Book Image

101 UX Principles

By : Kate Shaw, Will Grant
3 (1)
Book Image

101 UX Principles

3 (1)
By: Kate Shaw, Will Grant

Overview of this book

We want our UX to be brilliant. We want to create stunning user experiences. We want our UX to drive the success of our business with useful and usable software products. This book draws on the wisdom and training of Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman to help you get your UX right - in 101 ways! 101 UX Principles shows you the 101 most important things you need to know about usability and design. A practical reference for UX professionals, and a shortcut to greatness for anyone who needs a clear and wise selection of principles to guide their UX success. Learn the key principles that drive brilliant UX design. Enjoy 101 Principles including ‘Good UX has a Beginning, a Middle, and an End’, ‘Make Your Links Look Like Links’, ‘Don't Use Obsolete Icons’, ‘Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible’, ‘Test with Real Users’, ‘Making the most of fonts’, ‘Good UX for search results’, and ‘Show your user - don't tell your user!’ “Good to read from beginning to end, and a nice dip-in-and-out text, the chapter titles reminded me of principles I don't even think about explicitly when I likely should. The book inspired me to start more explicitly articulating some of the principles I just take for granted.” - Elizabeth Churchill, Director of User Experience at Google “This is a great practical read. It is convenient to use as a reference when solving real UX problems. I would definitely recommend it as an introduction to UX, but also as a good reminder of best practices for more experienced designers.” - Anne-Marie Léger, Designer at Shopify Some more of the 101 UX Principles featured in this book: Work with user expectations not against them How to build upon established metaphors How to arrange navigation elements How to introduce new ideas to your user Matching pagination and content structure When invention is not good for UX Striving for simplicity Reducing user tasks What to make clickable Making the most of fonts Making your links look like links Picking the right control for the job Data input and what users care about How to handle destructive user actions When color should not convey information Tappable areas and the size of fingers Getting payment details the right way Use the standard e-commerce pattern If you really must use a flat design When to use progress bars or spinners Dropdowns the right and wrong way Handling just-off-screen content How to do Hamburger menus right When to hide Advanced Settings Good UX for Notifications
Table of Contents (108 chapters)
101 UX Principles
Contributors
Preface
Other Books You May Enjoy
Free Chapter
1
Anyone Can Be a User Experience (UX) Professional
2
Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces
3
Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers, So Use Them
5
Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy
6
Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step
7
Make Your Buttons Look Like Buttons
8
Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function
9
Make the Whole Button Clickable, Not Just the Text
10
Don't Invent New, Arbitrary Controls
11
Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"
12
Sliders Should Be Used Only for Non-Quantifiable Values
13
Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers
14
Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options
15
Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions
16
Think About What's Just off the Screen
17
Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed–Style Content Only
18
If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle, and End, Use Pagination
19
If You Must Use Infinite Scroll, Store the User's Position and Return to It
20
Make "Blank Slates" More Than Just Empty Views
21
Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable
22
When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item
23
Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu
24
Make Your Links Look Like Links
25
Split Menu Items Down into Subsections, so Users Don't Have to Remember Large Lists
26
Hide "Advanced" Settings From Most Users
27
Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View
28
Use Consistent Icons Across the Product
29
Don't Use Obsolete Icons
30
Don't Try to Depict a New Idea With an Existing Icon
31
Never Use Text on Icons
32
Always Give Icons a Text Label
33
Emoji are the Most Recognized Icon Set on Earth
34
Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible
35
Obfuscate Passwords in Fields, but Provide a "Show Password" Toggle
36
Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields
37
Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses
38
Don't Ever Clear User-Entered Data Unless Specifically Asked To
39
Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields
40
Don't Ever Make Your UI Move While a User is Trying to Use It
41
Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently
42
Pre-fill the Username in "Forgot Password" Fields
43
Be Case-Insensitive
44
If a Good Form Experience Can Be Delivered, Your Users will Love Your Product
45
Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible
46
If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention
47
Be Forgiving – Users Don't Know (and Don't Care) How You Need the Data
48
Pick the Right Control for the Job
49
Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish
50
Use Drop Downs Sensibly for Date Entry
51
Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details
52
Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes
53
Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input
54
Make it Painless for the User to Add Images
55
Use a "Linear" Progress Bar if a Task will Take a Determinate Amount of Time
56
Show a "Spinner" if the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time
57
Never Show an Animated, Looping Progress Bar
58
Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar
59
Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends
60
If You Must Use "Flat Design" then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls
61
Avoid Ambiguous Symbols
62
Make Links Make Sense Out of Context
63
Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation
64
Don't Only Use Color to Convey Information
65
If You Turn Off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You're Evil
66
Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order
67
Write Clear Labels for Controls
68
Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications
69
Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized
70
A User's Journey Should Have a Beginning, Middle, and End
71
The User Should Always Know at What Stage They Are in Any Given Journey
72
Use Breadcrumb Navigation
73
If the User is on an Optional Journey, Give Them a Control to "Skip This"
74
Users Don't Care About Your Company
75
Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern
76
Show an Indicator in the Title Bar if the User's Work is Unsaved
77
Don't Nag Your Users into Rating Your App
78
Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen
79
Make Your Favicon Distinctive
80
Add a "Create from Existing" Flow
81
Make it Easy for Users to Pay You
82
Categorize Search Results into Sections
83
Your Users Probably Don't Understand the File System
84
Show, Don't Tell
85
Be Consistent with Terminology
86
Use "Sign in" and "Sign out", Not "Log in" and "Log out"
87
"Sign up" Makes More Sense Than "Register"
88
Use "Forgot Password" or "Forgotten Your Password", Not Something Obscure
89
Write Like a Human Being
90
Choose Active Verbs over Passive
91
Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page
92
Pick Good Defaults
93
Don't Confound Users' Expectations
94
Reduce the Number of Tasks a User Has to Complete by Using Sensible Defaults
95
Build Upon Established Metaphors – It's Not Stealing
96
Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible
97
"Does it Work on Mobile?" is Obsolete
98
Messaging is a Solved Problem
99
Brands Are Bullshit
100
Don't Join the Dark Side
101
Test with Real Users
102
Bonus – Strive for Simplicity
Index

Chapter #1. Anyone Can Be a User Experience (UX) Professional

This guide is for anyone who designs software products as part of their work. You may be a full-time designer, a UX professional or someone who has to make decisions about UX in your organization's products. Regardless of your role, the principles in this guide will improve your products, help you to serve your users' needs better, and make your customers more likely to return to you.

Although various examples throughout this book feature a mobile app, website, web app, or some desktop software, the principles are applicable to a wide range of applications, from in-car UI, mobile games, and cockpit controls, to washing machine interfaces and everything in between.

Empathy and objectivity are the primary skills you must possess to be good at UX. This is not to undermine those who have spent many years studying and working in the UX field—their insights and experience are valuable—rather to say that study and practice alone are not enough.

You need empathy to understand your users' needs, goals and frustrations. You need objectivity to look at your product with fresh eyes, spot the flaws and fix them. You can learn everything else.