Thursday 31 May 2018

7 Tutorials and Tools to Get You Started With CSS Grid

CSS Grid is here, people are starting to use it, and it’s even referenced by our industry’s latest official buzzword. I could go on about how it’s the future of web design and layout. I could wax lyrical about how anyone not using Grid will be left behind when the Rapture happens, and everybody on Wikipedia’s list of Internet pioneers will come back to take us to the great LAN party in the sky.

Comcast (yes, all of them) won’t be invited.

My point is that if you’ve been paying attention — if you’re reading this, you probably do — then you know that stuff already. But let’s just say that you’ve heard a lot of good things about CSS Grid, but haven’t had a chance to play with it, yet. Where do you start?

You start here, and you click the links listed below.

Tutorials

Your first step will be to get acquainted with the basic principles of CSS Grid. Well, we’ve got blog posts and video tutorials aplenty for you. I’d say to give everything here a look when you have the time, as they all offer different perspectives that might help you to understand CSS Grid better.

Grid by Example

Grid by Example is a whole website dedicated to CSS Grid, and it’s one of the more complete resources out there. They have tutorials. They have examples. They have grab-and-go HTML templates, video tutorials, and far more resource links than we have here.

The site happens to have been created by Rachel Andrew, who consults with the CSS Working Group, and has been promoting CSS Grid for quite some time, now. So she knows her stuff.

Layout Land

Layout Land is a YouTube channel that focuses on — and you may have guessed this already — layout. The videos are created and hosted by Jen Simmons, the woman who coined the term “Intrinsic Web Design” (see the first thing I linked in this article), and largely focus on CSS Grid, along with some other very useful info.

CSS Grid.

CSS Grid. is a free 25-video course on its titular subject. The videos are created by the legendary Wes Bos, who has made quite a few other video courses for web developers. This course comes with starter files, completed solutions for each problem, the works.

CSS-Tricks

Now for those of us who don’t have time for video courses, we have some good old-fashioned blog posts. And they’re from our good friends at CSS-Tricks, no less! (Well, they’re my friends, but they don’t know that yet.)

For the quick and dirty introduction, you’ll want to hit up Getting Started with CSS Grid by Robin Rendle.

For a more complete guide with examples, all of the code options you could ever need, an introduction to the terminology, and more, you should check out A Complete Guide to Grid.

Tools

Okay, so you know the basics. Well now we have a few tools designed to make your life just a little bit easier whenever you put together a CSS Grid:

Browser Tools

Whether you design websites in the browser like me, or just need to implement a design someone else put together in Sketch or something, it helps to see what you’re doing, exactly. When it comes to CSS Grid, that’s not the easiest thing. Oh sure, you could drum up a bunch of example content and start laying it out, or you could use a browser-based grid inspector.

Firefox Quantum: Developer Edition has one, and a whole host of extra goodies, besides. Indeed, if you design in the browser, this is probably one of the best browsers to do it in.

Chrome, so far, has the Gridman – CSS Grid Inspector extension. Now, it’s an extension from a third party, with all of the risks that this entails. It also only really “shows” the grid when you hover over it with the mouse. Here’s hoping that gets fixed soon.

CSS Grid Builder

Now all of that is well and good for when you’re already working in the browser, but what if you want to just build a custom Grid in CSS, paste it into your files, and go? Enter the CoffeeCup CSS Grid Builder. This is a free app for Windows and Mac desktops that lets you design a CSS layout quickly and easily, then import it to other projects.

You can set up Grids, Flexbox layouts, and more, all in a visual interface that’s designed to help you get a lot of the basic layout work out of the way. Now, you do have to provide some personal data (name/email) to download the app, but otherwise it’s free.

Gridish by IBM

Now, CSS Grid has fantastic modern browser support, but not terribly great legacy browser support. What do you do if you want to support older browser, too? You might try out Gridish, which is a Node.js project created by IBM.

Basically, you input the specs for your grid, and you get two things:

  • An automatically generated Sketch file with artboards and layout files for your design team.
  • SASS/CSS code for your grid, with a fallback grid built in Flexbox, which has much better browser support for the moment.

They also provide a Chrome extension specifically for inspecting CSS grids built with this tool. You can read all about the project at the official link above, or go straight to the GitHub repo.

And that’s about it, really. CSS Grid is still a fairly “newish” technology, so while there are lots of resources, they mostly cover the same ground, for now. But with time, I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot more.

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Source

from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/7-tutorials-and-tools-to-get-you-started-with-css-grid/

The Best UK Animation or VFX Courses

The animation and VFX scene is growing everyday with almost all feature films now containing some clever CGI.  Even the movies with no monsters or other worlds have cleverly swapped out landscapes and beautiful scenery usually changed or added after filming that you would never notice was not real.

The United Kingdom has a booming scene with studios such as MPC , Framestore, Dneg, Passion Pictures and many more, even Industrial Light & Magic have set up shop in London while working on Star Wars. With artists from around the globe coming to the UK to work in an historic city, full of different cultures, London is an attractive experience for any budding artist.

With that in mind it’s no wonder international students also love to study here amongst the best, and here in England we have some of the best full time degree courses to study animation and VFX. One renowned training school Escape Studios even offers online training.

To help with the huge task of choosing not only the right course, but city to start your journey we have created a list of the top Universities and colleges in the UK to launch your career in animation or VFX.

We interviewed the best to ask interesting facts like what their students went on to create and a showreel, and put them all together on one page to get you going.

Escape Studios

Escape Studios are a specialist VFX training facility in London. They are an industry standard in the world of VFX’s I attended myself many years ago, but since then they were acquired by Pearson College London and offer undergraduate, postgraduate degrees, and short-courses.

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Students from Escape go onto work at all the large post houses:

  • ILM
  • Bluebolt
  • Unit
  • Framestore
  • Climax
  • Pixar
  • The Mill
  • Double Negative
  • MPC
  • Cinestite

Read about success stories here.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

It can safely be said that any block buster you see at the cinema has had an “Escapee” work on it, spanning back years to today’s feature films and Many TV shows, Commercials. Recent features are:

  • Paddington
  • Thor Ragnarok
  • Fantastic Beasts
  • Coco

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

We have over 100 alumni that have worked on films that were nominated for at least one BAFTA, Oscar, VES, or Golden Globe award in 2018.

We had many alumni working on the following winners:

  • Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri – Golden Globe Best Motion Picture Drama, BAFTA Best film, BAFTA
  • Outstanding British Film
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 – VES awards
  • Star Wars the Last Jedi – VES awards, BAFTA Special Visual Effects
  • Paddington 2 – BAFTA Outstanding British Film

How would you describe your courses?

