The Easy Way to Design Top Tier Websites

Summary

This video script serves as a comprehensive guide to crafting top-tier websites, emphasizing the importance of creativity as a process rather than a moment. It outlines key design principles, such as simplicity, the use of similarity and proximity, adequate spacing, and the establishment of a design system. The script also highlights the significance of hierarchy in design, the creative process, and the importance of gathering inspiration and feedback to refine and perfect web design.

Takeaways

• 🎨 Creativity is a process of connecting ideas, not inventing new ones from scratch.
• 🔍 Good design is as little design as possible, focusing on essential features and usability.
• 🖼️ Simplify website design by starting with key functionalities like heading, input field, and button.
• 📏 Use the law of similarity and proximity to group elements and make the design scannable.
• 🔲 Elements need more spacing than you think; start with ample spacing and adjust as needed.
• 🔧 Implement a design system to standardize key elements and streamline the design process.
• 🔠 Use REM units for fonts and margins to ensure adaptability to user preferences.
• 🔵 Select a minimal color palette focusing on legibility and avoiding overwhelming users.
• 🔍 Emphasize important elements using size, weight, and color while keeping overall design minimal.
• 📚 Use sources of inspiration like top-tier websites and design communities to fuel creativity.

Q & A

What is the key principle of good design according to the video?

Good design is about using as little design as possible, focusing on essential features and making them better and more useful for users.

Why is it a mistake to start designing a website from the header and then going down from there?

Starting from the header and moving down can slow down the design process and drain creativity. It's better to start with the key functionality or the main selling point of the website.

What is the significance of the law of similarity and proximity in web design?

The law of similarity and proximity helps simplify the design by grouping elements based on shape, size, color, and spacing. It makes the design more consistent and easier to understand as a whole.

Why is it important to use more spacing than you think when designing elements?

Users scan the whole UI before focusing on individual elements, so starting with more spacing and then adjusting ensures that the design is scannable and not cluttered.

What is a design system and why is it useful in web design?

A design system is a set of essential elements and components that can be used consistently across a website or app. It helps maintain consistency and makes the design process more efficient.

How can a design system help with spacing in web design?

A design system can provide a set of predefined spacing values that are divisible by a certain number (like four), making it easier to choose appropriate spacing quickly.

What are some practical tips for choosing fonts and colors in web design?

Handpick a few values for fonts and colors and assign them as global variables. Choose a dark and light color for text and background, and two more to add personality. Ensure colors are legible and don't overwhelm users.

Why is hierarchy important in web design?

Hierarchy helps emphasize certain elements on the page, making it easier for users to navigate and find important actions. It can be achieved through size, weight, and color.

How can you add depth and character to a web design?

You can add depth by using colors and shadows to elevate important elements. Shadows can replace solid borders, and subtle gradients can add excitement to the design.

What is the creative process for designing a web page as described in the video?

The creative process involves knowing the basics, finding a source of inspiration, working over those designs in your mind, stepping away from the problem, and being open to adjustments based on feedback.

How can you ensure your web design is scannable and user-friendly?

Make sure the design is simple enough to be understood as a whole, use the law of similarity and proximity, and emphasize key elements like titles and important actions to help users focus.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Design Principles for Top Tier Websites

This paragraph introduces the key design principles and tips for creating top-tier websites. It emphasizes the importance of creativity as a process and the need to understand the foundational rules of design. The first rule is 'good design is as little design as possible,' advocating for simplicity and focusing on essential features. Common mistakes in website design are discussed, such as overcomplicating the layout and not starting with the key functionality. The paragraph also introduces the law of similarity and proximity, gestalt theory, and the importance of making designs scannable. The need for adequate spacing in design elements is highlighted, along with the suggestion to use a design system for consistency and efficiency, especially in complex projects. The paragraph concludes with advice on using REM units for font size and margins to adapt to user preferences and the idea of setting values as variables for flexibility in design.

05:01

🖌️ Crafting a Cohesive Visual Hierarchy

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of design elements, starting with the selection of fonts and colors that are both legible and appealing. It advises against using 'Lorem Ipsum' for design mock-ups due to its lack of context. The importance of line height in relation to font size for better readability is discussed, along with the suggestion to use REM units for consistent text element spacing. The paragraph then moves on to the design of key elements like links and buttons, emphasizing the need for a design system to streamline the process. The concept of hierarchy in web design is introduced, explaining how to use size, weight, and color to emphasize important elements and guide user navigation. The paragraph concludes with the idea that good design often results in less design, but there are exceptions where introducing depth and character can enhance the user experience.

