Clarity is job #1
Clarity is the first and
most important job of any interface. To be effective using an interface you've
designed, people must be able to recognize what it is, care about why they
would use it, understand what the interface is helping them interact with,
predict what will happen when they use it, and then successfully interact with
it. While there is room for mystery and delayed gratification in interfaces,
there is no room for confusion. Clarity inspires confidence and leads to
further use. One hundred clear screens is preferable to a single cluttered one.
Interfaces exist to enable interaction
Interfaces exist to
enable interaction between humans and our world. They can help clarify,
illuminate, enable, show relationships, bring us together, pull us apart,
manage our expectations, and give us access to services. The act of designing
interfaces is not Art. Interfaces are not monuments unto themselves. Interfaces
do a job and their effectiveness can be measured. They are not just
utilitarian, however. The best interfaces can inspire, evoke, mystify, and
intensify our relationship with the world.
Conserve attention at all costs
We live in a world of
interruption. It's hard to read in peace anymore without something trying to
distract us and direct our attention elsewhere. Attention is precious. Don't
litter the side of your applications with distractible material…remember why
the screen exists in the first place. If someone is reading let them finish
reading before showing that advertisement (if you must). Honor attention
and not only will your readers be happier, your results will be better. When
use is the primary goal, attention becomes the prerequisite. Conserve it at all
costs.
Keep users in control
Humans are most
comfortable when they feel in control of themselves and their environment.
Thoughtless software takes away that comfort by forcing people into unplanned
interactions, confusing pathways, and surprising outcomes. Keep users in
control by regularly surfacing system status, by describing causation (if you do
this that will happen) and by giving insight into what to expect at every turn.
Don't worry about stating the obvious…the obvious almost never is.
Direct manipulation is best
The best interface is
none at all, when we are able to directly manipulate the physical objects in
our world. Since this is not always possible, and objects are increasingly
informational, we create interfaces to help us interact with them. It is easy
to add more layers than necessary to an interface, creating overly-wrought buttons,
chrome, graphics, options, preferences, windows, attachments, and other cruft
so that we end up manipulating UI elements instead of what's important.
Instead, strive for that original goal of direct manipulation…design an
interface with as little a footprint as possible, recognizing as much as
possible natural human gestures. Ideally, the interface is so slight that the
user has a feeling of direct manipulation with the object of their focus.
One primary action per screen
Every screen we design
should support a single action of real value to the person using it. This makes
it easier to learn, easier to use, and easier to add to or build on when
necessary. Screens that support two or more primary actions become confusing
quickly. Like a written article should have a single, strong thesis, every
screen we design should support a single, strong action that is its raison
d'etre.
Keep secondary actions secondary
Screens with a single
primary action can have multiple secondary actions but they need to be kept
secondary! The reason why your article exists isn't so that people can share it
on Twitter…it exists for people to read and understand it. Keep secondary
actions secondary by making them lighter weight visually or shown after the
primary action has been achieved.
Provide a natural next step
Very few interactions are
meant to be the last, so thoughtfully design a next step for each interaction a
person has with your interface. Anticipate what the next interaction should be
and design to support it. Just as we like in human conversation, provide an
opening for further interaction. Don't leave a person hanging because they've
done what you want them to do…give them a natural next step that helps them
further achieve their goals.
Appearance follows behavior
Humans are most
comfortable with things that behave the way we expect. Other people, animals,
objects, software. When someone or something behaves consistently with our
expectations we feel like we have a good relationship with it. To that end designed
elements should look like how they behave. Form follows function. In
practice this means that someone should be able to predict how an interface
element will behave merely by looking at it. If it looks like a
button it shouldact like a button. Don't get cute with the basics of
interaction…keep your creativity for higher order concerns.
Consistency matters
Following on the previous
principle, screen elements should not appear consistent with each other unless
they behave consistently with each other. Elements that behave the same should
look the same. But it is just as important for unlike elements to appear unlike
(be inconsistent) as it is for like elements to appear consistent. In an effort
to be consistent novice designers often obscure important differences by using
the same visual treatment (often to re-use code) when different visual
treatment is appropriate.