We’ve been developing VFX talent since 2002 and we’ve helped thousands of students break into the industry.

Do you dream of working in the Visual Effects (VFX) industry on the latest commercial or next blockbuster? Our course is perfect for those looking to gain knowledge of 3D VFX and Compositing, the degree will provide you with the professional skills that the industry is looking for or even to start your own studio.

Learn to be a creative artist from day one – working in industry-style studio’s using the latest tools and techniques and working as part of a team on high quality creative projects. You’ll have intensive, hands-on tutorials with industry-trained tutors, who alongside practising professionals will provide regular feedback on your work.

You’ll graduate studio ready with a professional portfolio of work to show employers and a degree validated by the University of Kent – known as the UK’s European University, it is ranked 23rd in The Guardian University Guide 2017.

Bournemouth University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Our graduates work all over the world, and many are employed by the industry’s leading animation and production houses, software houses, computer game, and digital media companies.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Our NCCA graduates have gone on to work on some of the most successful films of the past decade, including Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Interstellar, Gravity and Alice in Wonderland

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

  • BAFTA’s
  • Oscars

How would you describe your courses?

Our computer animation courses are exceptionally well regarded within the industry and as a result, our graduates rarely struggle to find work once they finish their course. In fact, 70% of our students are working or studying within six months of finishing their course.

During your degree you will have the opportunity to work with some of the UK’s leading computer animation organisations, through the National Centre for Computer Animation (NCCA), and can make valuable contacts before you graduate.

Student Testimonial

It’s almost impossible to go to any large computer animation company and not find a Bournemouth 3D graduate. Currently there are six working at Animal logic, but I’ve worked some shorter stints at 3D companies where the graduate number has been close to 100.

Miles Green, BA (Hons) Computer Visualisation & Animation graduate and FX Supervisor at Animal Logic

UCA Farnham

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Studio AKA (Hey Duggie!) – Grant Orchard and Emma Wakeley
  • Cloth Cat Cardiff – Head of Animation, Adam Bailey
  • Aardman – Commercial Director, Rebecca Manley
  • The Line – Storyboard Artist, Francesca AdamsAnimade, Slurpy Studios, Moth Collective
  • FrameStore (Fantastic Beasts 2) – Rob Shears

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Wes Anderson’s new feature film (Isle of Dogs) – Shelley Nichols
  • Scott Dawkins – Star Wars Rogue One and Avengers: Infinity War
  • Anthony Faulkner – Avengers: Infinity War and Pacific Rim: Uprising
  • Rob Shears – Fantastic Beasts 2

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Three of our students were commissioned by Random Acts to make 2 short films whilst they were still undergraduates – the films then toured the country as part of the ICA’s Playback festival and the directors of those films Elmaz Ekrem, Dominika Ozynska and Gabbriella Ditton recently featured in an article by It’s Nice That about the best new female talent in British Animation.

How would you describe your courses?

BA (Hons) Animation:

With a focus on art and design, this course will allow you to bring characters and worlds to life and explore your imagination through 3D animation.

BA (Hons) Computer Animation Arts:

With an emphasis on production design, you’ll graduate from Computer Animation Arts as a skilled artist in both 2D and 3D production.

BA (Hons) Games Art:

You’ll develop a deep grounding in 2D and 3D development through to production, current tools and technologies, games design disciplines, critical thinking practice and the widening context of gameplay.

You’ll also learn observational drawing and explore art styles, whilst concepting interactive and digital environments.

BA (Hons) Games Design:

Our Games Design course will give you the opportunity to explore the growing indie games industry and how you can apply your creativity to develop a career in the field.

Using top-of-the-range software, you’ll be able to focus on your own individual approach to game design as you develop a broad range of skills and techniques that will enable you to launch into a career after you graduate.

BSc (Hons) Games Technology:

You can be at the forefront of new gaming technology through this course, founded on the principle of User-Centred Design (UCD). You’ll learn how to consider users throughout each stage of the game design and development process.

Extended Diploma in Games and Animation:

On this course, you’ll develop skills and knowledge in a variety of areas including drawing development, 2D animation, digital and motion graphics, 3D modelling, the games and animation industry and sound for game and animation.

Throughout the course, you’ll have the time to experiment with the different techniques and decide which area within the industry you’d like to specialise in when you come to choose your undergraduate degree.

MA Animation:

This course has a long history of nurturing creative, innovative and challenging alumni. You’ll be supported in developing practical skills while fostering a high standard of diverse critical approaches.

UCA Rochester

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • FrameStore (Fantastic Beasts 2) – Rob Shears
  • TT Games (Lego) – Lewis Blythe
  • Supermassive Games (Until Dawn and Rush of Blood) – Charlie Scott
  • Two Point Studios – Prem Fatek
  • Splash Damage – Oskar Woinski
  • SEGA PlaySport
  • Playground Games – Razvan Pajanu
  • Lost Forest – James McAndrew

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Scott Dawkins – Star Wars Rogue One and Avengers: Infinity War
  • Anthony Faulkner – Avengers: Infinity War and Pacific Rim: Uprising
  • Rob Shears – Fantastic Beasts 2

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Guns Goats & Glory has bane shortlisted for the new TRANZFUSER Surrey dev hub (set up by the UK Games Fund) for the national competition, which will run for 3 months in June, July, August 2018. Their game will be showcased at the national games conference EGX at the Birmingham NEC.

University of Falmouth

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • 3D Animator: Aardman Animation and Double Negative
  • 2D Animator: DHX Media
  • Character Designer: Spider Eye and Hello Games
  • VFX co-ordinator: Ubisoft, Framestore and Cinesite
  • 3D Modeller: TT Fusion
  • Production Assistants: MPC Vancouver, Illion studios, Arthur Cox and Spider Eye

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Productions featuring Falmouth graduates include Dalmation Street (Disney/Passion Pictures), Captain America: Civil War, Spectre, Star Trek Beyond, Assassin’s Creed, F1 2016, The Jungle Book and The Legend of Tarzan.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Graduate Erin Morris was awarded the Best Short Film Award at the Miami Jewish Film Festival for her short animation Strings.

Graduates Mads Ogaard and Katie Wyman won the Undergraduate Craft Skills – Production Design award for their film, I Am Dyslexic, at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Student Television Awards 2017.

How would you describe your courses?

