma with industry
leading tips and tricks then make sure
to check out my figma masterclass course
I can't cover everything in YouTube
videos so make sure to check out the
link there's a 10 off coupon code but
with that said let's continue with this
tutorial so let's go ahead and take a
look at another group as you can see we
have a component over here where we have
a welcome banner and you can see on the
left and right there is 16 pixel padding
on the left and right as you can see
right there and then we have four pixels
on the top and bottom so throughout all
my designs I am always consistently
using the four point grid system let's
go ahead and take a look at this
container of all these crypto coins as
you can see this is the the apparent
container if I double click into one of
the elements which is the the coin
listing you can see that there is 12
pixels right in between elements padding
16 pixels on the left and right and then
8 pixels on the top and bottom so if I
double click into that component you can
see that we have 20 pixels between those
groups inside as you can see we are
always using measurements that are
divisible by four okay so let's go ahead
and take a look at another design over
here so this is another design that I've
done and it's a web app so it's not
mobile it's also for desktop so as you
can see everything is divisible by four
so if I go ahead and select the actual
header itself you can see we have 32
pixels on the left and right so that's
divisible by four and then we on the top
and bottom we also have 16 pixels if I
double click into the component that
contains the logo a toggle and the
search icon you can see that there is 12
pixels right between all the components
on the right hand side you can see that
we have 20 pixels between all the
components as you can see remember the
para container has 32 pixels on the left
and right so anything in between needs
to be below 32 pixels let's go ahead and
take a look at this one one over here
the hero section we have 32 pixels on
the left and right and if I go into the
left container over here you can see
that we have 24 pixels between all the
components so we go from 32 down to 24
and then if we go even a level deeper
you should be able to see that inside
the input we have spacings of 20. so
once again starting with a broad
measurement going down down further and
always keeping it divisible by four is
going to help you create really
consistent UI designs so let's go ahead
and take a look at one more example so
here we have the search listings a page
that's dedicated to accommodation for
listings right or listings for
accommodation sorry so let's take a look
at the the sidebar for example here we
have a sidebar as you can see we have 20
pixels on the left and right and the top
and bottom all right just over here then
if I double click into the actual
container we have 40 pixels in between
each section now here you might be
saying let's go that doesn't really
follow the rule but remember because we
are working within this container we are
now trying to create separation right we
are actually not trying to make all
these elements feel like they are in one
group we are actually trying to tell
visually communicate visually that this
sidebar is all relevant to each other
but all these blocks these separate
blocks as you can see in here they are
not relevant to each other so that's why
we are actually creating more space in
between okay but then when we've got a
little bit deeper into each block as you
can see over here we went from 20 on the
left and right to 12 between the title
and the import and then as you can see
over here we have 12 and then if I
double click onto the title the title
only has eight so we started off at 20
then we went into 12 then we went into
eight and that is how you create
systematic spacing between all your
designs and that's how you can keep all
your UI designs very very consistent it
doesn't matter if it's for mobile it
doesn't matter if it's for web it will
always work so throughout all these
designs I've actually utilized the four
point grid system and as you can see
it's very consistent and it always tends
to make your designs look beautiful now
if you're looking for tools to help you
manage your tokens for more advanced
designers I would definitely recommend
the figma plug-in token Studio which
allows you to create systematic spacing
or tokens if you will to manage
different types of spacing throughout
your UI designs now if you're looking
for project management tools I would
definitely recommend Zeppelin to help
you manage the entire project from grid
layouts to Design Systems to all the
project files and Pages for developers
and if you're looking for something a
little bit more specific on the design
system side I definitely recommend zero
height and also
storybook.js.org all these links are in
the description below so feel free to
check out these tools to hopefully help
you create more consistent designs and
also manage it all for your project with
that said guys if you like this video
make sure to gently smash the like
button subscribe for the Die Hard fans
and if you want more you should
definitely check out this video and I'll
see you in another video very soon
[Music]
all right
[Music]
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