Strong visual hierarchies work best
A strong visual hierarchy
is achieved when there is a clear viewing order to the visual elements on a
screen. That is, when users view the same items in the same order every time.
Weak visual hierarchies give little clue about where to rest one's gaze and end
up feeling cluttered and confusing. In environments of great change it is hard
to maintain a strong visual hierarchy because visual weight is relative: when
everything is bold, nothing is bold. Should a single visually heavy element be
added to a screen, the designer may need to reset the visual weight of all
elements to once again achieve a strong hierarchy. Most people don't notice
visual hierarchy but it is one of the easiest ways to strengthen (or weaken) a
design.
Smart organization reduces cognitive load
As John Maeda says in his
book Simplicity, smart organization of screen elements can make the
many appear as the few. This helps people understand your interface easier and
more quickly, as you've illustrated the inherent relationships of content in
your design. Group together like elements, show natural relationships by
placement and orientation. By smartly organizing your content you make it less
of a cognitive load on the user…who doesn't have to think about how elements
are related because you've done it for them. Don't force the user to figure
things out…show them by designing those relationships into your screens.
Highlight, don't determine, with color
The color of physical
things changes as light changes. In the full light of day we see a very
different tree than one outlined against a sunset. As in the physical world,
where color is a many-shaded thing, color should not determine much in an
interface. It can help, be used for highlighting, be used to guide attention,
but should not be the only differentiator of things. For long-reading or
extended screen hours, use light or muted background colors, saving brighter
hues for your accent colors. Of course there is a time for vibrant background
colors as well, just be sure that it is appropriate for your audience.
Progressive disclosure
Show only what is
necessary on each screen. If people are making a choice, show enough
information to allow them the choice, then dive into details on a subsequent
screen. Avoid the tendency to over-explain or show everything all at once. When
possible, defer decisions to subsequent screens by progressively disclosing
information as necessary. This will keep your interactions more clear.
Help people inline
In ideal interfaces, help
is not necessary because the interface is learnable and usable. The step below
this, reality, is one in which help is inline and contextual, available
only when and where it is needed, hidden from view at all other times. Asking
people to go to help and find an answer to their question puts the onus on them
to know what they need. Instead build in help where it is needed…just make sure
that it is out of the way of people who already know how to use your interface.
A crucial moment: the zero state
The first time experience
with an interface is crucial, yet often overlooked by designers. In order to
best help our users get up to speed with our designs, it is best to design for
the zero state, the state in which nothing has yet occurred. This state
shouldn't be a blank canvas…it should provide direction and guidance for
getting up to speed. Much of the friction of interaction is in that initial
context…once people understand the rules they have a much higher likelihood of
success.
Great design is invisible
A curious property of
great design is that it usually goes unnoticed by the people who use it. One reason
for this is that if the design is successful the user can focus on their own
goals and not the interface…when they complete their goal they are satisfied
and do not need to reflect on the situation. As a designer this can be tough…as
we receive less adulation when our designs are good. But great designers are
content with a well-used design…and know that happy users are often silent.
Build on other design disciplines
Visual and graphic
design, typography, copywriting, information architecture and visualization…all
of these disciplines are part of interface design. They can be touched upon or
specialized in. Do not get into turf wars or look down on other disciplines:
grab from them the aspects that help you do your work and push on. Pull in
insights from seemingly unrelated disciplines as well…what can we learn from
publishing, writing code, bookbinding, skateboarding, firefighting, karate?
Interfaces exist to be used
As in most design
disciplines, interface design is successful when people are using what you've
designed. Like a beautiful chair that is uncomfortable to sit in, design has
failed when people choose not to use it. Therefore, interface design can be as
much about creating an environment for use as it is creating an artifact worth
using. It is not enough for an interface to satisfy the ego of its designer: it
must be used!
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