The Laws of UX - 19 Psychological Design Principles

Joseph Angelo Todaro

11 Jun 201910:03

Summary

TLDRIn 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.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 Principles of Aesthetic Usability and UX Laws

This paragraph introduces the 'Laws of UX', a website created by product designer John Yablonsky, which outlines 19 principles for user interface design. It discusses the aesthetic usability effect, which shows that users perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as more usable. The Doherty threshold highlights the importance of computer response time for productivity and user satisfaction. Fitz's law and Hix's law emphasize the relationship between target size, distance, and decision-making time in design. Jacobs law and the law of common region, derived from Gestalt psychology, stress the importance of familiarity and grouping in interface design. The paragraph also touches on the law of proximity and similarity as part of Gestalt principles, helping to create organized patterns in user interfaces.

05:01

🔍 Gestalt Principles and Cognitive UX Strategies

Continuing from the previous paragraph, this section delves deeper into Gestalt psychology's impact on UX design, discussing the law of uniform connectedness and the importance of visual connections in grouping similar functions. Miller's law introduces the concept of working memory's capacity, suggesting content organization in groups of five to nine items. Occam's razor and the Pareto principle are presented as strategies for simplifying design and focusing on the most impactful areas. Parkinson's law humorously notes how tasks expand to fill the time allotted, while Postel's law emphasizes the importance of flexibility in user input and system feedback. The serial position effect and Tesler's law of conservation of complexity highlight memory biases and the trade-off between system and user complexity. The von Restorff effect and the Zeigarnik effect explore how distinctiveness and incompleteness affect memory and task recall, providing insights into designing memorable and effective user interfaces.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Aesthetic Usability Effect

The Aesthetic Usability Effect refers to the phenomenon where users perceive a design that is visually appealing as more usable. This concept is central to the video's theme of UX design principles, emphasizing the importance of aesthetics in enhancing user experience. The script mentions a study by Kurosu and Kashimura that found a stronger correlation between aesthetic appeal and perceived ease of use than with actual ease of use, highlighting the psychological impact of design on usability.

💡Doherty Threshold

The Doherty Threshold is a UX principle that suggests a computer response time of 400 milliseconds is optimal for user satisfaction, as opposed to the previous standard of 2,000 milliseconds. This concept is integral to the video's discussion on interface design efficiency, indicating that swift response times can significantly enhance user interaction and productivity. Walter Doherty's research is cited in the script to illustrate the impact of response time on user experience.

💡Fitts's Law

Fitts's Law is a principle in UX design that states the time required to move to a target depends on the distance to it and its size. It is used to inform the design of interactive elements, making them easily selectable by adjusting their size and proximity to the user. The script references this law to explain how UX design can be optimized for efficiency and accuracy, using the example of fast movements and small targets leading to greater error rates.

💡Hick's Law

Hick's Law posits that the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number of choices and their complexity. The video uses this principle to discuss the importance of simplifying user choices to improve decision-making efficiency. The script cites William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman's research to demonstrate how an increase in stimuli can prolong a user's reaction time, affecting the overall user experience.

💡Jacob's Law

Jacob's Law, introduced by Jakob Nielsen, states that users prefer interfaces that work similarly to those they are already familiar with. This concept is crucial to the video's message on user interface design, advocating for the use of familiar design patterns to simplify the learning process for users. The script illustrates this by emphasizing the importance of consistency in design to leverage users' existing knowledge and expectations.

💡Law of Common Region

The Law of Common Region is a Gestalt principle that suggests elements sharing an area with a clearly defined boundary are perceived as a group. The video discusses this principle in the context of UX design, explaining how it can be used to organize content and create a sense of cohesion on a user interface. The script provides an example of how this principle can be applied to enhance the perception of organization and clarity.

💡Law of Proximity

The Law of Proximity is a Gestalt psychological principle that states objects near each other tend to be perceived as a group. In the context of the video, this principle is used to explain how content can be visually organized on a user interface, allowing users to quickly identify and group related information. The script uses this law to highlight the importance of spatial arrangement in effective UX design.

💡Law of Similarity

The Law of Similarity is another Gestalt principle that suggests similar elements in a design are perceived as a complete picture or group. The video script uses this principle to discuss how visual differentiation can be used in UX design to distinguish links and navigation systems from regular text, ensuring that users can easily identify and interact with key elements of the interface.

