Visual design for forms
Half day workshop. Wednesday 27 August 2014, morning
Description
Picture this: you’re on a website and it has a really slick, modern design. Perhaps it’s a big bank or an important government service. You’re navigating around, reading, getting the information you need. Things are going really well. Then it comes time to fill out a form and *bam*, you’re back in the 1990s with an interface uglier than a mongoose turned inside out.
Unfortunately, this happens all too often. People pay careful attention to the visual design of most user experiences, from product packaging to mobile apps, but when it comes to the form the ball gets dropped. Which is crazy, really, because that’s the pointy end of the interaction.
But even pretty forms can be a nightmare to use. Ever filled out a form with a ‘flat’ or ‘minimalist’ design? Chances are it felt like a game of hide and seek: 10 points for finding fields and a bonus for spotting buttons!
As a user experience designer, how do you hit the sweet spot, where your forms are both highly usable and aesthetically pleasing? The trick is understanding the ways in which different visual design techniques can help and hinder. In this fun, practical and hands-on workshop – yes, there will be coloured pencils! – you’ll achieve just that. No technical, graphic design or drawing skills are required, and all the techniques work across every medium (desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and paper).
What you’ll learn
In this workshop you’ll learn:
- an easy-to-remember framework for creating visually appealing and usable forms
- how to lay forms out on the page or screen.
The workshop content will apply across all types of forms, including:
- all media (i.e. desktop, laptop, tablet, mobile and paper); and
- what we typically think of as ‘forms’ (i.e. answering a series of questions and then submitting these answers) as well as other data-collecting interfaces (e.g. web applications that allow information to be provided in many different sequences and at many different times).
The content will also be device-, platform- and operating system-independent.
Workshop structure
This workshop combines principles, examples, group discussion and individual practice.
Target audience
This workshop is suitable for anyone with an interest in user experience, regardless of background. No technical or graphic design expertise is required.
What you’ll take away
You will receive:
- a set of ‘quick reference’ sheets
- the workshop slides (including examples of forms with good and bad visual design)
- a list of recommended reading
- space for notes.
