Decision Fatigue
The deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making, due to mental exhaustion. Important for designing interfaces that minimize cognitive load and simplify decision processes.
376 topics found for:
“interface design”
Hick’s Law
A principle that states the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices available. Crucial for designing user interfaces that minimize cognitive load and enhance decision-making efficiency.
Heuristic
A rule-of-thumb or shortcut that simplifies decision-making and problem-solving processes. Essential for designing user-friendly interfaces that facilitate quick and efficient decision-making.
Formative Testing
A type of usability testing conducted during the design process to identify issues and improve the design iteratively. Crucial for refining designs and ensuring usability before final release.
Focal Points
Elements in a design that draw the viewer's attention and create a visual hierarchy. Essential for guiding user attention and improving the effectiveness of visual communication.
Limited Attention
The concept that humans have a finite capacity for attention, influencing how they perceive and interact with information. Crucial for designing user experiences that are not overwhelming and facilitate focus.
Eye Tracking
A technology and research method that measures where and how long a person looks at various areas on a screen or interface. Crucial for understanding user attention and improving interface design.
Component Library
A collection of reusable UI components that can be used to build applications. Helps in maintaining consistency and efficiency in the design and development process.
Nagging
A dark pattern where repetitive notifications or prompts are used to wear down user resistance. Recognizing the annoyance of this tactic is important to maintain respectful user interactions and avoid interruptions.
Decision Architecture
The design of environments in which people make decisions, influencing their choices and behaviors. Important for creating user experiences that guide decision-making processes effectively.
Parallelism
The use of parallel structures in writing and design to create balance and rhythm, enhancing readability and aesthetic appeal. Crucial for creating clear, coherent, and visually appealing content and interfaces.
Entry Point
The first interaction or touchpoint a user has with a product or service, crucial for making a strong first impression. Crucial for designing engaging and intuitive initial user experiences.
UX
User Experience (UX) refers to the overall experience of a person using a product, system, or service, encompassing all aspects of the end-user's interaction. Crucial for creating products that are not only functional but also enjoyable, efficient, and satisfying to use.
Miller’s Law
Also known as Magical Number 7 +/- 2, a theory in cognitive psychology that states the average number of objects an individual can hold in working memory is about seven. Crucial for designing user interfaces that align with human cognitive limitations.
Obstruction
A dark pattern where a process is made more difficult than it needs to be to discourage certain behavior. Recognizing the harm of this practice is important to design straightforward user processes.
Illusion of Completeness
A cognitive bias where users believe they have explored all available content, even when more is present. Important for designing interfaces that clearly indicate the presence of additional content.
Density Independence
The principle that ensures user interface elements maintain their size and proportion across different screen densities. Essential for creating a consistent user experience across various devices.
Human Factors
The study of how humans interact with systems and products, focusing on improving usability and performance. Crucial for designing user-friendly systems and products.
Component Adaptation
The ability of a UI component to adjust its appearance and behavior based on different contexts or devices. Crucial for responsive design and ensuring a consistent user experience.
Spotted Pattern
A reading pattern where users focus on individual elements or "spots" of interest on a page, rather than following a linear path. Crucial for designing engaging and attention-grabbing content layouts.
Framing
The way information is presented to users, which can significantly influence their decisions and perceptions. Important for designing messages and interfaces that guide user choices effectively.
Microcopy
Small bits of text in user interfaces, such as instructions, labels, and error messages, that help guide users through interactions. Essential for enhancing user experience and providing clear guidance.
Halo Effect
A cognitive bias where the perception of one positive trait influences the perception of other unrelated traits. Important for designers to manage and utilize this bias effectively in user experience design.
Change Blindness
A phenomenon where users fail to notice significant changes in their visual field. Important for understanding and designing around potential user perception issues.
Screen Density
The number of pixels per inch (PPI) on a display, affecting the sharpness and clarity of visual elements. Crucial for optimizing visual content for different devices.
Familiarity Bias
A cognitive bias where people prefer familiar things over unfamiliar ones, even if the unfamiliar options are objectively better. Useful for designing interfaces and products that leverage familiar elements to enhance user comfort.
Theming
The process of applying a consistent style, motif, or brand identity across a piece of work, design, or user experience to create coherence and enhance the overall aesthetic. Essential for ensuring visual consistency, reinforcing brand identity, and providing users with a unified and engaging experience.
Needy Patterns
UI patterns that excessively demand user attention, often interrupting the user experience. Important for identifying and avoiding practices that can frustrate or annoy users.
Functional Fixedness
A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used. Important for designers to foster creative problem-solving and innovation.
Interaction Elasticity
The concept of providing flexible and adaptive user interactions based on user input and behavior. Crucial for creating responsive and personalized user experiences.
Error Prevention
Design strategies aimed at preventing user errors before they occur. Crucial for enhancing usability and ensuring a smooth user experience.
Optimal Arousal Theory
A theory that suggests there is an optimal level of arousal for peak performance, and too much or too little arousal can negatively impact performance. Important for designing experiences that keep users engaged without overwhelming them.
