Thumb rule for Designing UX (2024)

THE UX BASICS

A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method for computer software that helps to identify usability problems in the user interface (UI) design.

Have you ever wondered how we get hooked to certain websites and spend hours without realising? Or, how it becomes so easy to navigate between some websites while with others it’s simply annoying even to identify the provided action items. So what makes these websites or products stand out? The answer to all these questions is a better User Experience Design. So grab a cup of coffee and let’s know, how, when and where we can use UX to make our products stand out by focusing on the User as the primary source of inspiration.

A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method for computer software that helps to identify usability problems in the user interface (UI) design. It specifically involves evaluators examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (the “heuristics”).

Before starting the designing process we need to follow a few rules to achieve a perfect system.

  • How people perceive information
  • How do they remember it
  • How they decide to act on it
  • It might be a little overwhelming
  • The designs will be Platform dependent

Solution:

  • Make the rules specific to each scenario.
  • Make use of widely accepted guideline.
Thumb rule for Designing UX (3)

Know more about each rule here.

Features of Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Heuristics:

  • Small, complete and usable set to follow.
  • Time Saver
  • Well supported by theories of perception and cognition

(Bridges gulfs and support feedback and signifiers)

Solves

  1. Feedback for action by the user
  2. Shows all the available actions and constraints
  3. General status of an action/ reaction (buffer or loading gif)
  • Less than 100 milliseconds of delay is instantaneous
  • Up to 1-sec delay is noticeable but tolerable
  • Up to 10-sec delay is annoying but willing to wait
  • More than 10 sec will turn into lose of focus

Solution

  • Strive for avoiding delay
  • Do stuff in the background
  • Give status indicator
  1. Follow layman language(not technical terms) to connect to the user
  2. Uses user’s schema
  3. Maintain consistency of design
  4. Using the same flow as real-world action flow: Like while writing down something in a paper or doc

Solution

  • Use of Metaphor (Icons)
  • Match the real-world actions of users
  1. Freedom to do mistakes and redo or undo
  2. Support 7 stages of action: For example, saving data while going back
  3. Emergencies exist
  • Be consistent with design (even with competitors)
  • Consistent with language, Layout and Behavior

Help recognize, find the cause, diagnose and recover from errors

  • Prevent potential error
  • Provide constraint: Make it specific
  • Provide Feedback: Feedback in the process of action
  • Ask people to confirm the action
  • Prevent actions that are likely to fail

Error Recovery:

  • Give feedback
  • Speak the user’s language
  • Allow user to undo mistakes
  • Prevent and detect eros obviously
  • Give options for more relevant information
  • Easily retrievable information
  • Make something recognisable with Match system to the real world
  • Terminal Commands
  • Passwords
  • Speech UIs etc.

The solution to recall fails

  • Suggestion
  • Re-setup
  • Backup information on the data (hint question)
  • Prevent potential error
  • Flexibility for both beginner and advanced user
  • Shortcut and bookmark
  • Personalize
  • No extra information
  • Good use of colour, shape, motion
  • Reduce clutter
  • Gestalt principles for non-linear principles

Documentation is important

  1. Easy to search for help
  2. Contains a list of action
  3. Best Practices
  4. Self Explanatory

Generic help vs conceptual( help for a particular action) help

  1. Searchable help
  2. Task focused output on search
  3. Concrete search result

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Thumb rule for Designing UX (2024)

FAQs

Thumb rule for Designing UX? ›

Designers should endeavor to mirror the language and concepts users would find in the real world based on who their target users are. Presenting information in logical order and piggybacking on user's expectations derived from their real-world experiences will reduce cognitive strain and make systems easier to use.

What is the rule of 3 in UX design? ›

At its core, the Rule of Thirds is a compositional principle that helps UX/UI designers create balanced and visually engaging layouts. It involves dividing your design area into a 3×3 grid, creating nine equally sized quadrants. The main idea is to position key elements along these gridlines or at their intersections.

What is the golden rule of UX design? ›

Be clear and direct. When users become stalled or confused, especially in the early stages of a product, they lose faith in that product and sometimes never return. It is important to be clear, direct, and honest with your users in order to gain their trust and support.

