Golden Rules Of UI Design
UI(User Interface) design is the procedure of developing User Interfaces for the software. UI focuses on the ease of use and attractive design that makes using the software convenient. Without a good UI design, it becomes difficult to use the software and accomplish the required tasks.
What Are Heuristics?
Heuristics are the mental shortcuts that allow users to solve problems and accomplish tasks efficiently and quickly. They aim to reduce the mental effort. They play a crucial role in decision making as well as problem-solving.
Role Of Heuristics In Software Development
Heuristics act as the general guidelines when it comes to best practices related to UI design. During the process of software development, the most important features are designed in such a way that they can be recalled easily.
Heuristics offer the required flexibility and the rules can always be tailored as per the changing requirements. The agile software development teams collaborate and take decisions, however many important decisions are made outside the collaborative sessions.
Heuristics provide the solutions by allowing teams to make decisions rapidly and make sure that they align with the objectives. They also leave room for creativity and individual judgment.
Golden Rules Of UI Design
- Consistency
It is important for the developers to use the same style of visual elements like buttons, forms, etc throughout. The same color pattern must be used across the entire interface. The same terminology which is easy to understand should be used and the workflow must be consistent as well. Consistency allows the users to get familiar with the software fairly quickly.
- Shortcuts
Shortcuts allow the users to accomplish the common tasks quickly. Advanced users find the features like hidden commands, function keys, macro facilities, and abbreviations to be very useful.
- Feedback
The users should never feel lost while using a software. They should always be informed of what’s happening and must be provided a relevant feedback. For instance, they should be able to track the progress of downloads or uploads.
- Easy Reversal
It is natural for the users to make mistakes while using a software. It should be easy for them to reverse their previous action. The developers need to provide the reversal options for the last action, data entry, and group of actions.
- Error Handling
Try to check for the common errors and notify the users even before they commit. For instance, while entering the passwords, let the users know what kind of characters can they use and if their data entry fulfills the condition or not.
- Minimalist Design
Make sure that the design is clutter-free and only includes only the valuable and relevant information. The users must be able to access the different sections very easily.
- Reduce Mental Effort
The software must be developed in such a way that it is as user-friendly as possible. The users must not be made to think or work too hard to be able to use the software.
Role Of The User And The Interface
The role of the user is to get familiar with the software and the role of the interface is to allow the user to get familiar quickly. The user needs to learn the shortcuts to accomplish common tasks quickly and the interface includes the shortcuts to let the users use them.
How Important Is UI Design In Software Development?
UI design is extremely important in the software development as it aims to improve the user experience. A great user experience is crucial for growing the user base.
UI is the first thing that the users see when they open a software. They are not aware of the processes running behind the scenes and only what they see and do on the screen is relevant to them. The user interface brings different sections of the software together and allows the users to access them in a convenient way.
How UI Designers Make The Life Of The Users Easy?
UI designers make the life of the users easy by following the golden rules listed above. If they do their job correctly, the UI looks visually appealing and they provide all the necessary tools right in the front.
They make sure that the design is visually appealing and aim to create innovative apps or websites. They aim to minimize the mental effort required for using the software. Overall, they design the user interface in such a way that the software becomes as user-friendly and easy to use as possible.
Final Words
The UI aims to improve the interactivity and the presentation of the software. The UI developers follow the golden rules to make sure that the users have the best possible experience while using the software. With the right UI design, the software becomes easy to use, visually appealing, organized, efficient and engaging.
