Minimalist UI design is easy to admire and surprisingly hard to get right. Fidan Shikhaliyeva came to it through an unexpected route – an IT degree that opened a door she didn’t know she was looking for. Nearly two years into her design career, she’s developed a clear point of view: design is not about personal taste, it’s about solving problems cleanly and making ideas legible.
In this interview, she shares how she found her direction, where she still gets stuck, and what she would do differently if starting over today.
"A strong design should be both beautiful and understandable."
From IT student to UI designer – how curiosity became a career
Fidan didn’t start with design in mind. She started with IT – a broad field that pushed her to explore different directions and figure out where she actually fit. She became curious about design, especially UI design, and started asking herself what it really means to create digital experiences. That curiosity took hold.
The more she explored, the more she felt connected to it – the way design sits at the intersection of technology, creativity, structure, and communication. What started as a question became a direction, and now a career.
What does it mean for a design to truly work?
For Fidan, the signal is straightforward: the client is happy, and the result matches their vision. That moment is important because design is not only about what I personally like. It is also about understanding the client’s needs and turning their vision into something clear, professional, and visually strong.
When communication, visual direction, and execution align, the outcome feels right – not just to the designer, but to the person it was made for.
The challenge of staying minimal when the brief says otherwise
Minimalist UI design is Fidan’s natural territory. Clean layouts, clear hierarchy, nothing unnecessary. But clients don’t always want that – and that tension is where she tends to get stuck. The challenge is to stay true to my design taste while also meeting the client’s expectations.
Her way through it is to go back to the brief. What does the client actually want to communicate? From there, she looks for ways to add expressiveness without adding noise. The goal is always the same: simplicity, creativity, and functionality in the right balance.
How hierarchy and spacing do the heavy lifting
When balancing visual impact with clarity, Fidan doesn’t rely on a single element. She builds from structure. The underlying principle is something she comes back to consistently: a strong design should be both beautiful and understandable.
Modern and appealing, but readable at a glance. That combination is harder than it sounds – and it’s the core challenge of minimalist UI design done well.
"I pay attention to hierarchy, spacing, typography, colors, and overall structure so that the design can catch attention without becoming complicated."
Designing for others, not for yourself
One of the clearest shifts in Fidan’s thinking came from experience rather than theory. She’d had designs that looked good to her but didn’t land with clients or users – and those moments forced a change in perspective.
A design can be visually attractive, but if it does not serve the goal, communicate clearly, or reflect the client’s needs, then it is not fully successful.
Now she looks at her work from multiple angles – as a designer, as the client, and as the end user. That shift made her more purposeful and less attached to her own aesthetic preferences.
AI is changing what designers need to be
Fidan sees the rise of AI as a shift in what design actually requires. Tools can now produce visual output quickly – which means the value of a designer is moving somewhere else. The real value of a designer is becoming more about thinking, meaning, direction, and decision-making.
She’s adapting by staying current with new tools while focusing more on concept, usability, and purpose. Her read on the future: designers will need to be strategic and adaptable, not just creative.
What she’d do differently
If starting over, Fidan would get into real projects earlier. Theory matters, but it only takes you so far. Design cannot be learned fully only through theory. There is always something that becomes clear only when you work on real projects, communicate with clients, and solve real problems.
Practice, internships, client work – these are what accelerate growth. And in a field that keeps evolving, the ability to keep learning from real experience is what matters most.
About the designer
Fidan Shikhaliyeva is a UX/UI and graphic designer with a background in information technology and a preference for clean, minimal work. She believes design is most powerful when it’s purposeful – when structure, clarity, and communication come together to make an idea immediately legible.
Almost two years into her career, she’s still early in her journey – and clear-eyed about how much of it is still ahead.
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