good ux karma: guiding principles to simpler, easier and happier ui design
DESCRIPTION
People are busier than ever. The UX karmic cycle can create positive experiences for them, which in turn drives business. We’ll point to ten specific principles for making your users’ lives easier—UX Mantras that can bring change for good. From typography to spacing to plain language, we’ll keep it fast, simple, and packed with common sense to make your users happier and your business stronger. When I was the Exec Creative Director at Infuz, I wrote this with Ryan Swarts, our UX Architect and Art Director for our presentation at the 2011 STL UX Conference. And yes... The airport sign at around 06:01 is not in Danish. I'm told it's Dutch. Doh!TRANSCRIPT
Good UX KarmaGuiding Principles toSimpler / Easier / HappierUser Interface Design
STL UX 2011February 25, 2011
Presented by
Hafiz Huda and Ryan Swarts
HELLO.
Hafiz HudaVP, Executive Creative Director
@lostpear
Ryan Swarts Art Director / Usability Analyst
@swartsr
WHAT IS IT? WHY SHOULD I CARE?
UX KARMA
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REMEMBER THE
DO UNTO OTHERS as you would have them do unto you.
GOLDEN RULE.
WITH
FOR THE
DESIGNEMPATHYUSER.
USER.
PERSON.
YOU ARE A
MOST IMPORTANT...YOU ARE A
Good UX Design
=
Happy People =
Smart Business
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Our Guiding Principles.
Visual Confidence
Context + Mapping
Make It Easier
Misconceptions
Being Human
Make It Easier
Context + Mapping
Misconceptions
Being Human
Visual Confidence
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VISUAL CONFIDENCE
Point the way with good hierarchy.
01
No Hierachy = No Confidence
Good hierarchy helps guide the eye through a page of content.
A page without a strong hierarchy can be as stressful to the user as a design without proper space.
Prioritize the intended user interactions.
Methods to define hierarchy.
From Graphic Design: The New Basics — GDBasics.com
Group information into distinct elements.
From BigSpaceship.com
Leverage size to indicate hierarchy.
From BigSpaceship.com
Break up large articles.
From MSNBC.com
We access information in small chunks.
From MSNBC.com
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VISUAL CONFIDENCE
Make commonly used elements bigger.
02
Size Matters
If people use an area of your website often, make it easier to find and interact with.
Don’t reduce key interaction elements.
The most important call to action should be the biggest on screen.
Pagination Buttons: only 19x19 pixels?
From VEER.com
Large thumbnails to review products.
From Etsy.com
Large BUY NOW button. No subtlety.
From LivingSocial.com
Returning visitors clearly see SIGN IN.
From BankOfAmerica.com
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VISUAL CONFIDENCE
Give me some room!
03
A little bit of elbow room and whitespace goes a long way
Strike a balance between positive and negative space to highlight content.
Avoid cluttering the visual canvas.
Each key element serves a purpose, so define the boundaries and space to emphasize importance.
Open spaces invite exploration.
From BatamHousing.com — Joel Sanders, Architect | Blesso Lofts, NYC, NY
Letting the page “breathe”
From HUGEinc.com
Let the page breathe.
From Logitech.com
Visual Confidence
Make It Easier
Misconceptions
Being Human
Context + Mapping
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Cues and Clues: Guide Your Users.
04
FILL ‘ER UP.
WHERE IS THE GAS TANK LOCATED?
What’s behind door #3?
Where are we? Where we going?
Cues can save people a lot of time and hassle.
Indicate where they are and where they need to go next to complete an action.
Use indicators like color, font weight, shadows, and arrows to guide a person’s eye toward the next steps.
Where do you begin?
From www.facebook.com/BMWUSA
Animated setup: follow the arrow!
From DropBox Application Installation (Mac)
Cues can help your global navigation.
From USAToday.com
Ba-bam! Surprise!
From USAToday.com
Deliver expectations through cues.
What’s the booking process?
From Southwest.com
Guide the user through multiple steps.
From Crocs.com
Users need reassurance on the process.
From Crocs.com
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Adaptation: Design Responsively.
05
Consider the context of the interface.
Ubiquitous computing means differentdevices, screens, and situations.
Information and composition shift depending on the needs and affordances of the device.
Placement dictates relevance.
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From tappinn.com
AWKWARD
PLACEMENT
From 100 yards away, exclusive content.
From http://qranywhere.blogspot.com
CollyLogic.com
“Narrow Version”
CollyLogic.com
“Wide Screen”
Feedly.com
Standard
Feedly.com
Wide Edition
Adaptation saves development/design time.
