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The 10 Most Popular UXPin Articles of 2015

Jerry Cao
By Jerry Cao on 28th December, 2015 Updated on 22nd April, 2020

Looking for something to read to keep your UX skills sharp for the new year?

At UXPin, we strongly believe that great designers are lifelong students. 2015 was a great year for us as we worked with even more designers to bring practical knowledge to our readers. We’re grateful to all the talented designers we’ve been honored to work with (and learn from), as well as to all our readers for their great feedback.

If you haven’t read these pieces already, check out the 10 best articles from 2015 as determined by our readers.

1. Responsive vs Adaptive Design: What’s the Best Choice for Designers?

Illustration of adaptive web design

If you haven’t altered your design process to put focus on the multi-device experience, now’s the time to do it.

This article compares the two most popular approaches for multi-device design, responsive and adaptive, and clears up when and how to use each, going into such technical detail as loading times, important screen sizes, and layout planning.

2. How to Use the Best UI Design Patterns

Screenshot of design patterns

With instantly recognizable usability and familiar application, UI design patterns can enhance almost any interface, as long as you know how to use them.

This piece acts as a primer for pattern usage: first it explains the different types, then the different methods of implementation, then the 4-step process for finding the one that’s best for your needs. The piece ends with links to the best free pattern libraries available online now.

3. Lean UX vs. Agile UX — Is There a Difference?

Lean and agile Venn diagram

In a short but practical piece, our CEO Marcin Treder definitively clears up the difference between lean UX and agile UX. While the two practices have a lot in common, they are not interchangeable and the subtle differences can work better for some projects than others.

If you’ve ever been unclear about these two terms, take a minute to read it explained.

4. How to Write a Painless Product Requirements Document

Illustration of a design process

PRDs can be a pain, but they don’t have to be.

This piece covers everything you need to know about this necessary evil, including both the core components as well as best practices. You’ll learn the expectations from stakeholders, target length, and proper formats, and you can see the points explained through a sample Product Hunt PRD.

5. Responsive Web Design Cheat Sheet

Preview of the responsive design cheat sheet

Our team created this infographic as an at-a-glance reference guide for the pixel dimensions of popular screen sizes.

Color-coded for instant understanding, this handy data sheet means you no longer have to worry about memorizing different device dimensions. Keep on your computer for when you need it, or print it out and hang it on the wall.

6. Product Manager and UX Designer — What’s the Difference?

Product manager vs. UI designer

Just as with Lean UX and Agile UX, our CEO Marcin Treder again clears up the differences between these two commonly confused titles.

This piece goes in-depth with the differences between product managers and UX designers, including an overview of job requirements, and when the same person can occupy both positions without harming the end goal.

7. 10 Tips & Best Practices for SketchApp

Sketch app layout settings

Young yet powerful, Sketch is quickly carving its place as a go-to tool for interface design — it is, after all, designed to be a Photoshop for web designers.

Whether you’re a long-time user or considering switching over, Product Designer Narek Khachatryan teaches you some techniques for optimizing your workflow.

8. Turn Sketch Mockups Into Animated Interactive Prototypes

Screenshot of a hi-fi prototype

UXPin allows you to seamlessly integrate Sketch files so that you can easily turn them from static mockups into interactive, high-definition prototypes.

This articles acts as a quick visual reference.

9. How to Quickly Animate a Photoshop Mockup into a Prototype

Animation of an interactive prototype

Just like Sketch files, Photoshop mockups can also be integrated with UXPin to add interactivity to pixel-perfect designs. This lets you create mockups in the image editor you prefer, and then turn it into a hi-fi prototype without rebuilding it. This article shows you how.

10. Navigating Mobile Applications: 5 UX Design Patterns

Screenshots of Tinder app

If you’ve ever felt lost when designing a navigation system for mobile apps, this piece has five potential solutions. This piece outlines the five most popular UI patterns for mobile navigation, with best practices and screenshots from the apps that use them best.

Bonus: Further Reading

While these blog posts work great if you only have a little time, they only skim the surface compared to our free e-books.

For the full treatment on any number of UX topics — prototyping, user research, the design process, collaboration, patterns, and dozens more — check out our free design library with over 70 e-books to choose from, with more on the way.

We’re also proud to release our end-of-the-year UX Design Trends Bundle. In one free download, you can own three of our most popular e-books, which chronicle the best practices for the year’s most influential design trends, and how they’ll evolve in the next year.

UX Trends bundle screenshot

Get over 350 pages of advice, along with 300+ examples of great design).

Featured Photo credit: Ranzie Anthony

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