Dressing Up Your User-Interface Design With Ergonomic Guidelines

A UI that caters to your emotional quotients or E.Q.?

Sounds familiar?

Well, it must, considering the elephant in the room — Ergonomics. Now, what has this term got to do with website designing?

Why are designers all of a sudden busy in garnishing their web design salads with this term?

Lots of questions in the queue, we must say! So, let’s start on!

Coined by a Polish scholar, Wojciech Jastrzębowski, in 1857, the term ‘Ergonomics’ originated from the Greek words ergon (work or labor) and nomos (natural laws). Post the adaptation of the term in 1950, the Ergonomic Society was built in 1952. This is composed of individuals from the fields of physiology, psychology, biology, and design.

The core target of ergonomics is to boost specific human values in the workplace and enhance the effectiveness or proficiency of how operations are carried out. While ergonomics had been a prevailing factor among multiple other industries, what with the work from scenarios, its recent introduction in the website designing realm has brought in some significant changes.

Let’s take a look at the details of the topic.

Ergonomics In The Designing Realm

Starting from imbibing a sense of humor in website designing to equipping user interface development tools with domain competence enunciating human factors knowledge, the role of ergonomics is getting extensive.

The ergonomics user interface design aims to offer support to the website designers during the process of designing by providing powerful design aid tools that lead to higher user-relatability and quality user interface.

While this provides a basic layout of the Ergonomic intervention and influence on website designing, the details of the process are much intriguing.

It appears that a majority of the software designers have limited knowledge about human factors. To peace out this growing abyss between software designers and the ability to apprehend the ergonomic quality of UIs, designers bank on computer-based design aids. However, this failed to suffice the purpose and they faced the significant hurdles of -

How to encode and acknowledge human-factor-knowledge

How to represent this knowledge in the mode of designing.

The solution? Opt for the need for UI development tools that are based on human factors knowledge. Such knowledge can be practiced, encountered, learned, and extended while the UI is in practice. This brought everyone into the hunt for a structured, helpful, organized, and unobtrusive way for the integration of human factor knowledge into the UI development tools sans stunting creativity. The answer was found in the GMD project of User Interface Design Assistant (IDA) that empowers UI designers.

While the inclination of designers towards ergonomic factors is explicit, what itches our noggin is why the desperation? What can be gained from this EQ-addition to designing? What is the importance of including ergonomics in the design process? Let’s look into this -

Role Of Human Emotions In UX

Have you ever thought of Nike’s secret recipe for client popularity? Let’s say, their brand is client-centric.

From this brand’s complete focus on customer satisfaction and developing products based on their preference for the popularity that earned it boosted revenue, it is well-established that users are the core of the digital world. The leverages act both ways — consumers and enterprises.

Keeping this in mind, the introduction of human factor knowledge into web design gets crucial over the years. The importance of including ergonomics in the design process includes establishing brand credibility and strengthening client-enterprise relationships.

For ergonomic factors to work in the designing process, several techniques are taken into account. This includes -

1. Pattern — Recognizable web application user interface design patterns that can be optimally followed, influence viewers.
2. Recognize — With the Golden ratio in the perspective, human beings are much more drawn to relatable elements.
3. Humor — Humor designing are convenient to remember as compared to the serious ones.
4. Engage — Offer them interactive tools in the form of chatbots or so that will keep them engaged with your site’s design.
5. Relationship — Websites can no longer merely focus on making sales; it is now about establishing a relationship with the client.
6. Talk — Focus on authentic communication via your site’s design and ensure that the tonality is kept conversational.

As the elements of user interface design and ergonomics get clear, the requirement of guidelines to approach designing is next in the line.

Setting The Ergonomic Guidelines For UI

There are no thumb rules for an excellent software interface design. What is essential is that effective software necessitates the use of proficient techniques like storyboarding. While this technique confirms the information flow from the screen to the user and makes it logical, it also follows up with user expectations and achieves all that any task requires.

Ergonomics has shown an immense impact on the web world -

As for the ergonomic guidelines for user interface design that is centered around -

Here is a list of the best practices -

#1: Consistency

Otherwise called the Principle of Least astonishment, consistency is the key to ensure ergonomic-traces in web designing. The belief is that -

1. Icons need to be consistent between the screens.
2. Selected few aspects of any interface should behave in-tune for all screens across all times.
3. Color consistency is crucial for similarly functioning screens.
4. For multiple screens, there should be homogeneity in the terminology.

