User Experience — Design Principles
User experience is a vast field and there are a number of different principles followed all over the world for various kinds of products. With Artifical intelligence , Virtual reality, Robotics, the way we see the world today and use technology is changing everyday. Change is constant just like some fundamental rules about human behaviour.
Here is a list of 9 Design priciples that I keep in mind when designing a product.
Design Principle I: Hick’s Law
Hick’s Law predicts that the time and the effort it takes to mak a decision, increases with the number of options
When to Use: Response time is critical
When NOT to Use: Complex decision making
Analytics Hints
Time spent on site : If the user spends too little time, they probably left without making a decision. If the user spends too much time,they probably got distracted from the goal.
Page views : If the navigation is too complex, the number of page views is likely to be lower than if it was simple.
Help make the Choice easier for the User
Design Principle II: Ockham’s Razor
Given a choice between functionally equivalent designs, the simplest design should be selected
KEY FACTORS :
Relevance : Include information required for the user to complete the task
Helpfulness : Information should help guide the user
Ease of Use : Information should be readily accessible to the user
Trust : Users should be able to believe and trust the information available
The Simplest solution is the best solution
Design Principle III: Cognitive Load
The total amount of mental effort that is required to complete a task involving processing of information.
Avoid Visual Clutter: Use meaningful links,images,typography
Mental Models: Build on users perception of how websites work today
Offload Tasks: Lower the need to read and remember to make decisions
ATTENTION = WORKING MEMORY
Design Principle IV: Recognition Over Recall
Memory for recognizing things is better than memory for recalling them.
- Visual elements to build recognizable connections
- Maintain Consistency in the content throughout the user journey
- Focus on the structure of the task or process
DON’T MAKE ME THINK
Design Principle V: Fitts Law
The amount of time required to move to a target is a function of the target size and distance to the target.
Minimize Physical Exertion: Size, Spacing and proportion of objects
Optimize for Proximity: Structure elements based on priority & usage
Generous Clicking space: Key elements should bigger to be clickable
Help Users get what they with minimal effort
Design Principle VI: Signal to Noise Ratio
A measure of how much relevant to irrelevant information is displayed
- Emphasize on important elements in the User journey
- Objects should work together in harmony, in unity towards a single purpose
- Use more whitespace to improve legibility and readability
Design is about Communication
Design Principle VII: Aesthetic Usability Effect
Aesthetic designs are perceived as easier to use than less-aesthetic designs.
KEY EFFECTS:
- Tolerant of Usability Faults
- Perceive as Easier to use
- Positive feelings towards the product
- Motivation to complete the task
What looks Good , Feels Good
Design Principle VIII: Affordance
Visual appearance of an object suggests its use.
Form follows Function
Design Principle IX: Accessibility
Accessibility enables people with disabilities to perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the web. Below are the guidelines suggested by the World Wide Web Consortium(W3C)
Perceivable
Text Alternatives: Provide text alternatives for non-text content so that it can be changed into large print, braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.
Time-based Media: Provide alternatives for audio and video based media.
Adaptable: Create content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.
Distinguishable: Make it easier for users to see and hear content including contrst ratio,use of color, text and image size for different devices.
Operable
Keyboard Accessible: Make all functionality available from a keyboard.
Enough Time: Provide users enough time to read and use content.
Seizures: Don’t design content in a way that is known to cause seizures.
Navigable: Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine where they are.
Understandable
Readable: Make text content readable and understandable.
Predictable: Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.
Input Assistance: Help users avoid and correct mistakes.
Robust
Compatible: Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents, including assistive technologies.