Students learn and develop animation skills using industry-standard software, working creatively across a range of subjects, from traditional art practices to the complex work of visual effects. Supported by academic and industry experts from all forms of animation and visual effects, you’ll experience a professional studio environment. Discover all forms of animation, trying your hand at 2D and 3D computer, stop motion and experimental work. You’ll work in groups on projects that range from short assignments and live briefs through to films for festivals and competitions. You can also work on our in-house micro-budget feature film programme.

You can also find out more about what the students and graduates get up to on their blog.

Student Testimonial

I came to Falmouth as a mature student. Three years later I had my first television credit, an agent, determination to succeed and the direction to get me there. Falmouth gave me that, no question.

Pete Jordi Wood, BA(Hons) Digital Animation graduate who’s worked with BBC2, Channel 4 and E4

University of Middlesex

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Natalia Biegaj (Charles Howarth – Art Director and Animator, The School of Life – Freelance Animator and Art Director, NB Animation – CEO)
  • Kuba Ba Lu (Treatment Visual Productions Ltd – Junior Animator, Sherbet – Flash Animator)
  • Luke Curtis (Brewery – 3D Visual Effects and Animation, Treat Studios – Animator)
  • Lana Simanenkova (Animade – Senior Creative)
  • Rebecca Balint (King Rollo Films – 2D Animator, Kavaleer Productions – Animator, Cloth Cat Animation – Animator)
  • Harriet Titlow (Sherbet – Assistant animator, Cartoon Network – Design Assistant)
  • Alex Crowley (Sweet Take Studio – Motion Graphics Animator, Aardman Animations)
  • Eleonora Quario (Lupus Films – Assistant animator, Passion Pictures – Assistant animator, Blinkink – Assistant Animator, Studio Aka – Assistant Animator, IOD productions – 2D Assistant Animator on ‘Isle of dogs’)
  • Greg Haworth (Hibbert Ralph Animation Ltd – Storyboard Artist, RM2 – Animator/ Creative Editor)
  • Antonia Diakomopoulou (Brilliant PR – Creative and Motion Designer, Vivliokid – Project Manager, Animator and Illustrator)
  • Adara Todd (Ladybird Films Ltd – Production Assistant, Tiger Aspect – Animation and Kids Department Assistant)

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Rebecca Balint: 2D Animator on ‘Poppy Cat’ children’s television series
  • Izabela Barszcz:  Sherbet – Animator on ‘The Banana Massacre’; Freelance animator on music videos including ‘Hiatus – Night Jar’
  • Harriet Titlow:  Assistant Animator on ‘The Hunger Strikes’; Design Assistant working on ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’ children’s television series
  • Alex Crowley: Aardman Animations – Assistant Animator on feature film ‘Early Man’
  • Tom Jarrett: Worked on music videos for ‘Showtek & Moby – Natural Blues’ and ‘Age of L.U.N.A – Sweetness’
  • Eleonora Quario: Assistant animator on titles including ‘Ethel & Earnest’ and ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’; Assistant animator on ‘Gorillaz – Saturnz Barz’; Assistant Animator on ‘Elton John – Rocket man’; 2D Assistant Animator on ‘Isle of dogs’

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

  • Adara Todd’s graduation film ‘Twiddly Things’ was awarded the prestigious Best of the Fest award at TriForce short film festival.
  • Graduates Mads Ogaard and Katie Wyman won the Undergraduate Craft Skills – Production Design award for their film, I Am Dyslexic, at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Student Television Awards 2017.
  • Antonio Busto’s graduation film ‘The Day I Killed My Best Friend’ short listed for international animation festivals.
  • Lana Simanenkova’s graduation film ‘Heads and Tails’ shortlisted in animation festivals internationally.
  • Giulia Riva’s 2nd year film ‘Do you Remember’ – Short listed in international animation festivals.

How would you describe your courses?

You will hone your skills through demonstrations and practical work in our studios and workshops, as well as lectures, seminars, workshops, tutorials, visits and your own personal research. You will also have the opportunity to attend presentations by professional animators and interview them to learn more about their work. You will give presentations, take part in class discussions and work on group projects, essays and practical assignments.

We take pride in our approach to teaching on our BA Animation degree. In a 2016-17 external examination, we were praised for the use of clear language in our briefs, assessment criteria and learning outcomes, and for the way we support our students’ learning.

Student Testimonial

Being part of the course helped me to realise my potential and gave me some great work experience opportunities. I worked on the visuals for The Who’s US Tour 2011 and also went to Milan for the Design week in May 2012 to work on the live visuals for Bombay Sapphire Gin. After graduating, Kuba joined Treatment Studios, a collaborative association of designers, directors and content producers who create visuals for live music tours, concerts, events, award ceremonies, large-scale theatre productions and operas.

University of Hertfordshire

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

2D, 3D and VFX: employed in over 300 companies worldwide; Industrial Light and Magic, Laika, Disney Production, Cinesite, Double Negative, Framestore, The Mill, Moving Picture Company, Third Floor Inc, Animated Storyboards, Blue Zoo, Glassworks, Jellyfish Pictures, Illumination Mac Guff, Lucasfilm, BBC, Method Studios, Nexus Productions, CNBC, Pixomondo, Prime Focus, Realtime UK, Rewind, Saddington & Baynes, Sherbert, Smoke and Mirrors, Studio AKA and many more…

Games Art: graduates employed in over 200 companies worldwide including: Epic Games (US), Square Enix, Electronic Arts, Activision, Frontier, Sony (London and Cambridge), Blitz Games, Creative Assembly, Space Ape Games, Rare-Microsoft Games ,Splash Damage, Eutechnyx Ltd, FreestyleGames, Jagex, Kuju, Nintendo, Outso, Real Time Worlds, Rebellion Games, Traveller’s Tales, Ubisoft (Singapore), Zoe Mode, Rockstar and many more…

Visualisation: Bentley Motors, McLaren F1, Taylor James, Foster and Partners, Uber, Burrows CGI, River Film Communication, Random 42.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Grads have been working on all the recent set of Star Wars films, Ready Player One, Fantastic Beasts, the sequel to that film. The Lion king, Pacific Rim 2, Netflix’s Altered Carbon, the TV show Thunderbirds, the film Annihilation, Disney commercials for products and toys. The list is pretty long but those are some of the highlights.

Students have worked on films such as Gravity, Inception, Avatar, Box Trolls, Dark Knight, Hellboy, Thor 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Harry Potter films, Prometheus, Narnia films, John Carter, Total Recall, Hunger Games, Godzilla etc

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

In terms of awards our students have won Oscars at framestore, mpc, and double negative for Blade Runner, Gravity, and the Jungle Book.

