PRO INSIGHT
Ever felt too constrained by UX best practices and conventions?
Well the good news is, that while these are useful constructs, you don’t always need to follow them.
Once you’ve got a good amount of experience, you should start to get a sense of why the rules exist in the first place.
And when you understand why they exist, you can start to challenge them.
This is one of the things that differentiates a thought leader from other practitioners.
Thought leaders know to always challenge conventions no matter how ingrained they are.
In fact, ‘the way it is’ is usually a signal for thought leaders to do some critical thinking.
The next time you encounter a convention, try to break it down and understand why it exists in the first place.
Then challenge this convention to see if it’s a must have or just a useful guideline.
Jack O’Donoghue (2 x Bestselling UX Course Creator)
– UX Strategy Blueprint
– Design Thinking Made Simple
Following the rules can sometimes lead to predictable and uninspiring results.
While foundational principles have their place, breaking away from the norm can lead to innovation and exceptional user experiences.
Here are seven rules of UX design you should consider breaking right now to push the boundaries and create more engaging, memorable designs.
Rule #1
Always Keep It Simple
While simplicity is golden in many scenarios, there are times when a bit more complexity provides a richer experience for the user.
If your audience is tech-savvy or looking for detailed information, a more complex interface with in-depth options might be more satisfying. It’s about knowing your users and understanding when complexity adds value instead of confusion.
Rule #2
Users Don’t Read; They Scan
It’s true that many users skim content.
However, when presenting essential or engaging information that adds real value, encourage users to read. Use compelling narratives, interactive content, or gamification to draw users into your text. When done right, users will read—and enjoy it.
Rule #3
Stick to Standard Layouts
While familiar layouts provide a sense of comfort, they can also lead to a mundane experience.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with unconventional layouts and structures. As long as you maintain navigational clarity and provide intuitive interactions, an innovative layout can make your application or website stand out and be memorable.
Rule #4
Always Follow Conventions
While conventions are a safe bet for usability, deviating from them can sometimes create a unique and impactful user experience.
This doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel but perhaps adding your own creative spin on navigation, gestures, or interactions. Just ensure that any deviations are intuitive and don’t hinder the user’s ability to navigate your product effectively.
Rule #5
User Feedback Is Always Right
User feedback is invaluable, but it’s not always the final word. Sometimes, users don’t know what they want until they see it.
As a designer, balance user feedback with your innovation and vision. Be willing to take calculated risks to introduce users to new and improved ways of interacting with your product.
Rule #6
Design for All Users
Trying to please everyone can lead to a diluted, ineffective design.
Instead, focus on your core audience and design for their specific needs, preferences, and behaviors. An exclusive, targeted approach can lead to a more compelling and personalized user experience for your primary user base.
Rule #7
Consistency Is Key
Consistency in design helps create a coherent experience, but a little variety can spark delight and interest.
Whether it’s through occasional unexpected animations, unique content layouts on different pages, or varied storytelling techniques, a break from the norm can make the user’s journey more engaging.
Breaking Rules Responsibly
Breaking the rules doesn’t mean disregarding the principles of good design.
Always base your decision to break a rule on user research, testing, and a solid understanding of your design goals.
It’s about knowing when traditional guidelines enhance the user experience and when they hinder innovation. Always base your decision to break a rule on user research, testing, and a solid understanding of your design goals.
Wrapping Up
By thoughtfully challenging these seven UX rules, you can create more personalized, engaging, and memorable experiences.
Remember, the most successful designs often come from not just following the rules but knowing when and how to break them effectively. Happy rule-breaking, designers!
You Asked, We Answered
Q: What are the key “rules of UX” every designer should know?
A: Key rules include Miller’s Law, emphasizing memory limits in design, Jakob’s Law for leveraging familiarity, and Fitts’s Law focusing on interactive element accessibility. Additionally, the Aesthetic-Usability Effect, Von Restorff Effect, and Tesler’s Law guide designers to create intuitive, user-friendly interfaces that balance aesthetics and functionality, ensuring a positive overall user experience.