From CSSgrid.net
Flexible framework adapts to device.
From LessFramework.com
Visual Confidence
Make It Easier
Context + Mapping
Being Human
Misconceptions
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MAKE IT EASIER
Simplify Things: Kill the Distractions.
06
Too many options become overwhelming
Cut the number of options and your process goes from a chore to a delight.
Limiting options leaves a person feeling more confident and ultimately more satisfied.
Focus on the task goals at hand.
Empower the user to make a decision.
Where do you begin?
From KCSTAR.com
Hierarchy + Limit the story options and ads.
From MSNBC.com
Single call-to-action and clearing obstactles.
From Huggies.com
You’re here to do only one thing. Win. Win.
From www.SUBWAYfreshbuzz.com
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MAKE IT EASIER
Reduce the number of steps.
07
If possible, reduce the steps in repetative tasks
Examine your user-flow closely: can you combine any steps or remove a few?
Use technology for efficiencies: cookies, pre-populated fields, etc.
Less of a hassle means a happier person.
The double-confirmation:You REALLY sure you wantto watch this program?
bit.lyAuto-Shorteningupon Copy/Paste
Facebook SharingSHARE simultaneously
closes the window
Where’s the phone number?
From SuperPages.com
Click AGAIN to reveal the phone number.
From SuperPages.com
People expect numbers in directories.
From YP.com
Return visits are encouraged.
From HendricksGin.com
Visual Confidence
Make It Easier
Context + Mapping
Being Human
Misconceptions
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Misconceptions
Users want reinvention.
08
People don’t always want you to reinvent accepted practices
The Myth: As designers, we must create new UI to stay innovative. People love seeing pretty designs.
There’s always room to improve upon old conventions, but consider the user.
Don’t force them to learn established UI elements and interactions.
By going against the grain, are you improving the experience or are you putting up walls?
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CONTEXT + MAPPINGSIS THIS THE BEST LOCATION?
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PRACTICALvs.
CLEVER?
Not the flair you want on your site.
From TGIFridays.com
NOT A BUTTON
BUTTONS
Most of these buttons are made by http://design-freak.com.
Major complaint about e-readers is that their page numbers didn’t correspond to the page numbers in a printed book.
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Misconceptions
The Myth of “The Fold.”
09
Newspapers and Screens. People scroll. Really!
The Myth: Users Won’t See Past ”The Fold”
Constant requests to cram as much information above the fold as possible.
Use visual cues (such as cut-off images and text) and compelling content to draw the user down the page.
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4,314 pixels of postssince January.
Our little Facebook page...
The essential elements are above the fold.
From www.boxee.tv
The essentials.
Great content and features.
Repeat those essentials.
Nice, big content blocks without clutter.
From www.boxee.tv
Thanks for scrolling 2,800+ pixels. Ready to BUY?
From www.boxee.tv
Recommendations
Stop cramming stuff above a specific pixel point in your designs.
The three highest fold locations: 570, 590 and 600 pixels (all different browsers) on 1024×768. FORGET IT.
Offer compelling content for the scroll.
What’s at the bottom? More than a copyright and footer?
When the Fold Matters.
If a specific piece of content is essential to your business, move it to the top.
Advertisers will still want their ads towards the top of the page.
Screen height matters with applications.
Visual Confidence
Make It Easier
Context + Mapping
Misconceptions
Being Human
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Being Human
Real language. Honesty. Personality.
10
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Treat the user as a person
Kill jargon when you can and speak frankly and honestly.
Bring brand personality when appropriate.
Be aware of people’s time and efforts.
Close Button? Just deal.
From KCstar.com
Where to? Where from? Speak Up!
From JetBlue.com
Conversational language works.
From Southwest.com
Congratulate your customers for doing a
good job.
Build your family profile.
From Alice.com
Monkeys make everyone smile.
From MailChimp.com
“Nuts, you had a few people jump ship. Ah, who needs them anyway?”
From MailChimp.com
Discover opportunities to help, guide, and delight.
People gravitate to brands that value them. Customers are people, not simply “users.”
Step in their shoes and you’ll create better digital experiences.
Happy customers. Repeat business. You create fans, followers, and advocates!
UX KARMADESIGNING A BETTER WORLD.
USERS.
WE AREPEOPLE.
MORE THAN
THANKS.
Hafiz Huda@lostpear
Ryan Swarts @swartsr