10:02

💡 The Creative Process in Web Design

The final paragraph focuses on the creative process behind web design, starting with understanding the basics and seeking inspiration from top-tier websites and design communities. It suggests using platforms like Mobin for design inspiration and emphasizes the importance of studying and understanding the design choices made by others. The paragraph advises taking notes on what makes certain designs appealing and using that insight to inform one's own design process. It also discusses the importance of stepping away from a design problem to allow for new ideas to emerge naturally. The paragraph concludes with the advice to not become too attached to one's initial design, to be open to feedback, and to iterate based on user responses. It encourages action over planning, emphasizing that creativity is both a process and a mindset.

Keywords

💡Creativity

Creativity in the context of the video is portrayed as a process rather than a single moment of inspiration. It's about connecting existing ideas in a unique way rather than creating entirely new ones from scratch. The video emphasizes that top designers excel at taking existing elements and combining them to form something novel, which is central to the theme of building top-tier websites.

💡Design Principles

Design principles are the foundational rules that guide the creation of effective and aesthetically pleasing designs. The video outlines several key principles such as simplicity, the law of similarity and proximity, and the importance of white space. These principles are essential for understanding how to approach web design to achieve a functional and attractive end product.

💡Gestalt Theory

Gestalt Theory is a psychological concept that the video uses to explain how our brains perceive patterns as a whole before focusing on individual elements. In design, this principle is applied to create a cohesive look that is easily understood at a glance, which is crucial for making a website's layout both scannable and aesthetically pleasing.

💡Law of Similarity

The law of similarity is a design principle that suggests items that are similar in some way (such as shape, size, color) are perceived as being related. The video mentions this law to emphasize the importance of grouping elements to create a unified and consistent design, which simplifies the user's interaction with the website.

💡Law of Proximity

The law of proximity is another key design principle discussed in the video, which states that elements that are close to each other are seen as a group. This principle helps in understanding layout and spacing, ensuring that the design is not only visually appealing but also functional and easy to navigate.

💡Design System

A design system, as mentioned in the video, is a set of predefined design elements and components that can be used consistently across a website or app. It helps in maintaining uniformity and efficiency in the design process, especially for large and complex projects. The video suggests that understanding the basics of such systems can reduce reliance on CSS frameworks.

💡Spacing

Spacing in design refers to the amount of white space between elements. The video stresses the importance of providing ample spacing, which can enhance readability and the overall user experience. It also discusses the use of a systematic approach to determine spacing values, which can be adjusted based on context and design requirements.

💡Hierarchy

Hierarchy in design is about establishing a visual order that guides the user's attention to the most important elements. The video explains that hierarchy can be achieved through size, weight, and color, and it is essential for emphasizing key information and facilitating navigation on a website.

💡Accent Colors

Accent colors are used in design to draw attention to specific elements. The video suggests using these colors to highlight important parts of the website, such as calls to action or key information, thereby improving the user's focus and interaction with the site.

💡Gradients

Gradients are a design element that the video mentions as a way to add excitement and visual interest. By using gradients instead of solid colors, designers can create a more dynamic and engaging look, which can enhance the overall appeal of the website.

💡Inspiration

Inspiration is a critical component of the creative process discussed in the video. It involves looking at top-tier websites, studying their styles, and gathering ideas from various sources. The video encourages designers to use platforms like Figma Community or Mobin to find inspiration for their projects.

Highlights

Creativity in web design is a process, not a moment, and involves connecting existing ideas rather than creating from scratch.

Good design is about simplicity, focusing on essential features and reducing clutter.

Designers should avoid common mistakes by starting with key functionality rather than the overall structure.

The human brain simplifies and looks for key visual information, suggesting that simple designs are more effective.

The law of similarity and proximity can be used to simplify design by grouping elements and emphasizing the whole.

Designs should be scannable within seconds, aligning with the principle of simplicity.

Spacing is crucial in design, with more space often needed than designers initially think.

A design system is essential for large and complex websites or apps, streamlining the design process.

Defining key design elements and using a system can eliminate the need for a CSS framework.