  • 4th Place Best Game Design & Development School 2017
  • 5th Place Best Feature Animation School 2017
  • 10th Place Best Digital Illustration School 2017
  • Animation – Film of the Year – Runner Up 2017 (Lunette)
  • Console & PC – Game of the Year – Runner Up 2017 (Fringe)
  • Internships -Visual Effects – Double Negative Winner 2017 (Brad Healy)
  • 2 students were Animation Finalists (Phoebe Warries and Jake Goode)
  • 2 students were Next Gen Gaming Finalists (Callum Tweedie Walker and Jordan Moss)
  • Best Next Gen Gaming School 2016
  • Fourth Place Animation VFX School 2016
  • Fourth Place Motion Graphics School 2016
  • Fourth Place Illustration School 2016

Shortlisted over 140 times in international animation competitions, including Royal Television Society Awards, Virgin Media Shorts, Animex, Shanghai World Expo, Animamundi, KLIK!, British Animation Awards, BFI Future Film Festival, Anifest, Aniwow, Melbourne International Animation Festival, London International Animation Festival, Tricky Women, Brisbane International Animation Festival, Bradford Animation Festival, Anima Brusssels.

How would you describe your courses?

All four degrees share a common first year where everyone gets a taster of each pathway. From the second year onwards each degree strand starts to specialize into their chosen pathway. Then in the final third year they can collaborate with whoever they want to make their final film.

There is a change for a sandwich year if they want as well.

To sum us up, while lots of training companies train you on software to create the art. Our thinking is to reverse that around. We teach them how to be creative as the first priority and how to achieve their visions.

Lots more information here.

If you want to see what our current second year VFX are up to here is a link.

Southampton Solent University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Pretty much everywhere. Graduates have ended up in all the main houses in Soho working on VFX, some have gone to Aardman, some worked with Sylvain Chomet, a couple ended up at Weta in New Zealand.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Basically everything you see in the cinema, you can be sure some of our grads have worked on it, but Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Various RTS awards, and screening a competition success round the world. Several films screened at Annecy etc.

How would you describe your courses?

BA Animation classically trains animators for the boutique industry, and or graduation as film making auteurs. BA Digital Animation is more targeted at producing people who want to work in the Big vfx houses on block buster projects. Both courses classically train them with sculpting, painting, and drawn animation on paper.

Student Testimonial

I am ever-grateful for the tuition and support received on the Southampton Solent animation degree. The course structure gave an insight into what is required as a professional and also focused on the fundamental principles needed to be an animator. Without this vital training I would have struggled to forward my career and pursue my ambition.

—Ryan Herbert, Graduate

UWE Bristol

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Blue Zoo, Framestore, Aardman, BDH, Lupus, Cartoon Network, Brown Bag, Richard Purdum, Astley Baker Davies, Cloth Cat, A Productions, Hello Charlie.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Shaun the sheep, Pirates, Early Man (Aardman), Frankenweenie, Life of Pi, Isle of Dogs, Chuck Steel Night of the Trampires,

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Many regional RTS student animation awards over the last 10 years. Special awards for craft and audio.
Representation at international animation festivals.

How would you describe your courses?

This practice-based production course not only develops your creative flair but also provides you with highly sought-after technical skills.

Learn through making using industry standard equipment. Practical work is balanced by theoretical study, work experience and research activities, all deigned to prepare you for work within a commercial environment. Live briefs, work based placements and networking events assist the transition from education into professional practice.

Join a long-established, highly creative animation community in which students are known and valued for their individual creative flair. You’ll be taught by a team with extensive commercial animation experience, with regular contributions from commercial practitioners. This, coupled with our strong links with the UK’s major animation companies, will ensure you benefit from professional expertise throughout the programme.

Kingston University London

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Double Negative
  • MPC
  • Framestore
  • Prime Focus
  • BBC
  • Many smaller tv and video production companies

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Avatar, Gravity, Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Mowgli, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, John Carter, Dunkirk, Star Trek…lots more mostly in compositing.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Whilst at university – final year project and best academic achievement awards.

How would you describe your courses?

Due to restructuring we have merged several courses into new one, called Digital Media Technology starting Sept 2018 and so are able to offer more option modules through pathways. This course will teach specialist skills needed for this highly competitive media and VFX areas. These include fundamentals of media, 2D and 3D computer graphics, introduction to computer programming, motion graphics, UX design, visual effects and much more through the option modules such as digital games creation.

In addition to the formal teaching on the course, students will also have the opportunity to participate in industry visits in central London – the home of many digital media and creative companies.

Teeside University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

We have a large number of graduates working the film and TV industries at companies which include
ILM, Double Negative, Framestore, MPC, the Mill, Passion Pictures, Glassworks, Jellyfish, Studio Soi, Prime Focus, Pixar, Disney, Cinesite, etc.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

You would be hard pressed to find any film or TV project in the last 10 years that did not have Teeside graduates working on it. We could give you a list but it would be massive and include every major motion picture utilising VFX, plus TV series and documentaries.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Our students have contributed to Oscar and Bafta winning projects.

How would you describe your courses?

Outstanding facilities, including animation studios, motion capture studio, green screen studio (including motion control cameras) and traditional animation facilities.

What we teach, the s/w and facilities we use reflects what we know the industry is doing. We host the Animex festival every year to bring together industry professionals from around the year along with our own students to exchange ideas, run workshops, present awards etc.

More info at animex.tees.ac.uk.

De Montfort University

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

  • Walt Disney Animation Studio
  • Brown Bag Films
  • Studio Soi
  • Double Negative
  • Munk Studios

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

  • Disney’s Frozen and Big Hero 6
  • The Amazing World of Gumball
  • Hercules
  • Avengers
  • Batman: The Dark Knight Rises

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Some have worked on features that have won Oscars.

How would you describe your courses?

BA Animation explores both 3D and 2D digital techniques fundamentally with character animation at its heart. Overall it aims for a holistic approach to its delivery. It covers a broad range of contextual studies, such as animation history, animation trends and the creative industries. It explores storytelling, character development and interpreting script into storyboards. We give the students the opportunity to improve key traditional art skills, both in the life room and out in the environment. They get to explore a range of stylistic approaches to improving their creative and design vocabulary.

We train our students in software such as TV Paint, Cell Action, and Maya and other supporting industry related software. We teach 3D digital model making, focusing on efficient topology and effective texturing techniques. We embed animation principles through short experimental animation and explore story telling with longer projects.

Year 1 is a foundation in animation that introduces both 2D and 3D tools and techniques. Students have the choice in year 2 to focus on either 3D or 2D. Year 3 is driven by two independent projects producing creative and industry focused animations. To kick start a career in animation.

