The Laws of UX - 19 Psychological Design Principles

Summary

In this informative video, John Yablonsky's 'Laws of UX' are explored, offering 19 essential principles for user interface design. From the aesthetic usability effect to the Zeigarnik effect, each principle is grounded in research, guiding designers to create more intuitive and efficient interfaces. The video delves into Gestalt psychology, the Pareto principle, and the importance of simplicity and feedback, providing a comprehensive guide for enhancing user experience.

Takeaways

• 🎨 The Aesthetic Usability Effect: Aesthetically pleasing designs are often perceived as more usable due to a study by Kurosu and Kashimura on ATM UI variations.
• 🚀 Doherty Threshold: The optimal computer response time is under 400 milliseconds to ensure user satisfaction and productivity, as researched by Walter Doherty and our veinte Donny.
• 🔍 Fitz's Law: The time to acquire a target is related to its distance and size, emphasizing the importance of making interactive elements large and accessible.
• 📉 Hix's Law: Decision-making time increases with the number of choices, advocating for simplifying user choices to enhance usability.
• 🔄 Jakob's Law: Users prefer interfaces that work similarly to those they are already familiar with, highlighting the value of common design patterns.
• 🔗 Law of Common Region: Elements within a defined boundary are perceived as a group, a principle from Gestalt psychology that influences UI design.
• 🤔 Law of Pragnanz: People interpret complex images as the simplest form possible, which is beneficial for reducing cognitive load in UI design.
• 🔑 Law of Proximity: Objects near each other are grouped together, a principle useful for organizing content in UI design.
• 🔄 Law of Similarity: Similar elements are perceived as a group, important for differentiating navigation from text in UI design.
• 🔗 Law of Uniform Connectedness: Visually connected elements are perceived as more related, guiding the grouping of related functions in UI design.
• 📚 Miller's Law: People can only keep about seven items in working memory, suggesting content should be organized in groups of five to nine items.
• 🔍 Occam's Razor: The principle of selecting the simplest solution from competing hypotheses, applicable in problem-solving in UX design.
• ⚖️ Pareto Principle: 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, indicating a focus on the most impactful areas in UX strategy.
• 📈 Parkinson's Law: Tasks expand to fill the time available, suggesting the importance of time management in task design.
• 📡 Postel's Law: Be liberal in what you accept and conservative in what you send, a guideline for robust software and network design.
• 📋 Serial Position Effect: Users best remember the first and last items in a series, influencing the placement of important information.
• ⚖️ Tesler's Law: There is a certain amount of complexity that cannot be reduced, advocating for reducing application complexity to save user time.
• 🌟 Von Restorff Effect: Distinctive items are more memorable, suggesting making key actions visually distinctive in UI design.
• 🔁 Zeigarnik Effect: Uncompleted tasks are better remembered, which can influence how reminders and task lists are designed in UI.

Q & A

What is the aesthetic usability effect mentioned in the script?

The aesthetic usability effect is the perception by users that aesthetically pleasing designs are more usable. It was observed in a study by Kurosu and Kashimura where a stronger correlation was found between the aesthetic appeal of an ATM UI and perceived ease of use than the actual ease of use.

What is the Doherty threshold and its significance in user interface design?

The Doherty threshold refers to the requirement for computer response time to be under 400 milliseconds, as established by Walter Doherty and our veinte Donny in 1982. If a human's command is executed and returned in under this time, the application is considered more addictive to users, enhancing productivity.

Can you explain Fitz's law and its application in UX/UI design?

Fitz's law states that the time it takes to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target. It suggests making elements that need to be easily selectable large and positioning them close to users. This law is widely applied in UX and UI design to improve the efficiency of user interactions.

What is Hix's law and how does it relate to decision-making in UI design?

Hix's law indicates that the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number of and complexity of choices. It suggests simplifying choices for users by breaking down complex tasks into smaller steps to reduce the cognitive load and decision-making time.

What does Jacob's law state and how does it influence interface design?

Jacob's law states that users spend most of their time with other interfaces, so they prefer your interface to work the same way as those they already know. This principle simplifies the learning process for users by providing familiar design patterns.

What are the principles of the law of common region in the context of Gestalt psychology?

The law of common region suggests that elements sharing an area with a clearly defined boundary tend to be perceived in groups. This principle, part of the Gestalt psychology, helps in organizing content in a way that makes it easier for users to perceive and process information.

What is the law of proximity in Gestalt psychology and its application?

The law of proximity states that objects that are near or approximate to one another tend to be grouped together. It is useful in UI design for allowing users to group different clusters of content at a glance.

What does the law of similarity in Gestalt psychology imply for UI design?

The law of similarity implies that similar elements in a design are perceived as a complete picture, shape, or group, even if separated. It suggests ensuring that navigation systems and links are visually differentiated from normal text for better user perception.

How does the law of uniform connectedness from Gestalt psychology apply to UI design?

The law of uniform connectedness states that elements that are visually connected are perceived as more related. It guides the grouping of functions of similar nature through colors, lines, frames, or other shapes to enhance visual connection and user understanding.

What is Miller's law and how does it guide content organization in UI design?

Miller's law asserts that the average person can only keep seven items, plus or minus two, in their working memory. It guides content organization by suggesting to group content into sets of five to nine items at a time to avoid overwhelming users.

What is Occam's razor and its relevance in problem-solving for UX design?

Occam's razor is a problem-solving principle that suggests selecting the hypothesis with the fewest assumptions among competing hypotheses that predict equally well. In UX design, it encourages simplicity and minimalism in solutions to enhance user experience.

What is the Pareto principle and how can it be applied in user experience strategy?

The Pareto principle states that roughly 80% of the effects come from only 20% of the causes. In user experience strategy, it suggests focusing the majority of effort on areas that will bring the largest benefits to the most users.

What does Parkinson's law state and how might it affect task management in UI design?

Parkinson's law states that any task will expand to fill all the available time. In UI design, it implies the importance of efficient task management and avoiding unnecessary complexity that could lead to inflated task times.

What is Postel's law and its significance in software and network design?

Postel's law, also known as the robustness principle, advises to be liberal in what you accept and conservative in what you send. It is significant in software and network design for ensuring compatibility and robustness by accepting variable input and providing clear feedback.

What is the serial position effect and how can it be utilized in UI design?

The serial position effect describes how the position of an item in a sequence affects recall accuracy, with items at the beginning and end being remembered better. In UI design, it suggests placing important items at the start or end of lists for better user recall.

What is Tesler's law of conservation of complexity and its implication for application design?

Tesler's law states that there is a certain amount of complexity in a system that cannot be reduced. It implies that designers should focus on reducing the complexity of applications to save users' time, rather than expecting users to spend extra time on complex tasks.

What is the von Restorff effect and how can it be applied to highlight important information in UI design?

The von Restorff effect, also known as the isolation effect, predicts that items differing from the rest in a series of similar objects are more likely to be remembered. In UI design, it suggests making important information or key actions visually distinctive to enhance memorability.

What is the Zeigarnik effect and its relevance to task recall in UI design?

The Zeigarnik effect states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones. In UI design, it can be relevant for designing reminders or notifications that help users recall incomplete tasks.