Information architecture, interface design and help strategy
With rare exception, the interfaces we design rely on graphical output. They use text, colour, layout and motion to communicate messages and respond to user activity. Working with a primarily visual medium, then, it’s vital that we understand the capacities and limitations of human vision. Read more…
“UNEXPECTED ITEM IN BAGGING AREA!”
I hate self-service checkouts. Well, let me rephrase that. I love the idea of them: being able to move at my own pace, able to bag my items in the order I want, able to enjoy an illusion of privacy as I handle my own groceries. I even like the novelty of using the new technology. What I don’t love, though, is their UX. Slow machines that interrupt me with unexpected queries, failing completely the moment I deviate even slightly from the predefined workflow. Machines that force me to find an assistant the moment I do anything even slightly out of the ordinary, like rearrange my bags – assistants who are typically overstretched and otherwise preoccupied.
Why did it turn out like this? Why is it that, in the second decade of the third millenium, consumers are still facing systems with interfaces lifted straight out of the early 1990s? Read more…
Character limits are ubiquitous on the web, not least in applications that rely on user-generated content. Yet for something so common, character limits are often poorly implemented. Thankfully, by following six simple guidelines about designing length-limited fields and displaying character counters, you can make writing character-restricted text and smooth and painless as possible
Lorem ipsum (so called ‘Greeked’ text) is a useful tool when putting together initial mockups, and allows designers to quickly check the feasibility and visual effects of a particular concept. But at the wireframing stage, dummy text poses risks. Here are three reasons to use real (or at least realistic) copy at the PSD stage…
In-context (or ‘in-place’) editors allow users to edit content in the same page or space that they view it, rather than using a separate form or administration area. They establish a strong relationship between content and the tools used to manage it, which makes those tools extremely discoverable, and gives users confidence about the consequences of their activity. However, in-place editors can also pose certain design challenges. I take a look at these issues and offer some ideas on how to ameliorate them. Read more…
Video guides have become enormously popular as a help strategy. They’re attractive to new users, they’re easy to create with today’s tools and they impart a real ‘wow’ factor. But like all tools, video help has its limitations, and needs to be employed carefully – because advanced and long-term users find them tremendously frustrating. Read more…
If two questions can be confused for one another, put the least ambiguous first
Sometimes, you might have two questions in a form that a user might think pertain to the same information. In those cases, you should put the clearest question first, because users will instinctively assume that the second question more likely refers to something new than repeats the old. Read more…
Users can be overwhelmed by the idea of filling in a blank free text field. but if they answer other, relevant questions beforehand, you can make them to think and respond in certain ways, inspiring them to write focused free text.
As I’ve mentioned before, there’s compelling evidence to suggest that free text boxes deter users, likely because without direction, it’s difficult to think how to answer, and this poses a serious barrier to conversion and form success. There are a few ways to resolve this (besides replacing free text fields altogether), but I want to talk about one idea in particular: putting easier, relevant questions first.
The idea is that when the user answers other, easier questions first, he or she is invited to think about the subject matter in particular ways. They gain a sense of the kinds of data the form or website is looking for, and they’re already primed to provide relevant data thanks to the fact they’ve already recalled it for other questions. Read more…
When creating a form for an organization or group of users, take a look at how they divide labour and knowledge. You might find you have to separate forms, or let them ‘transfer’ between different users.
If you’re designing an application for a client that has more than one user – for example, a business or social group – then it pays to research how that group is organized, and whether all knowledge and duties relevant to your app are shared amongst the group. It might turn out that your form asks for data that actually belongs to more than one person, or that the duty of completing your form is actually shared by two people. Read more…
In a palette UI, the objects and options the user has chosen are shown in a ‘palette’ space. This palette persists even as the user scrolls through the options, moves through a form or even progresses through separate content.
Sometimes, a user will need to see their previous decisions to make new choices. They might want to choose complimenting options, might need to make consistent decisions, or just find the information generally useful. But if choices are spread over several pages, must be scrolled through or otherwise can’t all appear at once, the user needs some kind of persistent record that they can consult at a glance. For this situation, a good solution is a palette. Read more…