#2: Simplicity

Minimalism is a highly-revered trend in the web designing realm. A modern and chic look that resonates with professionalism is in high demand. Ergonomic demands the same to establish a better relationship with the client.

In this regard the essential characters of ergonomics in user interface design include -

1. Bring convenience to the carrying out of tasks with words, icons, etc.
2. Break down complicated tasks into simpler functioning.
3. Take into use objects or icons that beckon familiarity to the concerned user.
4. Resolve long sequences into separate steps.

#3: Human Memory Limitations

With all due respect, human beings now have memories of a goldfish. Look at the social media platforms and their hosted bite-sized videos — the idea gets clear. This makes it essential to break down chunks of content into smaller parts.

We have gathered quite some pointers that will help in this approach -

1. Mitigate a load of working memory by putting a cap on the quantity of information supplied, the sequence length, and the excess of icons.
2. Organizing information into smaller sections.
3. Letting users recognize information rather than recalling them.
4. Creating shorter sequences of linear tasks.
5. Offering feedback on contemporary events and updates.
6. Opting not to flash essential information for a short p[eriod of time on the screens.
7. Offering navigations and cues that act as aids for users to let them identify where they are in the stages of an operation.
8. Offering warnings or reminders when required.
9. Organizing data fields that cater to user expectations and organizing user inputs.

#4: Cognitive Directness

Considering how ergonomics is all about establishing UX as the center of designing, it is crucial to keep it real. Make sure abstractions are the least of the concerns for users.

In this respect, the best way ahead would be in the reusing of real-world metaphors that keep the users grounded, establish relatability for the viewers, and appeal to their cognitive awareness.

You can also,

1. Put to use visual cues, like direction arrows.
2. Mitigate the mental transformation of information.
3. Utilize meaningful icons.

#5: Feedback

Error messages or 404 texts are not desirable anymore. Individuals now seek actionable feedback, one potent with relevant information. Apart from this, for the ergonomics factor to work optimally, you can also opt for -

1. Offering apt semantic feedback that assures the action-intention.
2. Offering articulatory feedback that confirms the physical operation conducted.
3. Providing appropriate status indicators that reflect the progress of users via lengthy operations.

#6: System Message

When dealing with today’s users, keep in mind, they are looking for information considering how well-acquainted they are with the contemporary digital scenario. To deal with this aspect, it is ideal, if you -

1. Let your system get the blame for any error occurring.
2. Offering user-centered wordings over texts.
3. Take use of constructive words that are specific in case of error messages.
4. Do not resort to ambiguous messages.
5. Prevent any alarming or threatening texts.

#7: Display Issues

An error 404 or 309 is less preferable than ‘there is an issue copying files to your disk’. During the designing process, remember this. For designers, the best way out would be -

1. Maintaining display inertia.
2. Logically grouping information.
3. Organizing the complexity of the screen.
4. Structuring information as compared to the mere presence of a narrative format.
5. Eliminating redundant information.
6. Utilizing ‘white space’ in the pages to lend in modernization-outlook for the site.
7. Using familiar icons that help users relate well.
8. Using balanced screen-layout — information should be balanced across each screen quadrant.

#8: Individual Differences

No disrespect intended, but designers must remind themselves that their targeted audience consists of a range of clients with varying expertise over the topic. So, remember, from novice to expert, your designs will be catering to all.

However, easier said than done, how do you address such a wide range of audiences? Here are some helping pointers -

1. Enabling alternate command forms.
2. Accommodating individual differences in the case of user experience.
3. Ensuring user preferences by enabling customization with varying degrees over appearance, screen layout, icons, and many more such elements.

#9: Modality

Enjoying Amazon Prime yet? Well, why wouldn’t you? Free delivery, speedy delivery, perks of additional time before sales, special privileges during flash sales — the list goes on!

But, have you ever tried to un-avail it? Try it! You would see that you are trapped in the labyrinth of the digital maze, making it impossible to find the ‘quit’ button.

That’s kudos to the designer — but, the task isn’t appreciated. That’s a mere inconvenience for users. All that you need to remember is that in this case, users are your center of concern when designing sites and that should be your priority. So, do not follow the footsteps of the said organization. It is always advised to realize this by walking into the user’s footsteps and introducing escape routes.

