Indicating an available interaction, they flash green lights at the user shouting, “Here I am, you can tap (click, swipe, etc.) me!” An affordance may exist in the UI, but may stay hidden because if it lacks a signifier, it remains invisible. Signifiers provide strong clues like signals or signposts. Very much tied to discoverability, effective use of signifiers ensures that affordances-the possibility of an action on an object-are clearly indicated in the UI. To eliminate guesswork LinkedIn, NPR, and Facebook label their icons. You’re interrupting the “flow.” And here’s a shocker… They’re not interested in learning your UI. Unlabeled icons are tantamount to throwing roadblocks into a user’s path because they’ll have to stop to decipher meaning. It must be made clear as a bell what actions are possible in a UI in less than a microsecond-for example, labeling icons as a best practice. Let’s dive into some of the most important principles (not an exhaustive list by any means): Discoverabilityīasically, if the user cannot find it, it does not exist.
In an effort to keep interactions simple and easy, goal-driven interaction design puts nothing more than the absolute minimum necessary in front of users in order for them to complete a task.Successful interaction design employs simple, clearly defined goals, a strong purpose, and an intuitive UI.Great UI design achieves pure user delight by combining basic UI design principles with goal-driven interaction design. Interaction design falls under discipline of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), “A multidisciplinary field of study focusing on the design of computer technology and, in particular, the interaction between humans (the users) and computers.”–as defined by the Interaction Design Foundation. Interaction Design Principles and Best Practices Interface standards don’t stifle creativity-they are not hard and fast rules, but foundational guidelines that help a designer establish a “usable and familiar design” base from which to innovate. It’s no squishy science, but they form the bedrock of IxD and make interaction possible with the least amount of friction. Nobody likes being beaten over the head by cries of “follow the rules,” but truly excellent interaction design relies on a set of standards, best practices, conventions, and rules of thumb ( heuristics). In fact, the phrase “turn the door handle” assumes there is only one way to do it. For one you would have to push first into the door then down for another you’d have to pull up instead of pressing down, and yet another you’d have to pull up twice and then down-a total disaster. Imagine if every door handle on every door worked differently. Those constant principles are about what motivates people, their behavior, and how they think. It’s possible that all of today’s devices and tech could be replaced with something entirely different overnight, yet because of its lasting principles, great interaction design would still be achievable. Mobile app interaction design (by Adam Kalin) Don Norman in The Design of Everyday Things.įollowing interaction design principles contributes immensely to great interaction design, which in turn will contribute to the experience. Interaction designers strive to create meaningful relationships between people and the products and services they use, from computers to mobile devices to appliances and beyond.”Įxperience is critical, for it determines how fondly people remember their interactions. Interaction design (IxD) is defined by the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) as “the structure and behavior of interactive systems. The product will have a much better chance of succeeding, which in turn contributes to the bottom line. Get it right and you’ll be well on your way to a much better UX even if the aesthetics fall short.
“Unusable” means “I’m moving on,” and no matter how “good looking” the visual design-how fancy that animation is-mess up the interaction design and your UX is kaput. Well-executed interaction design plays a huge role in the implementation of great UX, and is indisputably one of the fundamentals of UX design principles. Interaction design principles help bridge the divide.
There’s a fine line between an interaction that works and one that is unusable.
0 kommentar(er)