Student Testimonial

I was very certain I wanted to work in the film industry and the skills I learned on my course, even the ones I don’t use nowadays, helped me get to where I am today.

– Ben Carlson

University of Dundee

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Students have gone onto work for studios such as Industrial Light & Magic, MPC, Double Negative, Cartoon Saloon, Animated Storyboards, Outplay Entertainment, One of Us, and more.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Recent graduates have worked on Star Wars The Force Awakens, Star Wars Rogue One, Ready Player One, Outlander, The Crown, and more.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Mitigating Circumstances by Kieran Duncan, Tom Paxton & Stephanie Flynn (a film completed on the course) was nominated for a Scottish BAFTA

Bouy by Olly Blake and Natasha Dudley (a film completed on the course) won Best Combined Animation at Dingle 2016.

How would you describe your courses?

The MSc in Animation & VFX is a blend of creative and technical visual storytelling. We focus on teaching the professional production pipelines that you will utilise in this industry. You will engage with high-end production techniques and values, and you will create a narrative based film, showreel/breakdown reel, as part of your final expo. We also regard research, development and intellectual rigour very highly. You will investigate your practice, and reflect on your own creative journey through the duration of the course.

We have great connections to the animation, film, television, video-games and comics industries, and many of our graduates have gone on to work around the world, for some of the top studios and franchises. Other students have pursued further academic advancement, by continuing on to a PhD or work in education.

Student Testimonial

The MSc Animation & VFX course allowed me to further broaden my knowledge within the discipline.
It taught me the right tools that I needed to know and how to utilise them in a professional manner. By using the connections it has with major VFX houses in the UK I was able to land a job and take my first steps into the industry. I honestly don’t think I would be where I am today without the help of the course and the tutors.

— Amit Dev, Junior Modeler, Industrial Light & Magic (Star Wars: Rogue One)

University of Edinburgh

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Animation students from ECA have gone on to work for Laika, Tim Burton, Aardman, Ko-Lik Films, Cartoon Saloon, Mackinnon & Saunders, Rock Star North, Channel 4, BBC 4, CBBC and CBeebies.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Our students have previously won awards at Annecy, the Royal Television Society (RTS), the BAFTAs, and the Emmys.

How would you describe your courses?

Our multiple award-winning programme differs radically from most animation programmes in that we teach the full spectrum of production methods. You will learn about 2D and 3D techniques, using both cameras and CGI, as well as puppet based stop-frame. You will work individually or in a team to make films, documentaries and installations.

Central St Martins

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

Nexus, d-neg, MPC, Cinisite, Rushes, Passion Pictures, Lupus, Illuminated, Moth Collective, Blink, Blue Zoo, Framestore, Disney, DreamWorks, Blue Sky, The Mill, Milk, Picasso Pictures, Weta digital, Peerless, Sony.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Jungle Book, Ethel And Earnest, The Snowman And Snowdog, The Illusionist, Lord of the rings, Harry Potter, John Carter, Exodus, Blade Runner, Iron Man. Sherlock Gnomes, Paddington 1 and 2, War Horse, Fantastic Beasts, Gladiator, Alien Covenant, Frozen, Zootopia, Wreck-it Ralph, Big Hero 6, Kung Fu Panda, etc.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Audience award: Zagreb. “Leave A Print”.

How would you describe your courses?

We are an animation course that puts the emphasis on story and performance. We provide training and guidance for complete beginners and the very experienced. If you want to act with animation, come to us.

Student Testimonial

It has helped me to learn more about my craft, to really immerse myself in it for a year, and make several contacts that have been invaluable to my professional career after the course.

— Carlos Fraiha, alum

Ravensbourne

What animation courses do you offer?

With regards to success rate, can you name any big vfx or anim studios your students have gone on to work with?

We have students at: Framestore, Dneg, ILM, The Mill, Smoke and Mirrors, MPC, Bluezoo and JellyFish.

Have any of your students gone on to work on any large projects or feature films?

Films: Star Wars The Last Jedi, Jungle Book, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-man into the Spider-Verse. TV: Dennis and Gnasher, Diggby Dragon, Floogals.

Any achievements or awards any of your students have won, whilst on the course of after graduating?

Most recent, Xanthe Sinclair, a level 3 student has come runner up in the “Search for a Star” competition hosted by the games industry.

How would you describe your courses?

Focusing on fundamental animation skills in both 2D and 3D software, students will also explore storytelling techniques through layout and cinematography, whilst exploring roles in modelling, rigging and basic code throughout the three levels. Primarily vocational, levels 4 and 5 will nurture students to integrate and collaborate with other disciplines both internally and externally, to help prepare students to advocate and apply their original thinking and ideas to a more personal approach in level 6.

Ravensbourne animation course has established strong ties and working relationships with some of the top animation companies, including Framestore, Double Negative, Blue Zoo and Jellyfish to name a few. With a growing alumnus in the animation industry, this has given the course further recognition and the opportunity to build new relationships. Students visit working studios, attend industry workshops, receive industry mentoring and feedback on their work, whilst working on live projects and briefs throughout their studies. The course aims to continue building on this success, by exploring new and upcoming sectors including, medicine, forensics, education and charity work, whilst building new internships and work placements within the industry. Alongside this, students are encouraged to enter competitions and attend industry events to gain recognition and build industry contacts early on in their education, to help prepare for life after Ravensbourne.

UAL London College of Communication

What animation courses do you offer?

How would you describe your courses?

BA (Hons) Animation is a practice-led course, enabling you to choose one of four specialist pathways that reflect industry specialisms: Animation Arts, 3D Computer Animation, Visual Effects (VFX) and Games Arts.

Learn the fundamental skills and principles of animation in an intensive and collaborative setting where you’ll develop knowledge and understanding of the whole production process.

After your first year you’ll choose one of four specialist pathways:

  • BA (Hons) Animation: Animation Arts
  • BA (Hons) Animation: 3D Computer Animation
  • BA (Hons) Animation: Visual Effects (VFX)
  • BA (Hons) Animation: Game Arts

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from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/the-top-uk-animation-or-vfx-courses/

Wednesday 30 May 2018

Overflow – Turn Your Designs into Playable User Flow Diagrams That Tell a Story

Designing the best user flow for your product is definitely not an easy task. It requires several iterations before getting it right. Creating and updating user flow diagrams has largely been considered a painful process for designers, with many of them skipping it entirely because of this. Presenting user flows to stakeholders and actually getting them to understand and follow the user’s journey might actually be the most challenging part.

Overflow helps you do exactly that. It empowers you to effectively communicate your work, while fully engaging your audience with an interactive user flow presentation.

