Design // Browsing posts in Design
Minimize Visual Noise with White Space
So far, we’ve discussed minimizing complexity by killing or hiding features. But minimizing “perceived” complexity is also important. The amount of visual noise in an interface has a great deal of impact on the perceived complexity of the interface. Keeping visual noise to a bare minimum will make an interface seem easier to use. The...
Hide Complexity in Design
If you can’t kill a complex feature, the next best thing is to hide it. Too often, rarely used yet complex features take up more screen real estate than frequently used yet simple features. This shouldn’t be. A good user interface should make the most common tasks the most prominent and then hide rare tasks...
Fighting Complexity in User Interfaces
The first weapon for fighting the villain of complexity is a hatchet. Studies have found that 80% of users use only 20% of software features. Not only are all those unused features a waste of development time, but they frequently detract rather than add value by making the application more difficult to use.
Effective User Testing Doesn’t Have To Be Extensive
Jakob Nielsen’s study on the ideal number of test subjects in usability tests found that tests with just five users would reveal about 85% of all problems with your website, whereas 15 users would find pretty much all problems.
White Space Improves Comprehension
Most designers know the value of white space, which is the empty space between paragraphs, pictures, buttons and other items on the page. White space de-clutters a page by giving items room to breathe. We can also group items together by decreasing the space between them and increasing the space between them and other items...
The Ideal Search Box Is 27-Characters Wide
What’s the ideal width of a search box? Is there such a thing?
Most Users Do Not Scroll
Jakob Nielsen’s study on how much users scroll (in Prioritizing Web Usability) revealed that only 23% of visitors scroll on their first visit to a website. This means that 77% of visitors won’t scroll; they’ll just view the content above the fold (i.e. the area of the page that is visible on the screen without scrolling down). What’s...
Users Focus On Faces
People instinctively notice other people right away when they come into view. On Web pages, we tend to focus on people’s faces and eyes, which gives marketers a good technique for attracting attention. But our attraction to people’s faces and eyes is only the beginning; it turns out we actually glance in the direction the...
Form Labels Work Best Above the Field
A study by UX Matters found that the ideal position for labels in forms is above the fields. Why is that? Because forms are generally vertically oriented; i.e. users fill the form from top to bottom.
Master CSS Image Styles and Galleries
Styling of images is an oft-overlooked element of page design. The techniques and tips featured below should help you remedy that situation on any of the sites you’ve designed.
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