UI (User Interfaces) — Smashing Magazine

160 articles

The Hype Around Signals

November 27, 2024 — From KnockoutJS to modern UI libraries like SolidJS, Vue.js, and Svelte, signals revolutionized how we think about reactivity in UIs. Here’s a deep dive into their history and impact by Atila Fassina. Read more&mldr;

Atila Fassina wrote

Open-Source Meets Design Tooling With Penpot

November 14, 2024 — Penpot helps designers and developers work better together by offering a free, open-source design tool based on open web standards. Today, let’s explore its newly released Penpot Plugin System. So now, if there’s a functionality missing, you don’t need to jump into the code base straight away; you can create a plugin to achieve what you need. And you can even serve it from localhost! Read more&mldr;

Mikołaj Dobrucki wrote

Build Design Systems With Penpot Components

July 18, 2024 — In today’s turbulent landscape of design, Penpot stands out with its commitment to open-source, free unlimited access, and its unique, robust features. An example could be its new components system that takes another leap forward in aligning design with code. Let’s dive into how it empowers both designers and developers to create more maintainable and scalable design systems. Read more&mldr;

Vitaly Friedman wrote

Decision Trees For UI Components

May 29, 2024 — Imagine finally resolving never-ending discussions about UI decisions for good. Here are some practical examples of decision trees for UI components and how to use them effectively. An upcoming part of Smart Interface Design Patterns. Read more&mldr;

Mikołaj Dobrucki wrote

Penpot’s CSS Grid Layout: Designing With Superpowers

April 11, 2024 — Penpot helps designers and developers work better together by offering a free, open-source design tool based on open web standards. Today, let’s explore Penpot’s latest feature, CSS Grid Layout. Penpot’s latest release is about efficiency and so much more. It gives designers superpowers and a better place at the table. Excited? Let’s take a look at it together. Read more&mldr;

Preethi Sam wrote

The Things Users Would Appreciate In Mobile Apps

April 5, 2024 — What can we do to make a mobile app better? What subsidiary features are worth providing for our users? I have some ideas. You might, too. So, let’s compare our notes. Without any prescriptions attached, here are seven features I believe can palpably improve a user’s experience with a mobile app. Read more&mldr;

Adrian Bece wrote

The View Transitions API And Delightful UI Animations (Part 2)

January 2, 2024 — The View Transitions API is a new — but game-changing — feature that allows us to do the types of reactive state-based UI and page transitions that have traditionally been exclusive to JavaScript frameworks. In the second half of this mini two-part series, Adrian Bece expands on the demos from the first article to demonstrate how the View Transitions API can be used to transition not just elements between two states but the transition between full views and pages in single-page and multi-page applications. Read more&mldr;

Adrian Bece wrote

The View Transitions API And Delightful UI Animations (Part 1)

December 22, 2023 — The View Transitions API is a new — but game-changing — feature that allows us to do the types of reactive state-based UI and page transitions that have traditionally been exclusive to JavaScript frameworks. In the first part of this mini two-part series, Adrian Bece thoroughly explains why we need the API and demonstrates its basic usage. Read more&mldr;

Oriana García wrote

Creating Accessible UI Animations

November 10, 2023 — Animation and accessibility are often seen as two separate powers at odds with one another. How is it possible to strike a balance between elements that move and the possible negative effects they expose to users who are sensitive to motion? Oriana García explains how her team at Mercado Libre tackled the challenge by creating guiding principles for applying animation to user interfaces and incorporating them into the team’s design system. Read more&mldr;

Preethi Sam wrote

In Search Of The Ideal Privacy Icon

November 2, 2023 — Icons are capable of enhancing the content that surrounds them, but they have to be self-explanatory for that to happen. We have icons for things we like (a thumbs up), things we can share (a box topped with an up arrow), and even for protection against malicious online attacks (a shield), but what are the options we have for representing “privacy”? Read more&mldr;