Create User Flows in Minutes

Creating user flow diagrams with Overflow is a quick and enjoyable experience. You can connect and sync Overflow with your favorite design tool, maintaining all your layers and artboards. Easily drag magnets to create your connectors, add text, shapes and images to enrich your presentation. Customize the look using styles and themes to create a fully custom branded presentation that fits your designs and audience.

Present Your Designs

Presenting your designs with Overflow, will always make you look good. You can present your designs with an interactive flow presentation, navigating through your entire flow using arrow keys or clicking on the connectors. Show the big picture with a bird’s eye view of your flow, or zoom in to focus on specific details. If you want to present your flow screen by screen you can easily switch to the out of the box rapid prototype mode.

Share to Get Valuable Feedback

Share your user flow diagrams on Overflow Cloud and let your audience experience a magical journey on their web browser or mobile device. Export in PDF, PNG, or print your user flows and stick on walls.

So far more than 35,000 designers have tried Overflow, and they loved it. Overflow is currently in public beta and available to download, for free.

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from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/overflow-turn-your-designs-into-playable-user-flow-diagrams-that-tell-a-story/

Tuesday 29 May 2018

7 UX Principles for Creating a Great Website

We spend a lot of time online reading news, navigating websites and using web apps. In some cases, our experience online is not the best that we could have.

And all this is due to poor design that didn’t take user experience into consideration. It’s easy to look from afar and notice these errors, but it’s a bit trickier when you are the one handling a project.

As designers, it’s our duty to create design with great user experience. And it isn’t easy.

Here are some best practices for UX for web projects.

1. Design Should Concentrate on User Experience

Making the experience of the website memorable is more important than what the website says. Users often forget the data and salient points of content, but they will remember how it made them feel. It works in advertisements, why not use it on web content?

Graphics, layout, text, and interactive elements work in synergy to present the user with an experience, not just present them with information. UX design is a consequential piece of application and web work.

Making your page stand out from the sheer quantity of websites and information on the internet is essential. Modern websites contain more visual and interactive qualities to strike at more emotional responses to help them stand out in the highly competitive world.

2. Websites Are Scanned, Not Read

It is a must that your website is scannable because people do not read websites, they scan them. Infographics and visuals have become the way for anyone trying to convey instructions or data.

Making your page scannable will appeal to your audience. Most will scan the content for something that strikes them and then they switch to reading when they want to find out more.

3. Users Want Clarity and Simplicity

In a half of a second, users evaluate the design of a website, so you need to decide what you want users to do and make it apparent. Don’t make it difficult to find action buttons. Visually focus attention on the main button versus a bunch of buttons on the home page.

Constantly reconsider what your app or site can do to make it easier to use. Part of the design is making it highly usable for the majority of users and allowing for extra functionality to be hidden and made discoverable as it is needed, not shown all at once.

Also providing a clear, consistent design is simpler for users. They can then know what to expect when you are reusing colors, behaviors, and aesthetics which reduces the need for them to figure out the interface. When users are familiar with some of the aspects of the design it makes the process clearer and easier to use.

4. Common Design Elements Versus Creativity

When design elements are common elsewhere, don’t reinvent them by becoming creative with new UI patterns. Making users think too hard to figure out your UI interface is not what you want. You want to have a familiar looking interface where standard objects like links stand out as links, and login access is located in the upper right. There is no need to relocate such standardized components.

Creativity with standardized patterns can make your interface hard to work with and not promote usability. Although you may think non-traditional is cool, it may make it harder for users to navigate and thus it falls into a problem area. Creativity and usability need to have a balance.

URLs, button, and navigation placement need to focus on usability before design. Its best to focus on the layout of these first without the design in mind, then add the creative elements.

5. Know the Audience

You must have a good idea of who the audience is for the intended website or app before you create it. How to best design the interface will come from them.

Once you have a clear idea of the audience for your website or app, you can then find out their needs and wants, and design the perfect design that will meet their desires. The competition can show you some ideas of how this was done. Note the competition’s colors, layout, style, and features.

When you use styles and designs that your audience is already comfortable with, they can be eased into your site. You can then differentiate yourself with your ideas on their needs.

When you’ve identified your audience, remember to incorporate their feedback into your design. Considering end user’s actionable feedback is significantly valuable.

6. Visual Hierarchy

When putting the most important elements on the interface, highlight them so that users focus on them. In design, there are a lot of ways in which to highlight things, but the most effective is to make it larger than anything else on the screen.

Making something a focal point by making it larger than anything else, is how several websites achieve the impossible to ignore highlighting of sales or ‘click here’ buttons.

7. User Experience Qualities

Peter Moville represents the factors of UX in the User Experience Honeycomb on the usability.gov site. At the core is value in what you are providing to the client, surrounded by hexagonal shapes of the following:

  • Useful – Content should be original and fulfill a need
  • Usable – Site must be easy to find
  • Desirable – Design elements bring about emotion and appreciation
  • Findable – Content needs to be locatable and navigable offsite and onsite
  • Accessible – Content needs to be accessible to people with disabilities
  • Credible – Users must believe and trust what you tell them.

There are other schools of thought regarding UX qualities. Here are more things that are related to building UX as well:

  • Be contextual – Be sure to mark where users are in their path through the interface.
  • Be human – Be trustworthy, transparent, and approachable with human interaction preferred over machine interaction.
  • Be discoverable – Be sure users can accomplish their tasks the first time they visit.
  • Be learnable – Be sure that interaction is easy and moving through product is seamless. Be sure that on subsequent visits users can accomplish their goals.
  • Be efficient – On repeat visits can they accomplish repetitive tasks quickly and easily?
  • Be delightful- Be sure that product delights users so that they have an emotional connection to it and champion your product.
  • Be a performer – Be sure that the system performs well when users are interacting with it.

Conclusion

Users need to have an emotional connection to the experience of using your product. If you are merely creating an interface and not an experience, you have limited chance of gaining the following you need to make your product a success.

UIs need to be simple to navigate, easy to use, and created with the proper colors and fonts for your audience. Don’t forget to integrate end-user feedback while remaining consistent throughout the design.

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from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/7-ux-principles-for-creating-a-great-website/

Monday 28 May 2018

Gigs Going Global? What Freelancers Need to Know About Classification

Freelancers go by many names these days. They can be “non-traditional workers” in Canada or “autónomo” in Spain. They can be “self-employed” and “independent contractors” in the US and UK. But, statistically, the trend is consistent. Freelancers now make up 30 percent of the world’s workforce, and the number is projected to grow to 50 percent by 2020.

