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August 17 2016
A few things remain consistent and inevitable in life i.e. death, taxes and the question of a stranger, “What do you do?” A minute after the handshake.
As a software product development team dealing with UI/UX matters 24/7, we have been trying to find the answer to this question and here is what we came up with: Our job – to be inside the user’s brain. We need to look at the design through the user’s eyes and get rid of potential problems or confusion.
We have compiled a list of 5 UX principles that our UX team uses in the design process. Understanding how and why any UX solution takes a long time in explaining to others in the team, who take even more time incarnating the UX for the final product.
Here are the 5 golden rules you can follow to make things better, easier and safer.
1. Design Metabolism
A strange term I’ve come up with, but a good design is easily digested, the brain does not have to spend a lot of energy to find out what it was looking at. If you’re lucky, people just “understand”, without the need for explanation.
People sometimes need guidance to make decisions, so the menu with a list of the 12 built-in elements may seem complicated. The organization hierarchy (size, color, icons) can help identify common points that allow someone to find what they are looking for faster.
Another good example of digestible design – the new user guides, are often submitted to the Board in a checkerboard pattern, a person can think about one. But imagine the opposite, to get into a completely new direction with a bunch of instructions. Nobody likes surprises of this kind.
Consider all the decisions that you ask someone to make regarding your product. The brain has a limited amount of cognitive resources during the day – using them unnecessarily is insulting.
2. Clarity
A good design is honest. It is essential that users understand the real meaning. Do not speak modestly or be unclear about your product.
For example price is an area where clarity is everything. People will not click “Buy” if they cannot understand why they need to pay. So just follow the Golden Rule. Explain the way you would like to explain it to yourself. Let all be very clear. You know what you expect from the products that you choose to use, so do not create anything less.
3. Trust
A good design is easy to trust. Before you ask someone to complete the action, do everything possible to help yourself understand why the task is required. Honest and clear explanations builds trust at every stage.
Consider Uber (and Careem, whichever you prefer). They did something due to which 100-year-old industry has been revolutionized. The app saves your billing information, which you do not want to share with a stranger, and helps secure the deal.
4. Familiarity
The innovative design is amazing, but the design that looks familiar is better. New frameworks and plugins can look good on Dribble, but if no one clicks on the “buy” button, you have a problem.
While it may seem that the main objective – the preservation of your product design and functionality is the same from platform to platform, pay attention to the details of each OS.
Using the well-known patterns of icons – a great way to look native, even if it is not. Testing your solution on different devices takes a long time to create a natural environment in each, and that’s where a tool such as InVision helps.
5. Delight
There is one simple rule, the more the team performs, the less the user has to do anything. The more you bring simplicity to a complex problem, the greater number of will be pleased by your decision.
Complete delight is when someone forgets that your product is “product” because it is so useful in a person’s life. It is easy to estimate your own product when you are honest with yourself. Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, think the way they do and voila, you’ve achieved your goal.
