Source: Clippp
Halo, this is the Design Folder, and today we are sharing the "Principles of Experience Design".
In the digital wave, user experience has become the key to the success of a product. As one of the founders of the UX space, Jakob Nielsen's Nielsen Ten Principles undoubtedly provide us with a valuable set of guidelines. These ten principles not only cover the basic design elements of the user interface, but also provide insight into the user's psychology and behavior patterns, providing a solid theoretical foundation for us to build an excellent product experience.
The Nielsen Ten Principles are not only a summary of the past decades of UX design experience, but also a foresight of future product design trends. They are not only design principles, but also a design philosophy, a user-centric design concept that pursues the ultimate experience. Used to evaluate and improve the usability of the user interface.
In this sharing, we will delve into the connotation and application of the Nielsen Ten Principles. We'll see how these principles help us create more user-friendly, effective, and engaging products by focusing on the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects of the user's perspective.
Whether you are a designer, product manager, or other practitioner related to product experience, I believe this sharing can bring you inspiration and gain. Together, let's explore the ways of user experience in the digital age, guided by the Nielsen Ten Principles, to create a better product experience for users.
01 Nielsen's 10 Principles Importance and Impact
The importance and impact of the Nielsen Ten Principles are reflected in the following aspects:
importance
Guiding Design Practices: The Nielsen Ten Principles provide designers with clear, practical guidance to help them avoid common mistakes in the product development process and ensure that designs meet user expectations and needs.
Enhance user experience: Following these principles can help improve the ease of use, comprehensibility, and accessibility of the product, thereby enhancing the user experience and reducing the confusion that users may encounter during use.
Enhance product competitiveness: Excellent user experience is one of the key factors for product success. By applying the Nielsen Ten Principles, products are able to stand out in a highly competitive market, attract more users and maintain their loyalty.
Cost saving: Considering the user experience in the design stage can help reduce the cost of later modification and optimization, and improve development efficiency.
effect
Driving Design Thinking Change: The Nielsen Ten Principles emphasize user-centered design thinking, prompting designers to focus on the user's needs and experience from the user's perspective. This change in mindset has had a profound impact on the world of design.
Leading the industry trend: As user experience gradually becomes a core element of product competition, the Nielsen Ten Principles have been widely recognized and applied. It has not only influenced the field of design, but also had a positive impact on other related fields such as product development, marketing, etc.
Improving the industry as a whole: By popularizing the Nielsen Ten Principles, the entire design industry has been upgraded. Designers pay more attention to user experience, constantly explore and innovate, and promote the development and progress of the design field
Build user habits and expectations: The application of Nielsen's Ten Principles also shapes user expectations and habits for products. Users gradually become accustomed to using products that comply with these principles and become dissatisfied with products that do not. This further underscores the importance of following the Nielsen Ten Principles.
02 A detailed explanation of Nielsen's 10 principles
The Nielsen Ten Principles, also known as the Nielsen Ten Principles of Usability, are key guidelines for enhancing user experience and product usability. These principles are designed to ensure that users can easily and efficiently accomplish their goals while providing an enjoyable experience when using a product or service, and the Nielsen Ten Principles can be divided into the following principles: Visibility Principle, Context Approaching Principle, User Control Principle, Consistency Principle, Error Proofing Principle, Ease of Take, Flexibility and Efficiency, Beauty and Simplicity Principle, Fault Tolerance Principle, and Humanized Help Principle, which will be further elaborated below.
1. Principle of visibility
The principle of visibility is an important concept in design, which mainly refers to the fact that the interface and functions of a product or system must be clearly presented so that users can clearly see them. This requires designers to focus on the intuitiveness and clarity of the interface during the design process, so that users can intuitively understand how the product should be used, which actions are available, and what the effects of those actions are.
The principles of visibility include the following:
Maintain visibility into the status of the interface, changes, and content, let users know what's going on, and give the right feedback at the right time. For example, when the system response time is less than 1 second, normal feedback is usually given, and when the response time is more than 1 second, the user's waiting anxiety may be alleviated by loading animations, placeholders, step-by-step loading, etc.
Giving appropriate feedback to the user is the most basic criterion of user interface design. Feedback can help users understand their current status, location, progress, and whether an operation is successful, reduce uncertainty, and guide them to interact in the right direction.
Overall, the principle of visibility aims to improve the ease of use and user experience of the product, ensuring that the product can be easily understood and used by users. By following this principle, designers can create product interfaces that are more intuitive, easy to understand, and easy to use, which in turn increases user satisfaction and loyalty.
