4 Inspiring UX Design Examples that Showcase the Power of Graphic Design

While there is a lot of difference between UX design and graphic design, they overlap quite considerably. People’s experiences with interfaces depend on a well-thought-out structure, color balance, and so forth, all parameters that graphic design is responsible for.  

The primary focus of UX design is ensuring enjoyable, frictionless, and intuitive interactions with a product or service. On the other hand, graphic design is primarily concerned with developing visual elements that communicate brand messaging or directions for using an interface. UX relies on graphic design to function—otherwise, it would boil down to pencil-drawn wireframes. 

In this article, we’ll showcase a few UX design examples where online products and services were able to craft delightful experiences through thoughtful graphic design. 

Let’s dive right in, shall we? 

4 inspiring UX design examples that leverage graphic design

We’ve put together some awesome UX design examples where graphic design significantly contributes to the overall experience of a product or service. We’ve divided them into four categories:

• Attractive visual design;
• Simple and easy navigation;
• User-oriented web design;
• Good branding and design experience.

1. Attractive visual design

Image by Freepik

High-quality images and videos are critical for enhancing a product’s user experience. Well-thought-out media can elevate the way people interact with a website, which, as a result, leads to engagement, retention, and overall user satisfaction.

There are a couple of reasons why graphic design is so important here. First off, high-quality images help capture a person’s attention, making the experience more interactive and engaging. A visually appealing website, application, or email design, for example, with high-quality images and videos, can encourage users to explore and spend more time on the site or app, increasing the chances of conversion and repeat visits.

Let’s take, for instance, e-commerce platforms. Highlighting items through high-quality pictures and images will give potential customers a “cleaner” and more helpful experience. For instance, let’s look at an online store called Shop-Pêche.

We’re confident that using large, high-quality photos of their products helps Shop-Pêche and their users in a variety of ways:

1. It provides a clear view of the product—by having access to beautiful images of the products, customers can make an informed decision regarding purchasing it. As a result, it alleviates a great deal of anxiety with the purchase. 
2. Respectively, this builds trust in the brand—a detailed view of the product helps a website look more professional and trustworthy. While low-quality images aren’t a telltale sign of a sketchy business, they tend to subconsciously delegitimize websites.
3. As a result, this leads to a more enjoyable experience—people have a much better time shopping, thus linking this experience to the brand. 
4. In the long run, it will significantly reduce returns—if customers have a clear idea of what they’re buying, they aren’t as likely to be disappointed with the product when it makes it to their doorstep. 

2. Simple and easy navigation

Good graphic design is absolutely essential for clear and intuitive navigation. 

Airbnb is a prime example of a platform that invests much time and effort into thoughtful UX design that leads to frictionless and effortless online booking. They have set a very high standard for the industry, which, as a result, incentivized their competitors to create similarly impressive UX design examples of their own.

Let’s take a closer look at Airbnb’s current approach to navigation.

In its current form, Airbnb’s homepage turns the user’s attention to the things that matter most—the listings of rooms, homes, and apartments to rent, etc. Previously, they used a design that pushed users toward their search functionality to look for rentals, which took them to a different page. This introduces a fair share of complexity to the experience. Users might inevitably question what page they are on and be somewhat confused.

This new design revolves around images and adding icons to “ground” users by keeping them on the same page and filtering rentals for them based on a variety of categories like “Lakefront,” “Amazing views,” “OMG,” etc. Further, users may narrow down their search based on specific parameters such as price range, entire homes, pet-friendliness, and so forth.

3. Good branding and design experience

We believe that Endel is an excellent UX design example of a brand that showcases a good branding and design experience. 

Their website has a clean and slick aesthetic, with pretty straightforward navigation and clear CTAs. The people behind Endel have spent much time building a consistent brand kit —and it shows. Their high-quality pictures, thoughtful graphics, and smooth background images throughout the site help to convey the company’s focus on wellness and relaxation.

In terms of branding, the website features Endel’s logo prominently throughout and uses consistent color schemes and typography to reinforce the brand identity. The language and messaging on the website also align with the company’s focus on personalized wellness, with clear explanations of the technology and approach used to create the personalized soundscapes.

4. User-oriented web design

Mailchimp is one of the most notable UX design examples among highly successful platforms—they invest a fair share of their time and effort into their brand. They have one of the best-in-class tone of voice guidelines and one of the most recognizable identities in the digital space. 

This isn’t something that happens by chance. Their product team has spent countless hours researching, designing, developing, and testing decisions that pertain to graphic design and the overall look and feel of the product. 

Here are a few important things they excel at: 

1. Consistency—their visual and textual style is consistent across all their channels, such as their website, mobile app, marketing materials, etc.
2. Simplicity—their design is clean and minimalistic, which makes people’s experience with their platform significantly easier, even if it’s their first time there.
3. Intuitive hierarchy—the platform’s design focuses on the things that matter most and ensures that the relationship between all the elements is clear and straightforward. This allows users to act confidently and easily to get the information they need.

The bottom line

In conclusion, these 4 inspiring UX design examples showcase the power of graphic design in creating exceptional user experiences. User experience is a vital component of modern product design; however, it simply depends on stellar graphic design to function. We hope you found these UX design examples valuable.