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Design

Ten Principles for Good Design

Good design...

  1. is innovative
  2. makes a product useful
  3. is aesthetic
  4. makes a product understandable
  5. is unobtrusive
  6. is honest
  7. is long-lasting
  8. is thorough down to the last detail
  9. is environmentally friendly
  10. is as little design as possible

Ten Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

  1. Visibility of System Status

    Keep users in the loop by providing timely and relevant feedback. This helps build trust and enables users to make informed decisions about their next steps.

  2. Match Between System and the Real World

    Align with user's everyday language and experiences, promoting the transfer of skill from what people already know.

  3. User Control and Freedom

    Offer users an "emergency exit" to easily undo actions or leave a process, giving them control and fostering confidence.

  4. Consistency and Standards

    Use consistent terminology and follow established conventions. This minimizes user confusion and cognitive load, making your design more intuitive.

  5. Error Prevention

    Eliminate or minimize errors by designing safeguards and asking for confirmation before executing actions with serious consequences.

  6. Recognition Rather than Recall

    Minimize cognitive load by making elements and options visible, reducing the amount of information users must remember.

  7. Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

    Cater to both novice and expert users by providing shortcuts and allowing customisation to make interactions more efficient.

  8. Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

    Eliminate unnecessary elements that don't serve a functional purpose, keeping the user focused on the most important.

  9. Help Users Recognise, Diagnose, and Recover from Errors

    Provide error messages in plain language that precisely indicate the problem and suggest a solution, making it easier for users to recover.

  10. Help and Documentation

    While a design should be self-explanatory as far as possible, provide just-in-time contextual & searchable documentation for users who need additional guidance.

Continuous Improvement Design Process

  1. Challenge and refine requirements
  2. Try to remove part or process
  3. Simplify and optimise
  4. Accelerate cycle time
  5. Automate

References