Key points of the Visibility Principle
Ensure the visibility of important information: Users want to see the information they need immediately when they open the app, such as on the homepage of an e-commerce site, where the search box is placed prominently on the page and colors that contrast with the background color so that the user can see and understand its function at a glance. In addition, the shopping cart icon is usually designed to be large and eye-catching enough that users can easily identify and view the selected items;
Provide effective feedback: In the design of the product or system interface, it is necessary to provide timely feedback to the user, in the design of a music player, when the song starts playing, the play button will change to a pause icon, and the progress bar will show the playback progress of the song in real time. Additionally, if the song is loading slowly, the player will display a loading animation to inform the user that they are waiting for the song to finish loading.
Display the correct content: ensure that all elements, options and operations in the system are clearly and accurately displayed on the interface, and users can use these elements, options and operations as needed;
Use symbols and markers to explain: Use simple and clear symbols and markers to help users identify and understand features to help them quickly grasp the system;
Content grouping: group information in a certain way, so that users can better understand the information and find the information they need more easily;
2. The principle of being close to the scene
The "Closeness to Scene Principle" emphasizes that when designing products or systems, the user's usage scenarios and habits should be fully considered, and the language, words and concepts that the user is familiar with should be used to make the functional operation consistent with the user's usage scenario. The core of this principle is that the design should be as close as possible to the user's actual life and work scenarios, reduce the user's learning cost, and improve the user experience.
The principle of proximity to the scene is reflected in the following aspects:
Use the user's language: The design language, including graphics, color scheme, style, etc., should be in a language that the target user can clearly understand, and avoid using system jargon or technical jargon to ensure that the user can easily understand and use the product or system.
Simulate real-world objects: By mimicking real-world products or using mappings, the design leverages people's existing knowledge and enables users to understand the interface easily and quickly. This familiarity helps improve the user experience and reduces the cost of learning for users.
Avoid ambiguity: Design elements such as icons and text should be clear and easy to understand to avoid ambiguity. The design should ensure that the intent and function of the product or system can be accurately understood by the user, so as to avoid misoperation or misunderstanding.
For example, when designing a payment app, you should fully consider the actual needs and usage scenarios of users in the payment process. For example, users may need to quickly check account balances, transaction history, and other information, so design with these features prominently placed so that users can view them at any time. At the same time, the payment process should be concise and clear, avoiding too many operation steps and complex processes, so as to improve the payment efficiency of users.
In short, the principle of proximity to the scene emphasizes that when designing a product or system, the user's usage scenarios and habits should be fully considered, and the user-centered should be provided to provide a high-quality experience that meets the user's expectations and needs.
3. User Control Principles
The principle of user control and freedom emphasizes that users should be able to maintain a certain degree of control and freedom over their own operations in the process of using a product or service. This means that when a user performs an operation, the system or product should provide the necessary mechanisms to ensure that the user can undo the wrong operation or redo it, so as to avoid loss or inconvenience caused by the wrong operation.
The principle of controllability is embodied in the following aspects:
Undo and redo functionality: The system or product should provide users with undo and redo capabilities so that in the event of a misoperation, the user can easily revert to a previous state or re-perform an action.
Second confirmation prompt: For actions that may have serious consequences, the system or product should provide a second confirmation prompt to ensure that users can reconfirm their intent before performing these actions.
Avoid lock-in states: The system or product should avoid putting the user in a locked state where they cannot operate freely, ensuring that the user can freely choose and operate at all times.
For example, let's say a user accidentally deletes an important file while using an editing software. If the software follows the principle of controllability, then it should offer an undo feature that allows users to easily recover deleted files. Similarly, if the user accidentally makes the wrong modification while editing the text, the software should also provide a redo function that allows the user to redo the previous action.
Product design that follows the principle of controllability helps to reduce users' anxiety during use and improve user experience. At the same time, it can also increase users' trust and satisfaction with the product, thereby improving the market competitiveness of the product.
4. Principle of consistency
Consistency and Standards emphasize that a coherent and consistent style, layout, and interaction should be maintained in the design of a product or service so that users can easily understand and use it.
At the heart of this principle is to reduce the cognitive burden on users and improve user satisfaction and efficiency by providing a consistent experience.
