Rehan Pinjari
10 UI/UX Cheat Codes for INSTANTLY Better Designs
Category:
Design
Author:
Anshul
Read:
6 mins
Location:
Los Angeles
Date:
Aug 30, 2025
Do you want to immediately boost the look, feel, well-being, and usability of your designs? The reality is that you don’t need years of experience to get results that are obvious. Sometimes it’s the small, strategic changes that take a design from good to superb. When these small details are continually carried out, interfaces feel professional, polished, and simple. Here’s a full set of UI/UX cheat codes that you can use right now.
Principle: Users should be able to understand your page within three seconds. How to Apply: Take a step back and look at your screen. What catches your attention first? Pinpoint the key action: is it clear or covered within distractions? Quick Fix: Use size, color, and layout to draw attention to your key call to action. CTAs stand out because of their contrast and whitespace. For longer pages, repeat CTAs wisely while avoiding complexity. Why it works: Humans scan screens fast. A clear hierarchy guarantees users understand the goal immediately, boosting engagement and reducing confusion.
erning Strategies for Large Text: Kerning (the space between letters) can create or break huge headlines. While little type often shows up well automatically, text larger than 70-80 px needs manual correction. Tip: For large headlines, adjust the kerning by -2% to -4%. Small but fast boosts readability and professionalism. Font Choices: For maximum clarity, limit yourself to two typefaces (1 header and 1 body). If you want a no-nonsense, step-by-step method for choosing and pairing type, check out my guide on picking Google Fonts like a pro. Too many fonts give visual noise. Why it works: Well-spaced, consistent font easily guides the eye and shows hierarchy with no effort.
Most UIs use rounded corners; however, arranged corners can look unbalanced if not carefully designed. Rule: Inner corner radius = Outer radius — distance between corners. Example: Outer = 30px, distance = 10px → Inner = 20px For pill shapes, this is meaningless. Pro Tip: Use iOS Corner Smoothing to get some curving that gives a professional finish. Why it works: Balanced curves look intentional and clean, reducing random asymmetry that people see as “off” naturally.
Principle: Alignment = visual clarity. How to Apply: Keep a consistent spacing system (4–8–16 px). Instead of manually connecting everything to a grid. Figma’s Auto Layout tool is your best partner. To speed up layouts, exports, and component consistency, see the Figma plugins I use as a real designer; they make Auto Layout and tokens actually usable. Quick Tip: Round large items to the closest 5 or 10 pixels; round small UI elements to 4 or 8 pixels. To keep your files friction-free and avoid time lost to messy layers, read about the common Figma layer mistakes designers make and quick fixes. Why it works: Consistent spacing improves rhythm, decreases brain effort, and expresses professionalism.
Colors communicate mood, hierarchy, and focus. If you want a stepwise, accessibility-aware color process (HSL/contrast, light/dark tokens), read how to choose UI colors like a pro (without the guesswork). How to Apply: Use HSB (Hue, Saturation, and Brightness) to get perfect control. Start with a base color: boost saturation by 20%, reduce brightness by 10%, and change the hue somewhat based on the situation at hand. Repeat with secondary and accent colors. Tools: Coolors and Tailwind CSS for fail-proof combinations. If you want a compact, vetted toolstack to ship these cheat codes faster, check 5 tools to 10x your design game in 2025. Smart Backgrounds: Avoid pure black and white: use soft shades of accent colors. Dark mode: Dark blue instead of black. Light mode: Soft pastel shades. Why it works: Softly controlled colors reduce pressure, direct attention, and give a modern impression without guesswork.