Spacing, font size, and margins should be adaptable to user preferences, using REM units for consistency.

Choosing colors involves picking a dark and light color for text and background, with additional colors for personality.

Line height is inversely proportional to font size, enhancing legibility and reducing the need for additional margins.

Hierarchy in design is crucial, emphasizing important elements to guide users and highlight actions.

Depth can be added to designs to give character, using shadows and gradients to elevate elements.

Finding inspiration for web design can come from studying top-tier websites or platforms like the Figma community.

The creative process involves knowing the basics, finding inspiration, stepping away from the problem, and being open to feedback.

Testing designs with friends, colleagues, and users is essential for refining the design based on feedback.

Creativity is not just a process but also a state of mind, requiring an open approach to ideas and solutions.

Transcripts

in this video you will learn the key

design principles and practical tips to

build top tier websites consider this a

guide to creativity because creativity

is a process not a moment being creative

isn't about being the first person to

think of an idea it's all about

connecting ideas you don't have to

create new designs from a blank slate

top designers take what is already

present and combine those elements in a

unique way but to be able to do that you

need to know the rules of the game rule

number one good design is as little

design as possible it means focus on

essential features and make them better

and useful for the

users it also means less colors words

and clutter on the

screen here's a common mistake when

designing a website you start with the

header and then go down from there or

you are thinking about the overall

structure how many sections do I need

how wide they should be how should I

design the buttons that that's a lot of

hows each of these questions will slow

you down and drain your creativity

instead ask what's the key functionality

or the main selling point of this

website for a lot of websites it could

be a heading input field and a button

start from there at this point design as

little as possible chances are that's

all you needed anyway don't complicate

websites by adding too many elements

that frustrate users and looks ugly as

well our brain has evolved to simplify

things and looks for key visual

information

only so why not choose the easy way and

keep things

simple it's a win-win situation rule

number two use the law of similarity and

proximity to simplify the design you can

use shape size color and spacing to

group elements gestal Theory emphasizes

that the whole of something is greater

than its parts focusing on how our minds

perceive patterns and holes rather than

just individual elements our brain first

processes the information as a whole and

as we spend more time looking at

something we start to notice the small

details as well so your first goal is to

make the design simple enough to be

understood as a whole in simple words

the design should be scannable within

seconds this ties nicely with the first

rule as well the law of similarity not

only makes the design better and

consistent it's easier to implement as

well

the law of proximity on the other hand

gives you a better understanding of

layout and

spacing rule number three elements need

more spacing than you think when you are

focused on designing a specific element

the space might seem too much to you but

the users scan the whole UI before

focusing on individual elements so start

with a lot of spacing and look at the

design as a whole then start to remove

it until you are happy with the results

but doing this manually becomes boring

and repetitive so you need a system in

place rule number four use a design

system especially if you are designing a

big and complex website or app because

it's made up of essential elements and

components there are multiple ways to

create a design system for a simple

website you just need to Define key

Design Elements and you are good to go

for uis you need more complex and

detailed design system that covers a lot

of scenarios

once you understand the basic design

principles Behind These systems you

don't really need a CSS framework to

style your

websites let's start with spacing you

can use this list to get started or

create your own system just have the

values that are divisible by four now

spacing totally depends on the context

it's a very bad idea to design with

lauram ipsum or vague data because a

spacing that is perfect for this card

can be a disaster for this one the

system is is just there to help you pick

a value quickly so you can play with

different values instead of trying

random values on the fly in the previous

example we started with a lot of spacing

like 40 pixels then bring elements

closer that belong together to do that

pick a value from this system let's try

20 it's still pretty big let's try 12

perfect but generally we use REM units

for font size and margins so the design

can adapt to the user system preference

to assign REM values just divide the

pixel value by 16 the new system will

look something like this a better way is

to set these values as variables so you

can play with different values and see

what works

best same thing for your fonts and

colors handpick few values and assign

them as Global variables you can get

started by picking any one font and type

scale that fits your project there is no

real science in choosing colors so don't

fall for those tutorials or articles

that teach you the psychology of colors

just pick a dark and light color for

your text and background and two more to

add some personality just make sure the

colors are legible and don't overwhelm

the users for the same reason avoid text

to line Center especially for paragraphs

and smaller text size one more point

line height is inversely proportional to