The principle of consistency is reflected in the following aspects:
Consistency of visual design: Visual elements such as colors, fonts, icons, and layouts should be consistent so that users can quickly identify and understand the interface and functions of the product.
Consistency in how you interact: Interactive elements such as buttons, links, forms, etc., in a product should have the same appearance and behavior so that users can predict and understand the outcome of a click or action.
Consistency of information architecture: The information architecture of the product should be consistent, including menus, navigation, classification, etc., so that users can easily find the information or function they need.
Brand consistency: The design of the product should be consistent with the brand image, including visual style, language style, etc., to strengthen brand recognition and user loyalty.
The product design that follows the principle of consistency can enable users to form consistent cognitive and behavioral habits in the process of use, reduce learning costs, and improve efficiency. At the same time, consistent design also helps to improve the overall aesthetics and user experience of the product, and enhances the user's trust and satisfaction with the product.
In the case of e-commerce websites, for example, the principle of consistency is reflected in the use of the same color scheme, fonts, and icons on all pages of the website, as well as similar layouts and navigation structures. This way, whether users are browsing the homepage, product detail page, or shopping cart page, they can quickly recognize and understand the functions and operations of the page, making the shopping process more convenient.
5. Error-proofing principle
Error Prevention emphasizes that in the design process of a product or service, the possibility of users making mistakes should be reduced as much as possible, and clear warnings and hints should be provided in situations where users may make mistakes, so that users can quickly correct errors. At the heart of this principle is the use of design to prevent errors and improve user experience and satisfaction.
The application of the error-proofing principle is reflected in the following aspects:
Prevent users from taking wrong actions: Products or services should be designed to avoid users from taking wrong actions. For example, with sensible layouts, clear signage, and intuitive interactions, users can easily find the features they need and do the right thing.
Provide clear warnings and prompts: The system should provide timely warnings and prompts when users may make mistakes. This helps users realize their mistakes and take appropriate action to correct them. For example, the system can display an error message or warning message when a user enters incorrect data or attempts to perform a dangerous action.
Design a fault-tolerant mechanism: The product or service should have a certain degree of fault tolerance, and even if the user makes a mistake, the impact of the error can be corrected or mitigated through the system's own mechanism. When editing content in WeChat and Weibo, if you accidentally press back by mistake, a dialog box will pop up in the software, and WeChat will prompt you to "Do you want to exit this edit?"
The product design that follows the principle of error-proofing can reduce the probability of users making mistakes, reduce the distress and frustration of users in the process of use, and improve the efficiency and satisfaction of users. At the same time, by reducing the occurrence of errors, it can also reduce the maintenance cost of the product or service and improve the overall user experience.
In practice, error-proofing is complemented by other Nielsen principles, such as consistency and feedback, and together form the cornerstone of good product design. By applying these principles together, you can create a product or service that is more user-friendly, efficient, and reliable.
6. Principle of easy access
Recognition rather than Recall emphasizes that information and operations should be designed to be easily identified and used by the user in the user interface, rather than relying on the user's memory. The fundamental goal of this principle is to improve the user's efficiency in the interface and reduce the user's memory load.
The application of the principle of ease of use is reflected in the following aspects:
Easy-to-scan visual hierarchy: The design should ensure a clear visual hierarchy that highlights key points and key information, while weakening and eliminating irrelevant information to reduce the user's reading cost. This allows users to quickly scan and identify the information they need without having to go through every detail.
User choice is better than filling: When designing interactive elements such as forms, options, etc., prioritize letting users make choices rather than filling them out. By providing preset options or suggestions, the user's memory cost can be reduced and the user's decision-making can be better assisted.
Remembering the user's habits: The product should be able to remember the user's habits and optimize the interface and functionality based on those habits. For example, by remembering features or settings that users often use, placing them in a more prominent location or providing shortcuts, to meet the needs of users and reduce their operational costs.
Use familiar and natural elements: During the design process, use familiar and natural elements such as icons, language, and so on to convey information and guide actions. This helps users quickly understand and identify elements and functions in the interface, reducing learning costs.
The easy-to-take design makes it easier and more efficient for the user to use. By reducing the user's memory load and operating costs, user satisfaction and loyalty can be increased. At the same time, the easy-to-take principle also helps to reduce the likelihood of users making mistakes and improve the overall user experience.
In summary, the Ease of Access Principle is a critical part of Nielsen's Ten Principles, which emphasize design to optimize user identification and use to improve product usability and user experience.