Graceful Degradation
A design principle that ensures a system continues to function at a reduced level rather than completely failing when some part of it goes wrong. Crucial for enhancing system reliability and user experience in adverse conditions.
Premack Principle
A strategy where engaging, preferred activities are used to motivate users to complete less engaging, necessary tasks. Useful for designing user interfaces and experiences that encourage desired behaviors by leveraging more enjoyable activities as rewards.
Wayfinding
The process of designing intuitive navigation systems within a digital product that help users easily understand their current location, navigate to desired destinations, and efficiently complete tasks. Crucial for enhancing user experience, reducing cognitive load, and ensuring users can achieve their goals seamlessly.
Repetition Blindness
A phenomenon where people fail to recognize a repeated item in a visual sequence, impacting information processing and perception. Important for understanding visual perception and designing interfaces that avoid repetitive confusion.
Executive Function
A set of cognitive processes that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control, crucial for planning, decision-making, and behavior regulation. Crucial for designing interfaces and experiences that support users' cognitive abilities.
Sequential Navigation
A navigation design pattern where users follow a specific order of steps or stages to complete a task, often used in forms, surveys, and instructional guides. Essential for guiding users through processes in a clear and structured manner, improving usability.
Card Sorting
A user research technique where participants organize information into categories to inform information architecture and design. Essential for creating intuitive information architectures and improving user experience.
a11y
Numeronym for the word "Accessibility" (A + 11 letters + Y), designing for ease of use by all people, ensuring equal access to those with disabilities. Crucial for ensuring inclusivity and compliance with accessibility standards.
Keyboard Navigation
The ability to navigate through a web page or application using keyboard keys instead of a mouse. Important for enhancing accessibility and providing an alternative way to interact with content.
Persuasion Architecture
A strategic framework that designs user experiences to guide behavior and decisions towards desired outcomes. Crucial for creating effective and ethical influence in digital interfaces.
Color Accessibility
Ensuring that color choices in design are inclusive and usable by people with color vision deficiencies. Crucial for creating accessible and inclusive designs.
Reification
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology describing the mind's ability to fill in gaps to create a whole object from incomplete elements. Crucial for designing creative and engaging visuals that are both pleasing to the eye and cleverly satisfying to the mind.
Framing Bias
A cognitive bias where people's decisions are influenced by how information is presented rather than just the information itself. Crucial for designers to minimize bias in how information is presented to users.
User Empowerment
The process of enabling users to take control of their interactions with a product or system, enhancing their confidence and satisfaction. Crucial for designing systems that provide users with the tools and information they need to make informed decisions.
Decision Theory
The study of how individuals make choices among alternatives and the principles that guide these choices. Important for designing decision-making processes and interfaces that help users make informed choices.
Perky Effect
A phenomenon where vivid mental images can interfere with actual perception, causing individuals to mistake imagined experiences for real ones. Important for ensuring that marketing and product design set realistic user expectations to avoid disappointment and maintain brand integrity.
MVC
Model-View-Controller (MVC) is an architectural pattern that separates an application into three main logical components: the Model (data), the View (user interface), and the Controller (processes that handle input). Essential for creating modular, maintainable, and scalable software applications by promoting separation of concerns.
Multimodal Theory
A theory that explains how information is processed through different sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, and tactile. Important for designing user experiences that engage multiple senses for better interaction and understanding.
Chunking
A cognitive process that groups information into manageable units, making it easier to remember and process. Important for designing user interfaces that enhance usability and information retention.
Continuous Reinforcement
A schedule of reinforcement where a desired behavior is reinforced every time it occurs, promoting quick learning and behavior maintenance. Important for designing systems that encourage consistent user behavior.
Fibonacci Sequence
A series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones, creating a pattern found in nature and various fields. Useful for understanding natural growth patterns, efficient estimation techniques, and its relationship to the aesthetically pleasing Golden Ratio.
Multistability
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology that explains the tendency for ambiguous images to pop back and forth unstably between alternative interpretations in the mind. Important for understanding visual perception and designing interfaces that avoid ambiguity.
Curse Of Knowledge
A cognitive bias where someone mistakenly assumes that others have the same background knowledge they do. Essential for designers to ensure communications and products are clear and accessible to all users, regardless of their background knowledge.
External Consistency
The degree to which a product's elements are consistent with external standards or other products. Important for ensuring compatibility and user familiarity across different systems.
Choice Architecture
The practice of organizing the context in which people make decisions to influence the outcomes, often used to nudge users towards certain behaviors. Crucial for designing user experiences that guide decision-making and improve outcomes.
Feature Bloat
The excessive addition of features in a product, often leading to complexity and reduced usability. Crucial for maintaining simplicity and usability in product design.
Front-End Framework
A collection of pre-written code and tools that provide a foundation for building the front end of websites and applications, such as Bootstrap or React. Crucial for streamlining the development process and ensuring consistency.
Recognition Heuristic
A cognitive shortcut that relies on the recognition of one option over another to make a decision, often used when individuals have limited information. Crucial for designing interfaces and experiences that facilitate quick and effective decision-making.