UI Research

In order to gain some more knowledge on UI's, I read the article 'Great UI Design Requires Smart Style Guides' by Jerry Cao. Before reading this article, I wasn't as familiar with the term 'Style Guides', so this article was extremely useful.

Notes from the article:

• A style guide is a selective “living document”, it keeps track of all the repeating elements for a brief, from branding rules down to the amount of beveling for call-to-action buttons. 
• 'True, style guides require extra work to create — especially at the beginning, when you’re busy enough already.'
• Style guides help you create a cohesive design that reflects a common visual language
• Elements like colour palettes, typefaces, animations, and navigation menus are all extremely important when creating a unified user experience
• Context is important- successful style guides account for explaining the reasoning behind every design decision, e.g. why have I used this exact colour???
• Collaboration; having a set reference manual for each member of the team ensures that everyone’s on the same page
• Most relevant to web and mobile UI designers, the front-end style guide is what most people think of when they hear the term “style guide.”- a lot more detailed than rougher style guides, e.g. mood boards and style tiles.
• Front-end style guides help connect design with development
• Don't do more than necessary 
• Shorter style guides make it easier to find what you’re looking for

Examples of Style Guides done right:

1. Atlassian Design

• Nicely organised whilst still being functional
• Provide extra information such as their step-by-step approach to design, core personas, and additional resources for visual design
• Also include basic descriptions of their design principles to give their style guide a philosophical edge
• Technical details

2. Lonely Planet

• Sticks just to the facts
• Every page of their elaborate style guide is equally detailed
• Coding-specific hues
• Includes several pages listing out all of their icons