This nuclear growth has been fanned primarily by technology, as an entire generation of digital natives joins the workforce. This has changed the way we work and what we value, transcending many restraints of the physical world. But the very catalyst of employment mobility is also becoming the root of many unforeseen consequences, in the form of employee misclassification lawsuits playing out in courts across the globe.

So whether you’re new or a seasoned pro in the gig economy, knowing the basic legal principles of what defines a full-time employee versus an independent contractor will help you stay a dyed-in-the-wool freelancer or get you the benefits you deserve by law, should you wade into full-time employee territory.

Your Classification is All About Your Control

It’s not the only reason, but most likely, you chose to become a freelancer so you could have the freedom to work when, where, and how you want. This has been the Achilles’ heel of many gig economy powerhouses who have run afoul of the law.

…you chose to become a freelancer so you could have the freedom to work when, where, and how you want.

In the case of Uber in the UK, Judge Anthony Snelson wrote in the ruling, “the notion that Uber in London is a mosaic of 30,000 small businesses linked by a common ‘platform’ is to our minds faintly ridiculous.” Rather, he argued that Uber is ultimately in the business as a supplier of transportation services, and the drivers are its employees.

Across the pond, Lyft settled its lawsuit for $12.25 million for misclassifying its drivers as independent contractors when, in actuality, the company exerted far more control — control typically reserved for employees.

These cases might feel a world apart from life in creative industries, but there are important lessons to learn from each of them. They point to a convergence of regulations across the world — because no matter where you work or who you work for, how your client views you may completely differ completely from the eyes of the law. There are a few key warning signs to look out for.

A Label Changes

Just because you have been labeled as an independent contractor doesn’t mean it’s an irrefutable fact. When Lars Glimhagen was terminated after 12 years of service as an independent contractor in British Columbia, Canada, he was not eligible for any compensation or payment in lieu of notice because of his employment status. He disagreed and filed a complaint.

The Supreme Court of British Columbia found Glimhagen’s role during his time with the company to be an integral part of the business’ operations and created a “third state” of worker category, known as “dependent contractors.” Lars received $78,000 as payment in lieu of proper notice, like an employee.

Even the most established and prominent employer is not above mistakes. Photographer Robert Stolarik sued the New York Times Co. for shortchanging him approximately 3,300 hours’ worth of overtime across 10 years by classifying him as an independent contractor. Stolarik argued the American newspaper exerted control over his schedule and methodology, which is the crux in determining the employment relationship under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

In both Canada and the US, the definition of an independent contractor is one who can operate autonomously, set their own schedule, and use their own equipment. The lack of these key elements in your working environment means you may have inched into the “employee” zone.

Serfdom Instead of Freedom

In 2016, the Employment Tribunal (ET) in the UK agreed with two Uber drivers that they were misclassified as contractors and should be entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay like full-time employees.

Judge Jennifer Eady learned how drivers were told they needed to accept at least 80 percent of their trip requests to retain their account status and concluded, “even if the evidence allowed that drivers were not obliged to accept all trips, the very high percentage of acceptances required justified the ET’s conclusion.”

Over 1,000 kilometers away, an Italian court was asked to rule on the relationship between food delivery service Foodora and its riders, where the latter claimed the company had complete “control over the activity of the couriers, their timesheets, and their contracts.” These are often hallmarks of employees.

Another 24,000 kilometers east, an audit by the Fair Work Ombudsman at Pizza Hut franchisees across Australia found various operators were guilty of misclassification of workers, depriving delivery drivers of entitlements such as annual leave, sick leave, and superannuation. Some employees were paid as little as AU$5.70, compared to the required minimum hourly rate of AU$17.70 at the time.

Be Wary of Non-compete Contracts

According to Maria O. Hart, an attorney specializing in employment law and business litigation in the US, it is acceptable for freelancers to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) with clients. An NDA is, by definition, a contract that binds the involved parties to confidentiality.

…you should not be asked to sign a contract with a non-compete clause…

In situations where the client may have proprietary information or technology to help you do your best work, the NDA is an added security to facilitate the sharing. As a freelancer, you can even request the client sign your own NDA for the same reason.

However, you should not be asked to sign a contract with a non-compete clause (NCC), as it imposes a restriction on your ability to work for your client’s competitors — not only during the employment period but potentially for some time after employment ends. This pushes your client further into “employer” territory, as another layer of control is added. It is also the antithesis of freelancing since it limits you from working for others.

There Is a Common Language

Despite the geographical differences between what constitutes employee misclassification, the fitting entitlements and benefits, and the penalties for contraventions, there are still many common denominators in defining your employment status, wherever you may be working.

Worried? Here’s What to Do Next

If you’re in doubt about your employment status, the first step is to initiate the conversation with your client and do so in good faith. Perhaps you started as a freelancer but your responsibilities have evolved and expanded over time. The key is to address these changes promptly and correctly.

More importantly and when needed, remember how “No” can be the most powerful word in preserving your freelancer-client relationship. You went into the gig economy to free yourself from the chains of being an employee and control your own destiny. If your client is standing in the way of that, it’s possible they owe you more than just the money they’re paying you.

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from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/gigs-going-global-what-freelancers-need-to-know-about-classification/

Sunday 27 May 2018

Popular Design News of the Week: May 21, 2018 – May 27, 2018

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers. 

The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week.

Note that this is only a very small selection of the links that were posted, so don’t miss out and subscribe to our newsletter and follow the site daily for all the news.

The Biggest WTF in Design Right Now

 

Designing the UI of Google Translate

 

Keyframes.app – A Timeline Editor for CSS Animations

 

Introducing Public/private Brand Guidelines

 

Site Design: Daesk

 

I Don’t like Work – A ‘Work from Home’ Reason Generator

 

Daily CSS Design

 

Verge Art: A New Home for Our Original Illustrations and GIFs

 

Facebook is Killing Snapchat with the Format it Created

 

Spark 2.0 – Revolutionary Email for Teams

 

Designer Challenges Himself to Create Logos with Hidden Meanings for a Year

 

Figma Design Kit. Android App Templates and Ecommerce UX Patterns

 

Why You Shouldn’t Use Bright, Saturated Colors for Backgrounds

 

Learn to Love your Bad Ideas

 

Elevation in Material Design

 

Free MIT Licensed Illustrations

 

6 Post GDPR Considerations

 

Plaid Launches in Canada

 

The Making of Lemmings

 

Grayscale the Web – Removes all Color from Websites, Turning Them Gray

 

Bedrock – A Powerful Static Site Generator

 

Yes, Design Systems will Replace Design Jobs

 

The Basics of Design Thinking

 

The Strange Creatures Called “Designers”

 

The Evolution of Typography with Variable Fonts

 

Want more? No problem! Keep track of top design news from around the web with Webdesigner News.

