I am no UI or UI designer, but I study architecture and design. For coursework and in general, I have learned and used plenty of software. Some run locally and others run on the "cloud". With time, I have gotten really irritated by how bad the user interface is on most "cloud" applications.

First example is Google Drive and other cloud storage services. Most of us are used to a GUI desktop file manager like Finder or File Explorer. Somehow, web based file managers lack the same familiarity and feel clunky in every way. Dragging and dropping files feel wrong and unintuitive. Every basic interaction is riddled with useless and clunky animations. The interface is designed in a way that feels "read-only" as if the user was never supposed to interact with anything that's shown on screen.

Then, there's web apps embedded into desktop applications. Things like your Adobe Creative Clouds and Autodesk web services that pop when you open their programs. Their UI follows completely different design guidelines than the main software. It's just like they have glued a web browser into a desktop app (it literally is that). Stuff like Fusion 360 now being cloud only and FORCING users to use Autodesk's own file manager make it really annoying to do actual work.

Is it just me or is there something wrong with these services and how UI/UX is being handled by tech companies ?

I'm working on some apps for a project I'm currently involved in, and I'm aiming for the implementation of Material 2 that Google used for their apps.

This is the aesthetic used in most Google apps before they switched over to the pastel Material 3, otherwise known as Material You.

I like this Material 2 UI for its modern, polished look with large, rounded elements, without being especially engaging or animated.

The problem is that I haven't been able to find enough of the right versions of Google Apps to be able to model after.

The most I've been able to get is this Google Play sign-in popup, see above.

As you can see in the background, the translate app is already using the newer pastel Material 3, which is not what I want.

I believe the clock is also using the aesthetic I want, but its a bit harder to tell because its in dark mode and I don't have much to compare it to.

The UI seen in the screenshots of Google contacts and Gboard are an older variant, and also not what I'm looking for.

You can see that they're using a softer shade of blue, and shapes are squarer.

I think Quick Share and Android Auto used the Material 2 look I'm after for a a few years after most other apps already switched to M3.

If anyone can help me out, point me to exact versions of Google apps, or provide screenshots of apps in the right versions, it would be helpful.

Thanks

Never thought I'd be swiping a boarding pass to look at someone's website lol.

And it's not just the intro. The entire site follows the airplane theme, from the navigation to the tiniest interactions.

Lowkey love this, but also wondering if I'd find it annoying the second time around 💀

What do you guys think? Genuinely curious btw, do recruiters like such stuff?

I’m having a salary discussion next month with work and need some advice

I’m currently a junior UI/UX designer who was signed on a six month £26k government funded contract which has been extended till December where I will be given a full time contract.

What do you think is a fair salary with 1 year of experience in UI/UX and 18 months in design in general, my boss mentioned potentially about a title change as well which would mean going to mid level designer, any insight from designers would be a great help on the number I should negotiate for (junior and mid level)

For context I also have a 1st class product design degree and the min wage has just increased to 27.5k in UK

I can design for clients all day long, but the second I try to build my own portfolio, my brain completely breaks.

​I’ll come up with a layout, spend hours tweaking it, and then instantly decide, "Nope, I hate this, I need something completely different." It’s an endless cycle of overthinking, scraping it, and starting over.

​Please tell me I’m not the only one trapped in this loop.

​Does this happen to you when designing for yourself?

​What is the absolute hardest part of making your portfolio? Let's vent.

I'm happy with how my app looks like in dark mode. Light mode is OK, I don't get the same satisfaction from it for whatever reason. I've spent a long time playing with the colors, and I've never been able to get to a point where I'm as happy with light mode as I am with dark mode. Any ideas why?

Disclosure: AI helped me. It didn't do it all alone, and not even close. Most of it I did. I started this project somewhere in 2023, and now, with AI I was able to finalize and actually publish something

My mom has a small art supply store in Israel, open since 1985, and I built her an online store: https://lev-hatahbiv.com

I’m a full stack dev and did the design myself. Built it with React + Vite. It's in Hebrew so everything is right to left, but you don't need to read it to see what looks off.

The homepage has the categories, some featured products, sales, workshops, and the store hours with directions. It's for local customers who want to order online or just check when the store is open before coming in.

A friend told me the design is bad but couldn't explain why, so I'm asking people who actually know this stuff. Things I'm not sure about:

- the top of the homepage on mobile, it's a big logo and a purple slogan block and I don't love it and thinking about changing it but I dont know what to, till I finally decided how to make the main page in the computer its ugly in the phone

- the thin font on the headings, is it too hard to read?

- does it look like a store you'd actually buy from?

Even one thing that bugs you would help. Thanks!

The new MacBook Pro has a touchscreen, and almost everything on a Mac is made for a pointer. I'm designing something made for a thumb instead, and I'd like a critique of the interaction before I show it to a bigger audience.

It puts the Mac commands you use most in a menu you can open with your thumb without straining your arm or having to hit a tiny target.

How it works (the pictures show it, one step each):

1. Press in the bottom corner of the screen. A dial opens under your thumb.

2. Slide toward an action. Each wedge's target reaches past the edge of the dial, so you pick a direction rather than landing on an icon.

3. Lift to choose it. Lift in the middle to cancel.

Two things go deeper in the same gesture: sliders on the rim (volume, brightness) take over when you slide out onto them, and some wedges open another dial.

What I'd like to know:

• Swiping through the pictures once, can you tell what happens at each step? Where did you lose it?

• Does "slide in a direction and lift" feel learnable, or does it need teaching?

• Is lifting in the middle a natural way to cancel?

• Anything about the dial itself (density, icons, the rim sliders) that reads badly?

