Back to Basic: UI Design Fundamental for Developers
Tags: beginners, ux, webdev
Published: 2021-06-04 08:33:48


> According to Gary Simon, there are 7 UI Design Fundamental that has to be met

These 7 fundamentals were heavily inspired by [Design Course - The 2020 UI Design Fundamentals Crash Course](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRpoI6vkqLs)

The 7 UI Design Fundamentals are:

1. Whitespace
2. Alignment
3. Contrast
4. Scale
5. Typography
6. Color
7. Visual Hierarchy

I will give you some ilustrations to elaborate on,

## 1. White Space

By having enough whitespace, our design will not be crowded. We need to give enough breathing room to our design.

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/veoehri6r4s5z8o6a7vk.png) 

Give enough padding and margin to your design, also make sure that you give consistent number on them.

## 2. Alignment

Alignment means that your design aligns perfectly. By using this fundamental, your design will look more neat and natural.

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/kt1ma93iiyi8tq3a54lr.png)

Usually, when developing, we can add a container to give constrained space by using `max-width`

Example:

```html
<section>
  <div class="container"></div>
</section>

<style>
   .container {
  	<!-- Width can also changed with padding -->
     width: 90%;

     max-width: 50rem;
     margin-left: auto;
     margin-right: auto;
   }

  .section {
  	<!-- you can add background color here -->
  }
</style>
```

## 3. Contrast

Contrast is the color difference between text and the background. You need to have enough contrast so it will be easier to read. Contrast needs to meet WCAG 2.0 rules, you can use [this tool](https://contrastchecker.com/) to check the WCAG. There is also a figma extension which is [A11y - color contrast checker](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj97tzEzM_uAhUIfSsKHSGLCE8QFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.figma.com%2Fcommunity%2Fplugin%2F733159460536249875&usg=AOvVaw0QYyNcsQnWIqfZevLmZSvf).

> Fun fact: A11y stands for Accessibility, 11 was taken from letters between A and y.

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/eut4uxtmjt7slc6p3z2t.png) 

## 4. Scale

Scale is the font-size that you use. Choose a font-size that is not too big and not too small. The default is `16px`. **Contrast** and **Scale** plays a big role in WCAG 2.0 rules.

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/0cpfunw2h5j7lzg4z288.png)
 

> Don't make them squint

![alt text](https://theodorusclarence.com/images/blogs/btb-ui-fundamental/squint.gif)
 

## 5. Typography

Typography is the font-family that we choose. Don't use too much font, usually, I only use 1 or 2 fonts. Use fonts that can complement each other

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/1x7orhd4i5rbp72mg6n0.png)
 

> Pro tip: Don't use comic sans ;)

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/7psm4z5odalfdt13kkn1.png)
 

## 6. Color

The color you choose for your website will affect the design looks. Don't use too much color. There are some design system that recommends using 3 colors which are primary, secondary, and accent color.

You can also use a website that gives you color recommendation like [mycolor.space](https://mycolor.space/) and [coolors](https://coolors.co)

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/4zufc5k6h5omjz6m3vts.png)
  

## 7. Visual Hierarchy

Visual Hierarchy is very important to direct the eye of the user to the flow of the website that you want to make. Give a bigger font-size if you want them to see it first.

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/utrl5tb8a6c5ikginr1e.png)
 

User of a website didn't really read, they skim.

![alt text](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/a8f3bh3uwtuvi74h5yjp.png)
 

## Summary

There it is the 7 UI Design Fundamental, hopefully, this blog can make your design improve!


---

> Originally posted on [my personal site](https://theodorusclarence.com/?ref=devto), find more [blog posts](https://theodorusclarence.com/blog?ref=devto) and [code snippets library](https://theodorusclarence.com/library?ref=devto) I put up for easy access on my site 🚀