This active learning activity provides many layers of learning that are much better than learning theory. By closely reproducing an authentic site, students will acquire practical skills, learn about design principles, learn about web development, and learn how complex web development is. In this article I will explain why reproducing websites is such a valuable experience, how to structure the activity, and its usefulness for students about to start careers in UI/UX and web design.
Why Replication as a Teaching Method? Replication, or the process of rebuilding or reproducing, has commonly been used in both research and education. In terms of UI/UX and web design replication allows students to construct a bridge between concepts and their use in a real-life scenario.
1. Learning by Doing
Replication requires active engagement through the design and function of a website. Rather than watching a video, or simply consuming content, student’s breakdown and create a website which includes both design and functionality. This kinetic approach to learning enhances retention and understanding.
2. Understanding Design Decisions
When students replicate a web site, they are reflecting on design decisions and the rationale behind the decisions: layout, typography, color, navigation, interactivity, etc. Understanding the purpose of design decisions that are consistent with user experience is useful to students.
3. Improving Technical Skills
Replicating designs pushes students to practice important front-end coding skills such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Replication also engages problem-solving skills, as students must think through how to recreate animations, responsive layouts, and complex UI components.
4. Building a Portfolio
The replication projects are finished products that students can add to their portfolios to demonstrate that they can build a real-world design following best practices.
5. Promoting Critical Thinking
Students learn to assess what aspects of the original design work well and what aspects could be improved. This critical viewpoint is critical for any UI/UX professional.
How to Plan a Website Replication Task
A replication task must be carefully planned and scaffolded for students to learn effectively. The following steps are a suggested course of action:
Step 1: Choose an Appropriate Site
Select a site that is not too simple or too complex, preferably one that has design features and functionality corresponding to the skill level of your students. If the students are new to web design, static websites with simple layouts are a good choice. More experienced students can create more advanced sites with dynamic or interactive features.
Step 2: Define Learning Outcomes
Define what you want students to be able to do. You might have students perform responsive design, grid system design, huge navigation menus, animated features, or other specific tasks.
Step 3: Provide Resources and Documentation
Once you have chosen a site and defined your learning outcomes, provide your students with resources, such as style guides, wireframes, or screenshots of the original site. Remind students that they can dissect the site into components and design their processes.
Step 4: Suggest Keep track of their process
Students need to keep track of their process by documenting the challenges, solutions and ideas that arose. This is useful because it resembles a workflow in professional situations and it supports reflection.
Step 5: Organize Feedback and Discussion
Plan peer review sessions and instructor feedback moments to engage students in a discussion about, what they successfully replicated and what they thought was successful but could have done more effectively. Prompt students to consider ways to enhance the design or experience for the user.
Step 6: Reflect on the Experience
Ask students to write a short reflection on what they learned in the experience of replicating, focusing on technical skills, their understanding of design, and any surprises they had.
The Value of Replication in UI/UX Education
1. Reinforces Theory
Replication turns an abstract UI/UX concept into a real-life example of how design ideas such as hierarchy, spacing of elements, and consistency can inform design.
2. Creates Competence
When students complete a full replication of a website, they feel competent in their ability to handle a real-world project.
3. Develops Problem Solving
Students come across challenges in practical use of the web, from cross-browser compatibility to responsive breakpoints, and learn to navigate those challenges.
4. Fosters Attention to Detail
The task is to replicate, meaning students must pay attention to what the design actually is, and be as precise as possible – forcing them to look beyond the obvious design details that they otherwise would not notice.
5. Familiarizes Students with Professional Workflows
The exercise of having students recreate an existing design imitates a daily occurrence in the real world: designers and developers are often handed existing designs that an organization has commissioned, or inherited code from a previous project. This prepares students for the need to adapt workplace requirements to existing conditions and more readily support the industry.
Overcoming Challenges
Replication projects can be difficult. Here are some ways to support students in their projects:
Narrow the scope of the projects so students do not feel overwhelmed and further divide the work into smaller tasks. Allow students to work together, in pairs or groups, which encourages peer learning. Set clear expectations for the grading of replicating an existing object so that students know it is the effort, accuracy, and problem-based approach that you are assessing, not their ability to copy something pixel by pixel. Remind the class explicitly that their replication is for learning purposes only. Use this opportunity to discuss issues related to intellectual property in design, including how to ethically use and represent other designers’ work.
Real-World Examples of Replication in Education
Replication is what’s used to teach, across the disciplines, how to use research methods and practical skills. For instance, in psychology, students sometimes replicate an experiment to better understand methodology or data analysis. Computer science courses often have students replicate classic networking experiments so they can build a solid understanding of key concepts and tools.
Within UI/UX education, replication projects have been shown to increase student engagement and skill acquisition. Students express that gathering materials to rebuild a real website engages them far more, and helps them understand the subtleties and common misunderstandings of a design and coding far more than any theoretical exercises.
Conclusion: Replication as a Pathway to Mastery
Website replication isn’t just copying; whenever you replicate a website as a learning activity, you are taking an active role in practice and learning, strengthening your technical skills, design sensibility and critical thinking. For UI/UX students, replication enables practical insight into how great websites are designed, built and how they function.
By using replication exercises in my teaching, I am preparing my students to not only replicate designs, but to begin the innovation process and start building upon them. This provides important insight into the craft of UI/UX design and gives my students the skills and competence needed to succeed in their projects.
References:
uxpin.com
arbydesign.hashnode.dev
fourzerothree.in
softlite.io