Jan 27 Chat- Laws of User Interface

Coincidentally, I’m working on the UX/UI of an interactive service website redesign at work. I’m leading the team which consists of 1 programmer familiar with backend,  and 2 familiar with C++ but no one other myself who understands front end development, design, marketing and some UX. The current version (designed by a programmer with little knowledge of these rules) is confusing and lacks many of  the things the article references.

There were several elements that I came across (things that looked like menus, for example that didn’t behave like menus).

Top 3 takeaways from this article:

  1. Law of clarity is definitely #1.  Users avoid interface elements that don’t have a clear meaning.  Icons are fun creative but need to be intuitive. If a user has to guess they probably will ignore.
  2. Law of preferred action is also #2 on my list. This rule is definitely broken on the website redesign project I’m working  on. There are many elements I found that looked like menus, for example that didn’t behave like menus.  This can be frustrating for a user.
  3. Law of easing  & guided action are my #3. When I met with the team this was something that I brought up. There’s nothing more frustrating than staring at a screen and not knowing what to do because instructions aren’t clear and there’s nothing to indicate what the user is supposed to do.

Interface design for mobile article:

http://www.creativebloq.com/mobile/10-principles-mobile-interface-design-4122910