You can always nudge users to complete a task before moving out to the next. The best practices, in this case, would be to -

1. Reduce pre-emptive modes, especially in the cases of irreversible preemptive modes.
2. Ensure that actions are conveniently reversible. But make the reversible commands spare.

#10: Attention

In-the-face and attention-seeking techniques do not work. Rather, try for the subtle nudges with gentle animations. Remember, it’s all about sophistication and not grandeur as a way to get into the bookmarked section for your potential and existing users.

However, how do you decide upon the subtle tonalities in web designing? Here is some help with this -

1. Avoid using more than 4 colors on your screen. The colors should cater to your targeted audience’s psychology.
2. Put a cap on your use of markers like underline, inverse video, or bold.
3. Avoid using more than 4 different types of font size for the screen and the font type, it is crucial to use serif or serif fonts as it resonates professionalism the best.
4. Don’t fall for all-uppercase letters. It’s best to use a mix between upper and lowercase.
5. Make sure to avoid overusing video or audio.

#11: Anthropomorphization

Do you know those “have a nice day” texts that show on your screen? Yeah….well, they are redundant and not preferable. Ditch that, will you?

Such attribution of human characteristics to objects, distance your users from your brand.

So. now you have the guidelines for ergonomically designed user interfaces to dress up your website designing. But, you would need to have an ergonomic ambiance for your site too, right? Sans this, your elements would fall face-first. Considering all the efforts that you would put into all of this, are you ready to fail in this endeavor?

Yeah, that’s the intrigue on your face that is essential to read in the last section. Come on, start reading! Chop chop!

Setting The Design Environment For Human Factors

So, we put out the ergonomic guidelines that would significantly enhance your GUI and ensure the traces of EQ in your design. However, when it comes to ergonomics user interface design that can be structured like -

-there are a few basic issues that need prior addressing. Here is a list of the 5 of them.

Design Domain

Among the first decisions that one needs to make is deciding upon the problem domain and the space of the domain that needs the ergonomic support. Designers are not far away from developers and their relationship should be complementary, and so should be their functioning. For the UI design to function efficiently, you will have to concentrate on -

1. Cognitive and behavioral science
2. UI hardware and software
3. Human factors, techniques, empirical studies, tools, and methodology.
4. User and system modeling

Elementary Building Blocks

This is a collection of various interaction-based objects much like widgets or controls that are put to use in the creation of GUIs. such elementary building blocks in regards to web designing can be sourced from either -

• A special higher-level of building block that can be created, or
• From what is made available in the tools

In this regard, it is always preferable to reuse higher-level building blocks.

Cognitive Process

The cognitive ergonomics and user interface design involves the use of design environments. What you need to do is cater to the special requirements to build a design-environment. Make sure to support the -

• Search and Comprehensive activities — This helps during the comprehension constraints regarding the domain of problems in the case of the designer’s knowledge. It is always preferable for designers to use ample graphical and text-based representations along with specific abstractions regarding specific domains of problems.
• The attention of website designers — This helps designers become aware of any design issues.

Supporting The Design Process

The support of the web design process is extremely important and needs to support the phases of designing for -

1. Solution evaluation
2. Problem structuring
3. Solution generation.

While the UI design process being supportive used to be a pre-condition, these days it is intrinsic in the cases of the available tools for development.

Designer And Their Domain Model

Make sure to acknowledge the various types of designers. This will help you have a greater and clearer idea about the consequences in the case of

1. How the environment of design is shaped.
2. How the functionality is delivered to designers.
3. The level of functionality that is provided by the designers.

To determine and tally the different designers, one must take into account the following factors -

1. Experience with previous UI development tools
2. Expertise in GUI programming languages
3. Available learning time, etc.

Your conceptual model of the GUIs is largely dependent on the domain models in the design domain structures of UI. For this, it is better to concentrate on the various metaphors, paradigms, perspectives, etc.

Conclusion

From choosing web design elements to the ultimate launching of an aesthetically-pleasing website, designers have considerable responsibility. The inclusion of human emotions in this respect will surely help in lending a helping hand to boost the success of a site. The strengthened relationship established and the brand credibility set down will go a long way. And considering the competition in the online presence world, especially now, thanks to the pandemic, can you afford to pass on this opportunity.

I hope not! So gear up your designing skills and let some emotions drip into your designing techniques — breathe in a few ergonomic details into your digital prowess, opt for ergonomics user interface design!