For my second design challenge, I decided to switch it up a bit and take on a Daily UI Challenge. Since most of my focus has been on UX research and design, I had initially wanted to avoid UI challenges. I was afraid that my lack of experience in UI would be obvious and I would end up with work I wasn’t proud of and didn’t want to showcase. I doubted my capabilities as a UI designer. Little did I know that I was much more capable than I thought.
Last week, much to my surprise, I ended up transforming my mid-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity and was really proud of the end product. I received great feedback and learned that the more I took on UI the better I would become. I wouldn’t have to sell myself short and only apply to UX Research positions. I could be confident in my UI skills and continue to grow and enjoy the process. For that reason, for my second design challenge, I decided to take on a daily UI challenge.
Like I stated above, I had initially planed on avoiding these UI challenges, but I figured, why not? Why not take myself out of my comfort zone and see what else I am capable of? Why not continue to challenge myself and maybe find a new love and appreciation for UI? Of course thoughts popped up like, “I might not be creative or talented enough”, but then I realized this is exactly why I chose UX, to be able to tap in to my creativity and my artistic talents that I’ve never been able to before in my previous careers.
Below is the Daily UI I challenge I completed for Week 2:
“Design a 404 page. Does it suit the brand’s style? Is it user-friendly? It might sound mundane, but not everything can be flash or glamorous. Every day millions of people will be landing on 404 pages. You have an opportunity to help them in a way that’s useful and aesthetically pleasing.(It’s up to you!)”
Initially, I was confused by the task. How much creativity can go into a 404 page? Once I started searching the web I realized, based on the app at hand, some 404 pages can be very creative. I decided to use my designs from week one as inspiration in creating this 404 page, and landed on the below design:
As you can see, I stuck with the theme of the app and kept it simple yet creative. As I continue to do more and more of the UI challenges my skills will grow making me a competitive candidate in the UX/UI Design market.