the font size that means smaller text

needs greater line height for better

legibility

greater line height also acts as margin

top on text elements so you don't have

to assign spacing between all text

elements it's already done for you now

that you have your fonts and colors in

place design the key elements start with

the links and buttons you generally need

two types of each one for primary

actions and one for secondary

actions once we have a design system in

place we can start the actual design

process web design is all about putting

the right elements at the right place

with the right sizing that brings us to

rule number five hierarchy is everything

we need to emphasize certain elements on

the page to help users navigate and find

important actions to emphasize important

elements we can use size weight and

color but it's very easy to overdo these

things so start small you will be

surprised to see how little changes can

make a big impact on the overall design

now to emphasize an element ask yourself

what's the first thing the user will

look for I guess it's the title so we

need to emphasize it let's start with

the color but white on black has a

pretty good contrast ratio so let's

reduce the contrast from the secondary

information sometimes to emphasize

something you need to deemphasize other

competing elements in our case it's not

enough so let's add more contrast by

increasing the font weight it's almost

there but you can go a step further

further and increase the font size as

well and when you are done with the

design zoom out to see if the title

stands out from the secondary

information we do this because the users

will scan and look for key information

to focus on if the design isn't

scannable you need to do some

adjustments it could be choosing

different font size a darker color or

simply a bit more spacing do whatever

you can to emphasize the elements you

know the users will look for sometimes

it could be labels and sometimes it

could be values or maybe an icon it all

depends on the context not all H1 tags

will have the same size and margins same

thing is true for other tags as well

sometimes the H3 or paragraph tag could

have a bigger font size than the h2 tag

it all depends on the context just

emphasize the most important elements

and keep the rest of the design as it is

good design is less design and More

Design is almost always results in

uglier design

but like everything in life there are a

few exceptions to this rule as well

introduce depth to add some character

use colors and shadows to elevate

important elements Shadows can also be

used to replace solid borders the closer

something feels to the user the more it

will attract their focus speaking of

Focus use your accent colors to

highlight important

elements one easy trick to add a bit of

excitement is by replacing a solid color

with a subtle

gradient you could also work on your

lists and tables to make them more fun

and engaging for the users and try using

cards for Bland

elements but the question is how do you

get these ideas in the beginning I said

creativity is a process not a moment now

it's time to explain that process step

one know the basics that we have covered

already also read these books they have

some really good practical tips to build

top tier websites the second step is

finding a source of inspiration you can

look at the top tier websites and study

their style or check out some amazing

work on figma

community I personally use mobin to take

design Inspirations for my projects so I

asked them to sponsor this video and

thankfully they agreed say you are

designing a testimonial section for a

finance app go to filters and search for

testimonial section then set the app

category to finance

now we have the testimonial section for

some top tier apps in the world now look

around and save the ones you like to

your

library whether you are designing for

mobile or a full-blown web app mobin has

a huge library of tried and tested

designs so definitely include it in your

design

process once you have gathered enough

Inspirations it's time to work over

those designs in your mind trust is

crucial for finance apps so the

designers Must Have Spent A lot lot of

time and research on the testimonial

section let's try to look at these as

users and make a note of key things you

like about these designs for me they

were simple and unique I really like the

ones with a human face and simple

language I hate generic testimonial

sections that have a bunch of reviews

with no emotions so I have few ideas now

we need two to three good reviews

ideally with great images and we need

big and bold text to emphasize them but

don't go designing yet

once you have some Initial Ideas try to

step away from the problem and do

something else this is a very important

step in the creative process this is not

just limited to design if you are stuck

with a problem watch few tutorials or

read some articles then think of these

potential Solutions in your mind but

don't act on it just take a break and do

something else I promise when you

revisit the problem new ideas will come

naturally to you if this doesn't work it

means you are under a lot of stress

lately or not getting proper sleep so

work on that first let's say you got

some new ideas and finished your design

step five is to not fall in love with it

we all have personal biases and see

things in a certain way so first test

your design by showing it to your

friends or colleagues if they like it

test it with your users and always be

open to adjust the design based on

feedback sometimes you have to design

several ter websites just to discover

that you designed one good pricing

section in the third design just finish

something anything stop planning and

thinking to design and just design it

doesn't matter how good or how bad it is

you just need to prove to yourself that

you have what it takes to produce

something creativity is not just a

process it's also a state of mind