How to Design UI Cards

What are UI cards?

Cards are UI elements that contain content and actions related to a single subject. A typical card layout features an image, title, description, and action(s). By applying these tips, you’ll be on your way to designing exceptional UI cards.

Group elements in meaningful layouts

Grouping elements in meaningful layouts speeds up information processing and comprehension.

If the space is too confined, you can achieve grouping with colors, as seen in the example. The author and the date are slightly lighter than the title, helping to create clear, well-structured UI cards.

Use simple type

It’s important to focus on legibility over decoration. More often than not, sans-serif fonts are the safest choice. You should keep the focus on readability, not decoration, to create effective UI cards.

Control letter spacing

Lowercase letters are usually optimally spaced in professional fonts. You should treat the letter spacing as shown in the example for balanced and consistent UI cards.

Use auto-layout

You can set spacing rules between the cards by using auto-layout. When using auto-layout, look at what part of the content varies and what part is fixed. Define the height with auto-layout, as shown in the example, to maintain uniformity and achieve clean UI cards.

Clearly indicate interactive elements

It’s vital to design hover behavior(s) to clearly indicate interactive elements. You can also preselect the most common selections.

In the example shown, the color is used to signify that both the time and “reserve” are clickable, helping to make UI cards intuitive and functional.

Mind the readability

Always keep readability in mind. What do we mean by that? You should put the text over the images only if the image isn’t the primary source of information.

Also, it’s good to add a transparent overlay. That way, you’ll ensure legibility and accessibility. See the example below for a step-by-step guide to creating an overlay for UI cards.

Conclusion

Learning how to design UI cards involves thoughtful grouping, simple typography, proper spacing, and clear interactive cues. By following these steps and prioritizing readability, you’ll create UI cards that are visually stunning and highly functional. Let these tips guide you toward mastering the art of effective UI card design.