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from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/popular-design-news-of-the-week-may-21-2018-may-27-2018/

Friday 25 May 2018

Frictionless UX: How to Create Smooth User Flows

Almost two decades ago Steve Krug first advised us not to make users think. Today designers strive to create experiences that require no extra effort on the user’s part.

Frictionless interaction has become a popular qualifier for evaluating user experiences. As designers and developers, it’s beneficial to familiarize yourself with methods that allow you to create frictionless interactions.

In this article, I’ll analyze steps in user flow that often cause friction and propose solutions on how to optimize them. But before that, it’s important to define what exactly friction is:

Friction is anything that prevents users from intuitively achieving their goals while they interact with a product. Friction is everything people complain about when they find technology difficult. No wonder why high-friction tools are quickly abandoned and replaced with more user-friendly tools.

Creating a Frictionless Experience

Ultimately, end-users want simplicity when interacting with a product. Frictionless designs are synonymous with simplicity because it makes things easier for the users. When we think about frictionless experience, we usually imagine a product that we can use without having to learn anything. In this product, interactions are intuitive, and every operation is smooth and natural.

Crafting a frictionless experience requires designers to deeply understand how a user interacts with a user interface. To reduce UX Friction designers need to start with user journey. They must decide when friction can be helpful, where harmful, and design the product accordingly.

To envision the entire journey of your product, try to understand what goals users want to achieve while interacting with your product. This knowledge will help you figure out what steps a user might take while interacting with a system or service. Based on that knowledge you’ll understand what problems they might face during each of the steps.

To identify exact places where friction might occur, the team might engage in user research and testing, creating user flows, and focusing on creating an easy-to-use information architectures before the actual development starts.

How to Avoid Creating Friction

While the previous section describes what you should do to identify bad friction, this section will give you some practical tips on how to deal with friction.

Avoid Overwhelming Users with Content or Features

User focus is one of the most crucial characteristics of user experience. Having a strong focus helps users to achieve their goals without too much effort. But when your UI overwhelms users with content or features you help them lose focus.

Here’s what you should do to minimize thinking as much as possible:

Trim all the Fat

Try avoiding anything unnecessary – from extra information to extra UI elements. Remember the most powerful principle of minimalism — less is more. Follow the aesthetics of minimalism and create layouts which have only essential elements.

Prioritize Content and Features

Don’t try to place everything you have on a single page. Prioritize your content and place it according to user expectations. For example, if you design a company website, you can offer content in separate sections rather than all in one piece on a home page.

Divide and Conquer

Understand natural human brain limitations and opt for chunking. Stepped forms are perhaps one of the most common examples of using chunking in modern UIs. Breaking lengthy or complicated form into a few simple forms makes the process of filling out details a lot easier.

Minimalist layout with a powerful whitespace.

Don’t Make Users Guess

Lack of feedback from a system is a typical problem for many UIs. When users trigger some action and don’t receive an acknowledgment that the system got a request, they think that their request wasn’t delivered. As a result, they try again and again. This leads to the behavior known as rapid clicks. Those additional unnecessary actions often cause system errors.

Here are a few things that will help you prevent rapid-clicks:

Visual or Audio Feedback

The app that responds to user interaction alleviates users’ fears.

Fast Loading Times

When users have to wait for content to load they experience friction. If loading takes too long, users start worrying whether the app is doing anything or not. As a designer/developer, do whatever you can to reduce page loading time so it complies with users expectation on how fast the operation should be.

Make Loading Transparent

For long-term operations, it’s essential to provide information on how much time is required to complete the operation.

Visual feedback on user interactions.

Clarity Over Cleverness

Clarity has a direct impact on user expectations. Good UI is always in line with user expectations and previous knowledge. When users know what to expect, they are more happy to interact with a product.

Here are few things to remember when making your UI more clear to your users:

Clearly Label Elements

All interactive elements, such as buttons, should be clearly identified with labels describing their function.

Make Your Design Consistent

Inconsistency creates confusion. When the same elements in UI look different in different parts of the app/website, this might confuse your users. Maintaining a consistent design approach allows users to use their previous knowledge when interacting with a product.

Avoid Using Jargon

Think about using terminology your users will understand to help them interact without any difficulties.

Navigation Made Simple

Poor navigation is a huge source of user frustration. Users should be able to move around to different areas of the product easily. They should also know where they are in the app’s navigation hierarchy at all times.

Use Recognizable UI Patterns

Every time the user has to learn how something new works, it creates friction. By using recognizable conventions, you can reduce the learning curve. Recognizable UI patterns eventually help the users to deal with complicated tasks easily.

Clear labels and familiar location for menu makes wayfinding easy task for users.

Shorten the Number of Steps

Too many steps might also cause unnecessary friction. Every step in the journey, from the initial sign-up to individual operations, requires a certain amount of effort and can create friction. It’s essential to get rid of all extra steps in user flow. Keep the conventions of the KISS design principle in mind when designing user flows and remove or optimize steps that can cause friction.

Here are a few more practical tips:

Use Default Settings

Default settings are rarely changed by most users (according to the Jared Spool and his article “Do users change their settings?” less than 5% of users change default settings).

Offer Personalized Experience

Use the data you have about your users to deliver a personalized experience for them. For example, both Amazon and Netflix offer tailored recommendations based on previous purchases and viewing habits.

Offer Auto-Populate Details

In some cases, data in your UI can be filled automatically without additional user effort. For example, if your mobile app needs to have credit card details, you can offer card scanning feature to streamline the process of adding all required information.

Default settings. Autosave is enabled by default for Microsoft Word.

Prevent Errors; Handle Errors Gracefully

An ideal app actively prevents the user from making errors. But even when errors occur, good UI provides a clear help text about how to resolve the issue, as well as points out users where the error occurred.

Anticipate Possible Errors

When you think about potential pitfalls, you design better experiences for when those problems arise. For example, you can offer help and guidance that are necessary to the user context.

Use Inline Validation

By validating user input and providing feedback as soon as possible, you help users to detect and fix problems.

An example of inline validation.

Conclusion

If there is a sign of friction, user interaction won’t be smooth. Your goal as a designer should be in identifying bad friction and fighting it.

By focusing on strategically reducing friction, you can create an outstanding user experience.

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Source

from Webdesigner Depot https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2018/05/frictionless-ux-how-to-create-smooth-user-flows/