What is the 10 second rule in UX? ›

Usability tests and web analytics suggest that most people spend no more than ten seconds looking for they thing they came for, before leaving the site in frustration. You have 10 seconds to make an impression with your website visitors.

What is the golden ratio for UI UX? ›

The Golden Ratio, symbolized by the Greek letter Phi (Φ), is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 1.6180339887. This number has been known since antiquity, with the first recorded definition coming from Euclid around 300 BC.

What is the 60 30 10 rule in UX design? ›

The 60-30-10 Rule

The idea is that one color—generally something fairly neutral (either literally or psychologically)—makes up 60% of the palette. Another complementary color makes up 30% of the palette. And then a third color is used as an accent for the remaining 10% of the design.

What are the 4 C's of UX design? ›

The 4Cs of UX design – Consistency, Continuity, Context and Complementary – are important guides in creating the optimal experience of using a product or service.

What is the 80 20 rule in UI UX? ›

The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule as its also known, is a productivity hack of sorts. The idea behind it is: 80% of the effects of any given process come from 20% of the effort put into it. To illustrate this in a UX context, it's like saying: 80% of your users use 20% of your features.

What are the 5 principles of UX? ›

The fundamental UX design principles include visual and information architecture, simplicity and usability, user-centricity, typography, accessibility, consistency, context, user control, and user testing.

What are the 6 UX laws? ›

Laws of UX
  • Aesthetic-Usability Effect. Users often perceive aesthetically pleasing design as design that's more usable.
  • Doherty Threshold. ...
  • Fitts's Law. ...
  • Goal-Gradient Effect. ...
  • Hick's Law. ...
  • Jakob's Law. ...
  • Law of Common Region. ...
  • Law of Proximity.

What is the fat finger rule in UX? ›

So fat finger friendly, it means that if you accessing a link or a piece of content, or you are doing something here – maybe you have a little icons, maybe you have little links or buttons here – they have to actually be the size of a 44 pixel, so that the target of the finger can actually hit that when a user is ...

What is the Parkinson's Law in UX? ›

Parkinson's Law states “Any task will inflate until all of the available time is spent.” Parkinson's law is the idea that a task extends to fill the time allotted for completion. Your UI/UX Designer. Consultant.

What is the Parkinson's Law in UX design? ›

Parkinson's Law suggests that without proper time constraints, user testing cycles can become unnecessarily prolonged. By setting reasonable timeframes for user testing and validation, UX designers can make informed decisions in a lesser period of time.

How saturated is UX UI? ›

In summary: The UX job market has not reached the point of saturation. Skilled UX designers continue to be in high demand, with many hiring managers struggling to find top-quality candidates. UX job postings have decreased since 2022.

How hard is UX UI design? ›

Learning UX design can often be challenging. How difficult you'll find it to learn UX design, however, often depends on whether you're transitioning into it from a design background or a development background, or whether you have no experience in either.

What is a good UX score? ›

A good score is greater than 78%, but the more time it takes, the worse the UX. But this is only a snapshot of the overall experience. To be truly effective, you must focus on the user's needs and preferences. With a UX score, you can identify what's affecting their experience and take action accordingly.

What is the rule of 3 for design? ›

What is the "Rule of Three" In a nutshell, the rule of three suggests that things grouped in threes are more natural, harmonious and visually appealing. Odd numbers challenge our brains a bit and are more interesting.

What is the design theory of 3? ›

The rule of thirds is a simple guideline that UX designers and other creatives use to align images, text, and components of an image or webpage, in a way that creates balance and is in line with how the viewer's eye naturally scans the field.

What is the 3 second rule in UX? ›

The theory is that you have about 3 seconds to capture a visitor's attention. Longer than that and you'll lose them. Some say it's 4 seconds, and others say 2. The exact number doesn't really matter, the point is that you have precious little time to capture and keep someone's attention.

What is the 3 dot menu in UX? ›

Three dots, also known as an ellipsis, are used to indicate hidden or additional options in user interfaces. They provide a visual cue that there is more content or functionality available beyond what is immediately visible.

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