💡Law of Uniform Connectedness

The Law of Uniform Connectedness states that elements visually connected are perceived as more related than those without a connection. This principle is used in the video to explain how grouping functions with similar purposes can enhance the visual cohesion and understanding of a user interface. The script illustrates this by discussing the use of colors, lines, and frames to create visual connections between related interface elements.

💡Miller's Law

Miller's Law, based on George Miller's assertion, states that the average person can only keep about seven items in their working memory, plus or minus two. The video uses this principle to discuss content organization, suggesting that grouping information into sets of five to nine items can improve user comprehension and retention. The script cites this law to emphasize the importance of managing information density in UX design.

💡Occam's Razor

Occam's Razor is a problem-solving principle that suggests, among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected. In the context of the video, this principle is applied to UX design, advocating for simplicity and minimalism in design solutions. The script uses Occam's Razor to argue for the selection of the simplest and most efficient design approach that meets user needs.

💡Pareto Principle

The Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. The video discusses this principle in the context of UX strategy, suggesting that designers should focus their efforts on the areas that will yield the greatest benefits for the majority of users. The script cites Vilfredo Pareto's observation about land ownership in Italy to illustrate the principle's application in identifying and prioritizing key design elements.

💡Parkinson's Law

Parkinson's Law posits that any task will expand to fill the time available for its completion. The video uses this humorous yet insightful principle to discuss the importance of time management in task design, suggesting that designers should consider the amount of time users are willing to spend on a task. The script references Cyril Northcote Parkinson's essay to highlight how tasks can inflate and consume more time than necessary.

💡Postel's Law

Postel's Law, also known as the Robustness Principle, advises being liberal in what you accept and conservative in what you send. This principle is used in the video to discuss the importance of flexibility and clarity in user interface design, advocating for the acceptance of variable user input and the provision of clear feedback. The script cites Jon Postel's contribution to the early development of the Internet to illustrate the principle's significance in software and network design.

💡Serial Position Effect

The Serial Position Effect describes how the position of an item in a sequence affects recall accuracy, with items at the beginning and end of a list being better remembered. The video uses this psychological phenomenon to discuss the strategic placement of information in a user interface, suggesting that important elements should be positioned to maximize memorability. The script references Hermann Ebbinghaus's research to explain the effect and its implications for UX design.

💡Tesler's Law

Tesler's Law, or the Law of Conservation of Complexity, states that there is a certain amount of complexity in a system that cannot be reduced. The video discusses this principle to argue for the redistribution of complexity in design, suggesting that it may be more efficient to reduce complexity for users by increasing the initial design effort. The script cites Larry Tesler's work at Xerox to illustrate the trade-off between initial design complexity and long-term user experience.

💡Von Restorff Effect

The Von Restorff Effect, also known as the Isolation Effect, predicts that items differing from a group are more likely to be remembered. The video uses this principle to discuss the design of distinctive elements in a user interface, advocating for the visual differentiation of important information to enhance recall. The script references Hedwig von Restorff's study to explain how the distinctiveness of an item can improve its memorability.

💡Zeigarnik Effect

The Zeigarnik Effect suggests that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones. The video discusses this psychological phenomenon to highlight the impact of task completion on memory, suggesting that UX designers can leverage this effect to encourage user engagement and retention. The script cites Bluma Zeigarnik's study to illustrate how incomplete tasks can be more easily recalled than successful ones.

Highlights

Aesthetic Usability Effect: Users tend to perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as more usable.

Doherty Threshold: Productivity soars when computer response time is under 400 milliseconds.

Fitts' Law: The time to acquire a target depends on its distance and size.

Hick's Law: Decision time increases with the number and complexity of choices.

Jakob's Law: Users prefer interfaces that work similarly to those they already know.

Law of Common Region: Elements in a shared area are perceived as a group.

Law of Proximity: Objects near each other are grouped together.

Law of Similarity: Similar elements are perceived as a complete picture or group.

Law of Uniform Connectedness: Visually connected elements are perceived as more related.

Miller's Law: People can only keep about seven items in their working memory.

Occam's Razor: The simplest solution is often the best.

Pareto Principle: 80% of effects come from 20% of causes.

Parkinson's Law: Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.

Postel's Law: Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you accept.

Serial Position Effect: First and last items in a series are best remembered.

Tesler's Law: There's a certain amount of complexity that cannot be reduced.

Von Restorff Effect: Items that differ from the rest are most likely to be remembered.

Zeigarnik Effect: Uncompleted or interrupted tasks are better remembered than completed ones.