design for lawyers : why ui can make you a better attorney
DESCRIPTION
High Level Takeaways: * Understanding how designers think will help you understand your client better. * It forces you to listen * UI Improves your communication * Forces clarity * It's completely about getting people to understand something better, & facilitating their ability to complete the task you want them to do. * Example: Billing. * UI improves your trustworthiness * Awesome video of trust fall. * Simple and Clear Communication Builds Trust * UI increases transparency, which builds trust. We are explanatory creatures. We are story-based. If we don't see a story for something, we will invent one. * People feel less stupid when they understand something. * Trust increases speed. * Understanding Information Architecture will help you run a more efficient office. * Understanding good UI will help you market more effectively. * Website conventions UI stands for User Interface design. So let's take a look at what UI is, because it's not what you might think it is. A lot of people think UI design is about pretty stuff. But that's only the tip of the iceberg. So for example, UI is not just… * Balance * Color * Typography Design is about how things work. And User Interface design is about how to design a system so that humans can understand it., So, aside from the fact that we're enamored with beautiful technology here at MILOFest. Why should Lawyers learn a little bit about UI? Because you're an advocate. You want to help your client. You need to persuade people - opposing counsel, judges, juries, your client. Because it improves your communication. People understand things better when they're presented well. And that builds trust. it's going to build trust with your clients.TRANSCRIPT
Why Good UI Can HelpYou Be a Better Lawyer
10.25.2013Larry Port - Rocket Matter, LLC
UI = User Interface
Bad UI’s Kill Kittens
Good UI is not just about...
Typography
Flow
Balance
Color
The Rule of Thirds
The visual part of a design, the look and feel, is only the tip of the iceberg.
Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
User Interfaces make things usable
How can UI help you become a better
lawyer?
1. Incorporating design techniques will help you understand the people you work with better.
2. Good UI improves your communication.
Problem: Our Methodology Explained v 1.0
Our Methodology Explained v 2.0
Our Methodology Explained v 2.0
Selling a Home v 1.0
Thanks to Mark Metzger for material
The Home Sale Process for Home Sellers
1.You sign contract, accepting offer & send to us1.1. We get in touch with Buyer’s Attorney lender & share contact & other info.
2. Inspection & Modification Phase2.1.We receive inspection report & attorney letter proposing changes.2.2.With our help, YOU decide how to respond to request.2.3.We document the revised agreement.2.4.You schedule and complete the home repairs.
Selling a Home v 2.0
© 2013 Metzger, Metzger, & Metzger P.A. All Rights Reserved.
Selling a Home v 3.0
© 2013 Metzger, Metzger, Metzger, & Metzger P.A. All Rights Reserved.
3. Good UI builds trust.
4. Good UI will help you run a more efficient office.
The UI’s you consume can radically transform your office.
5. Good UI will help you market better.
6. UI is about pursuing perfection.
1. Incorporating design techniques will help you understand the people you work with better.
2. Good UI improves your communication.
3. Good UI builds trust.
4. Good UI will help you run a more efficient office.
5. Good UI will help you market better.
6. UI is about pursuing perfection.
How can UI help you become a better lawyer?
Exercise 1:Identify a situation in your
practice where communication is a critical
challenge.
Part One
Let’s learn how to think like a designer
Glossary
Usability The extent to which something is fit to be used to accomplish goals.
Information Architecture
How information is organized on a web site or web application.
User Experience
User eXperience (UX) is about how a person feels about using a system.
Affordances:“It looks like I could stick my fingers in
those things.”
Constraints:“My thumb goes in the small one and my fingers in the
big one.”
Conceptual Model:“If I open and close my
hand, the thing will work”
Conceptual Model:“That thing is not going to
work.”
Mental Model:“Based on my life experience, this is how it’s supposed
to work.”
Broken Mental Model:The thermostat does not
work as we think it should.
Mapping:The relationship between two things, i.e. a steering
wheel and control of a car.
Broken Mapping:“Which knob controls which burner again?”
Feedback:“Did my action have any
effect?”
Our Goal:Align our mental model with that of our client
My mental model My client’s
Our Goal:Our UI should closely
match our mental models
My mental model My client’s
System
How do we align our mental models:
Develop personas
Chad Burton...
¿Que haces esta
noche?
Exercise 2:Using the output of exercise 1, identify a
persona and try to identify their mental model for the
situation.
Iterate:Multiple communication
cycles are required.
Part Two
Usability Rules + Guidelines for Websites and Beyond
Most web pages are garbage,
and users know it.
10 Seconds
Time on a Web Page vs Probability of Leaving
Time Visiting the Page So Far (Seconds)
Prob
abilit
y of
Lea
ving
the
Page
Now
0 20 40 60 80 100 1200%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
Source: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/page-abandonment-time.html
First Rule of Usability:Don’t make me think.
The more obvious something is, the better. Lots of little decisions and
indecisiveness add up.
Second Rule of Usability:It doesn’t matter how many
times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.
Third Rule of Usability:Get rid of half the words on a page, then get rid of half of
what’s left.
Are there needless words on the webpage?
Happy talk (introductory small talk) must die.
Instructions must die.
Get right to the beef, cut to the chase - web users have no time.
1. Don’t make me think.
2. It doesn’t matter how many times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.
3. Get rid of half the words on a page, then get rid of half of what’s left.
Usability Rules
Fact of Life #1:We don’t read pages.
We scan them.
Fact of Life #2:We don’t make optimal choices. We satisfice.
Satisfice = Satisfy + Suffice
Studies have shown we take the first reasonable course of action, not
the best of all possible choices.
Fact of Life #3:We don’t figure out how
things work. We muddle through.
People succeed in using things in ways they weren’t designed to be
used, but it’s inefficient and error-prone.
1. We don’t read pages. We scan them.
2. We don’t make optimal choices. We satisfice.
3. We don’t figure out how things work. We muddle through.
Facts of Life
Are navigation conventions used?
Where do I start?
When you enter a site, you should know how
to either find what you’re looking for with search, or how to browse to desired information.
Good: Clear call to action on the site.
Good: First action on the right side, under
nav, but above the fold.
SITE IDTagline
CTA
Is the site ID on every page and is
it prominently located?
SITE ID
Is there a tagline?
Taglines efficiently get an organization’s message
across. They’re a concise statement of
purpose. They are not as important for famous
companies or sites.
Location: below, above, or next to Site ID.
SITE IDTagline
Is the tagline good?
Good = Clear and informativeOhio Workers Compensation Attorney
Bad = VagueDefending Your Rights
Is it obvious what’s clickable?
Buttons should look like buttons.
Links should look like links.
Triangular arrows: towards link
Does the home page convey the
big picture?
The tendency to do everything on a
home page makes it harder to
concentrate on its primary importance: conveying the big
picture.
BIG PICTURE
What is this?
What do they have here?
What can I do here?
Why should I be here and not somewhere
else?
Is there a clear visual hierarchy on
each page?
The more important something is, the more prominent
it is.
More Important
Important
Less Important
Is there a clear visual hierarchy on
each page?
Things are nested (inside one another)
to visually show what’s part of what.
Title Here
Is your site noisy?
Many users have low tolerance for complexity and distractions.
1. Are navigation conventions used?
2. Where do I start?
3. Is the site ID on every page and is it prominently located?
4. Is there a value-add tagline?
5. Is it obvious what’s clickable?
6. Does the home page convey the big picture?
7. Is there a clear visual hierarchy on each page?
8. Is the site noisy?
Website Usability Questions
Pursue ClarityPursue SimplicityPursue Perfection
