Laws of UX Flashcards
Aesthetic-usability effect
Users often perceive aesthetically pleasing design as design thats more usable.
Cognitive Load
The amount of mental resources needed to understand and interact with an interface.
In a complicated interface, the cognitive load is high.
Doherty Threshold
Productivity increases when a computer and its users interact quickly enough (under 400ms) so that neither has to wait for the other.
Fitt’s Law
Touch targets should be
- big enough to touch them
-have proper spacing between them
- easy to reach
Goal-Gradient Effect
The closer users are to completing a task, the faster they work towards reaching it.
Provide a clear indication of progress in order to motivate users to complete tasks.
Hicks’s Law
Minimize choises when it’s critical to decrease decision time.
Break complex tasks into smaller steps.
Highlight recommended options.
Use progressive onboarding for new users.
Jakob’s Law
Users spend most of their time on other sites. They prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.
Law of Common Region
Elements tend to be perceived into groups if they are sharing an area with a clearly defined boundary (same background color, borders etc.).
Law of Proximity
Objects that are near, or proximate to each other, tend to be grouped together (for example google search results are grouped).
Law of Prägnanz
The human eye simplifies complex shapes by transforming them into a single, unified shape.
Miller’s Law
The average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their working memory.
Occam’s Razor
Analyze each element and remove as many as possible, without compromising the overall function.
Paradox of the Active User
Users never read manuals but start using the software immediately.
Parkinson’s Law
Reducing the actual duration to complete a task from the expected duration will improve the overall user experience. For example if I give a task 10 minutes to complete it will take the whole time.
Peak-End Rule
People judge an experience largely based on how they felt at its peak and at its end.
Postel’s Law
Be liberal in what you accept, and conservative in what you send.
Accept every input from the user, but provide clear feedback to them.
Selective Attention
People often filter out information that isn’t relevant. This happens in order to maintain focus on information that is important or relevant to the task at hand. Designers must guide users’ attention, prevent them from being overwhelmed or distracted.
Serial Position Effect
Users have a propensity to best remember the first and last items in a series.
Example: you will remember the menu bar options on the far left and the right.
