Based on this understanding, UX designers and enthusiasts have been referring to a set of user experience laws formulated by scientists and UX pioneers.
Design is a broad discipline with a lot of different areas. There are many types of designers, each with their area of specialization: graphic design, motion design, and interaction design, to name a few. But no matter what you do in the design field, there is a set of rules that every designer should know: the foundational rules of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) that define how people perceive and interact with digital products. These are principles that can be applied at both the macro and micro levels of product design.
There are many User Experience principles and laws that a Designer should always look to follow. In order to achieve good UX Design, it is key to use clear and effectual design laws and use proven formulas as a guide so as to achieve optimal user experience in designs. These laws will assist in the experience and aesthetic quality of our designs.
Alejandro Ausejo has compiled a useful series of design tips titled “7 laws of UX design” based on several studies on human behavior and psychology by respectful scientists.
1. Von Restorff Effect
The Von Restorff effect (also known as the isolation effect) predicts that when multiple similar objects are present, the one that differs from the rest is most likely to be remembered!
2. Hick’s Law
The time it takes for a person to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices. Minimize choices to drive decision-making.
3. Fitt’s Law
The time to acquire a target is a function of the distance to and size of the target. As the distance increases, movement takes longer and as the size decreases selection again takes longer.
4. Zeigarnik Effect
Discovered by soviet psychologist Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik in the 1920s, Zeigarnik Effect suggests that an incomplete task creates mental stress which keeps it in the front of our memory. People remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.
5. Serial Position Effect
The Serial Position Effect is the propensity of a user to best remember the first and last items in a series.
You remember the first item in a list is because it is the first thing you see when you start scanning a page, and you remember the last item on the list because it is the last thing you see on this page, and so ends up in your short-term memory.
6. Law of Common Region
Elements tend to be perceived into groups if they are sharing an area with a clearly defined boundary.
7. Law of Proximity
Objects that are near, or proximate to each other, tend to be grouped together. To put it in simpler terms, our brain can easily associate objects close to each other, better than it does objects that are spaced far apart. This clustering occurs because humans have a natural tendency to organize and group things together.
Conclusion
UX Design always happens. Whether it’s intentional or not, somebody makes the decisions about how the human and product will interact. Good UX Design happens when we make these decisions in a way that understands and fulfills the needs of the users and the business.
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