Q: How does Jakobs Law benefit UX design?
A: Jakobs Law asserts that users bring expectations based on past experiences. In UX design, aligning with these expectations—through familiar layouts and conventions—enhances usability and reduces the cognitive load, leading to a more intuitive and satisfying user experience. It emphasizes the importance of understanding and leveraging users’ mental models.
Q: In what ways do UX designers break conventional rules?
A: UX designers often break rules to innovate, challenging norms like constant simplicity or standard layouts. They might embrace complexity for expert users (breaking Miller’s Law) or redesign familiar patterns to improve engagement, defying Jakob’s Law. This creative rebellion, when user-centered, can lead to breakthroughs in usability and overall user experience.
Q: What’s the significance of ‘Aesthetic Usability Effect’ in UX?
A: The Aesthetic Usability Effect suggests that users often perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as more usable. This psychological bias means that attractive interfaces can make users more tolerant of minor usability issues. Designers leverage this by creating visually appealing designs that also meet usability and functionality requirements, enhancing the user’s overall experience.
Q: How does the Von Restorff effect impact UI design?
A: The Von Restorff effect, or the isolation effect, implies that elements standing out are more memorable. In UI design, this translates to highlighting important features or actions using distinctive colors, shapes, or spacing. This helps guide the user’s attention and makes critical interactions more noticeable and memorable, improving navigation and user experience.
Q: What role does Tesler’s Law play in UX design?
A: Tesler’s Law, or the Law of Conservation of Complexity, states that every system has an inherent amount of complexity that cannot be reduced. In UX, this means designers should simplify interfaces for users but without eliminating essential complexities. It’s about creating a balance that offers a streamlined user experience without oversimplifying the functionality.
Q: How does Jakob Nielsen influence modern web design?
A: Jakob Nielsen, a pioneer in user-centric design, emphasizes clarity, simplicity, and usability. His principles, including the renowned ’10 Usability Heuristics for UI Design,’ guide designers in creating intuitive, user-friendly websites. His advocacy for minimalistic design and clear navigation remains influential in shaping effective and efficient web design.
Q: What is cognitive load, and why is it critical in UX/UI design?
A: Cognitive load refers to the amount of mental processing power required to use a system. In UX/UI design, minimizing cognitive load is crucial to prevent user fatigue and frustration. Designers aim to create intuitive interfaces that reduce the need for thought, making the user’s interaction as smooth and pleasant as possible.
Q: How do principles like Fitts’s Law and the Pareto Principle guide design?
A: Fitts’s Law predicts that the time to acquire a target is a function of the distance and size of the target, guiding designers to make frequently used elements easily accessible. The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 rule, suggests that designers should focus on the critical 20% of features that satisfy 80% of user needs for maximum impact.
Q: How do mental models affect user interface design?
A: Mental models are the assumptions users have about how something works. In user interface design, aligning the UI with these models ensures users can intuitively navigate and understand the system. Deviations can lead to confusion and a poor user experience. Designers research and predict user expectations to create coherent and intuitive interfaces.
Q: What is the role of a UX/UI designer in shaping user experience?
A: A UX/UI designer is pivotal in crafting interfaces that are not only visually appealing (aesthetically pleasing design) but also highly functional and user-friendly. They apply principles like usability, cognitive load, and user-centered design to ensure the product meets the users’ needs and expectations, ultimately defining the overall user experience.
Q: How do UX design principles like ‘uniform connectedness’ and ‘isolation effect’ work together?
A: ‘Uniform connectedness’ states that elements connected by visual properties are perceived as more related than those that are not, guiding designers to group related functions together. The ‘isolation effect’ emphasizes making critical elements distinct. Together, they help in organizing the interface so that users can intuitively discern the hierarchy and navigate efficiently.