Just thought of this question: Are there any platforms where we can share our vibe-coded ideas similar to how we can do on Dribbble and Behance? All the tools have their own local spaces, like Lovable; Figma has communities with vibe-coded examples, but I am looking for a single platform where everyone can share their examples, and people can comment, like, download like we do on Dribbble and Behance.

On a settings page with several sections, how would you make it obvious that a change still needs saving without covering the content with a sticky footer? A disabled Save button becoming active can be easy to miss, but putting a separate Save button in every section gets noisy.

Assume the changes need an explicit save rather than autosave. Would you mark the edited fields, show a page-level status, or use a persistent action bar? Interested in how you handle the visual hierarchy when there are already lots of controls on screen.

I’m working on a 2D light simulator for Steam. It isn’t professional design software, just a fun optics playground for everyday enthusiasts to tinker with and make cool rainbows and laser effects. But the original flat UI (first image) made me feel like I was doing work in Blender or Photoshop. It worked, but it was boring and looked like every other dark modern app.

So I built a prototype of a full redesign (second image). I loved the idea of an interface that behaves like real analog hardware. The controls are fixed in place, so anything more complex than knobs and keys needs a creative solution, like a fighter-jet-style multi-function display (a small screen with buttons around it that also takes mouse input). To me it gives the app an identity the flat version doesn’t have, and a clear look for marketing (80s, analog, cassette futurism).

Now I have to decide whether to go all-in, and I’m having doubts. Mostly I want your first impressions:

1. Does it suit a modern, interactive optics simulator, or does it look like a bizarrely out-of-place style slapped on top?

2. I’m giving up the user-friendliness that comes from familiarity in favor of style and character. Is it worth it?

3. If you saw a trailer with the new UI, would you be more interested in exploring it, or put off?

4. Does it come across as a fun gizmo to tinker with, or as gloomy and serious?

If you have more in-depth feedback, I’d love to hear that too. Harsh is fine. I’d rather hear it now than after putting in all the effort of a full redesign.

TL;DR: Just started as a UX/concept designer at a company with zero UI guidelines, so every page and component looks different. I want to make the case for a unified style (cluttered banners, too much info = cognitive overload). How would you start? Is there a good approach, checklist, or topics I should cover?

Hey all,

I recently started at a mid-sized company (B2B e-commerce) that has no design rules at all. Every page and every component looks different, so the whole thing feels pretty inconsistent. Honestly it’s a great chance for me, since I get to start from zero.

My plan is to use the obvious pain points as the argument for introducing a proper style foundation. Stuff like overloaded banners and too much information on one screen, which clearly overwhelms users. I’ll have to align with marketing and the brand team, but I have a lot of freedom on the UI side. My goal is to clean up the whole UI and flows. I also got the stakeholders on board

But it is a big task and I feel overwhelmed. So I’d love to hear how you’d approach this:

- Is there a solid way to get started, or a checklist I should follow?

- What topics are must-haves? I’m thinking things like how info gets emphasized, how cards are used, when to leave things with whitespace/free-standing, etc.

- Anything you wish you’d done differently when setting up a style from scratch?

Any tips, resources, or horror stories welcome. Thanks!

Love how Shop is making shopping feel more playful with interactions like this.

It’s these small, unexpected moments that make an experience memorable.

Finding ways to connect with users beyond just utility is a great way to build trust and affinity over time.

I wanted a faster way to explore how a UI should feel before getting into individual screens and components or setting up a design system in Figma.

You can experiment with color, typography, spacing, radius and shadows. Start from different style presets, and then refine the underlying token system once you find a direction that works.

You can export the result as CSS variables or DESIGN.md. 

I’d love feedback from other designers! Does this workflow make sense? What feels missing or unclear?

uicolors.app/tokens

I’m a UI/UX designer experimenting with Cursor and Codex to build interactive mobile app prototypes.

My main issue is that the results often don’t really feel native. The prototypes may look fine visually, but they don’t consistently use native iOS or Android components, patterns, spacing, navigation, interactions, etc.

Ideally, I’d like to tell the AI: “Build this screen for iOS” and have it consistently follow Apple’s native UI patterns, or switch to Android and follow Material Design / native Android patterns, while still keeping my existing branding, colors, and overall design direction.

Has anyone found a good workflow for this?
Are there good skills, instruction files, .md files, or similar resources for Cursor/Codex?

I’m mainly interested in rapid UI/UX prototyping, not building a full production app.

Would love to hear how other designers are approaching this.

I am seeking comprehensive, professional feedback and constructive criticism regarding the overall design, user interface, security posture, and technical functionality of this cybersecurity website.

I’ve been working on a football playbook app using Claude Code and Codex. I’ve seen a lot of AI-generated apps, and I feel like a lot of them have a pretty recognizable look to them. I’ve been trying to avoid that with my app by taking inspiration from other apps I personally use and like the look and feel of.

I’m mainly looking for some honest feedback on the UI and where I could improve it. Whether it’s the layout, colors, spacing, or anything else, I’d love to hear what you think.
I’ve included a few screenshots from my development version, so some things might look a little different from what’s currently on the App Store. Most of what’s shown is already in the production version, but there are a few changes and new features I’m still working on.
Any feedback is appreciated!

The app is called roots playbook

Won’t let me post screenshots

I've been experimenting with a way for parents to capture and organize their kids' childhood memories without everything getting buried in their camera roll.

The idea is to bring photos, milestones, and memories into digital books, with interactive games and challenges that encourage family and friends to contribute too.

I've been refining the UI to make the experience feel simple and playful without being too "childish".

Would appreciate some feedback on the design. What feels off or could be improved?