02. Learn by Copying

Hey guys, here’s the next thing for the Learn UI series. Today’s question for the very beginners: “Do you struggling where to start in learning UI design?”. If so, keep reading.

You may usually hear something like: “Read a book” or “Make a hypothetical app” or even “Start solving real problems”. These are great, but don’t seem to work for the very begginers in my experience. The only right thing to do at this stage is to start practicing every day.

But what kind of daily practice do you need? You can always choose what personally fit to you, but start practicing by copying is the most powerful and effective way to learn any thing and UI design isn’t an exception.

Here’s where to start for mobile designers (you can fit this to web design or whatever you want, simply consider the principle):

1. Choose your platform. Decide what you’ll be focusing on, wheather it’s mobile, tablet, watch or any other device. Then choose a platform (e.g. iOS or Android, it’s up to you). Mind that it would be great if you’ll have a device with the platform you chose.
2. Start copying built in apps. Why built in ones? They are the closest to the platform, so you can learn the basics of how the apps are built. Create screenshots and copy them exactly using your favorite editor. Take a closer look at all elements, see how they visually interact with each other: fonts sizes and weights, elements sizes and margins between them, use of color, gradients, shadows and imagery. You want to copy all of this exactly as you see it. No place to any variations.

Working so you don’t concentrate on what to do, you concentrate on the practice only. Overall it can help you learn how elements work together, get familiar with the tool you use and build your own library.

Copying isn’t always a fun way to learn something, but don’t quit. Look at other areas and you’ll see that practice makes perfect; it may seem boring, but this absolutely improves your skills.

PS: the shot was inspired by the Asana poster by @Mirtho Prepont