7. The principle of flexibility and efficiency
The principle of flexibility and efficiency emphasizes that the design of a product or service needs to take into account the needs of both novice and experienced users. For novice users, the design should be as intuitive as possible, providing clear guidance and feedback to help them get up to speed quickly, while for advanced users, the design should provide enough flexibility and efficiency to meet their needs for proficiency and high-frequency use.
Specifically, the application of the principle of flexibility and efficiency is reflected in the following aspects:
Provide shortcut keys and custom settings: In order to meet the needs of senior users for quick operation, shortcut keys can be set for common functions, and users are allowed to customize the settings according to their own usage habits.
Undo and redo capabilities: This feature not only helps prevent users from making mistakes, but also provides more operational flexibility for advanced users, allowing them to easily adjust previous actions.
Optimized search and recommendation functions: Based on users' historical usage data, intelligent search and recommendation functions are provided to help users quickly find the information or functions they need and improve efficiency.
In addition, the principle of flexibility and efficiency also emphasizes that the use needs of different devices and scenarios should be fully considered in the design process to ensure that the product can provide a consistent and efficient experience in different environments.
The product design follows the principle of flexibility and efficiency, which can take into account the needs and habits of different users, and provide an intuitive, easy-to-use, efficient and flexible user experience. This contributes to increased user satisfaction and loyalty, as well as the long-term development and competitiveness of the product.
In practice, the principles of flexibility and efficiency complement the other Nielsen principles and together form the foundation of good product design. By combining these principles, designers can create products or services that are more responsive, easy to use, and efficient.
8. The principle of beauty and simplicity
The principle of aesthetic simplicity emphasizes that the design should focus on the clarity and ease of use of the content, and avoid containing irrelevant or low-frequency information and actions. At the heart of this principle is the overall user experience by simplifying design and content so that users can capture the information they need faster and more directly.
Specifically, the application of the principle of aesthetic simplicity is reflected in the following aspects:
First of all, it requires a reasonable hierarchy of architecture and a clear division of plates. From the perspective of information architecture, the product architecture design should avoid being too broad horizontally or too deep vertically to maintain the clarity and logic of the information. At the same time, the page structure should be clearly demarcated, with clear priorities and priorities, so that users can quickly locate the information they need.
Secondly, the principle of beauty and simplicity emphasizes the simplicity and ease of understanding of the content expression. Especially in information products, the use of lengthy and complex text should be avoided so as not to interfere with the user's understanding of the core idea. By reducing unnecessary visual distractions, the main message can be conveyed more effectively.
In addition, the principle of beauty and simplicity also focuses on the harmony and unity of visual elements such as colors, fonts, and icons. By choosing the right visual elements and color schemes, you can enhance the overall aesthetics of your product and also help improve the user's reading experience.
A design that follows the principle of beauty and simplicity not only enables users to get the information they need faster and more accurately, but also improves the overall image of the product and user satisfaction. At the same time, this design also helps to reduce the user's learning cost and improve the ease of use and popularity of the product.
In conclusion, the principle of aesthetic simplicity is an important part of Nielsen's Ten Principles, which emphasize enhancing the user experience by simplifying design and content. In practical application, designers should fully consider the needs and habits of users, combine product characteristics and positioning, and flexibly use this principle to create products that are both beautiful and easy to use.
9. Fault tolerance
At its core, the principle of fault tolerance is to optimize the user's experience when something goes wrong. This principle emphasizes that when a user makes an error while operating the product, the design should be able to provide clear and easy-to-understand error information and give corresponding suggestions to help users correct the error in time and reduce the distress and loss caused by the wrong operation.
Specifically, the application of the fault tolerance principle is reflected in the following aspects:
First, error messages should be expressed in plain language, pinpointing exactly what the problem is, and avoiding code or jargon that is difficult for users to understand. In this way, the user can quickly understand the nature of the mistake and thus solve the problem in a targeted manner.
Second, in addition to pointing out the error, the error message should also provide a solution or suggestion. This helps users get a quick fix based on recommendations when they encounter an issue, rather than getting lost or overwhelmed.
In addition, when the design does not completely avoid user error, the user should be provided with the ability to undo or redo whenever possible, so that the user can easily revert to a previous state or perform an action again.
The fault-tolerant design can not only improve the user's experience when making mistakes, reduce the loss caused by errors, but also enhance the user's trust and satisfaction with the product. Therefore, in the process of product design, the application of the principle of fault tolerance should be fully considered to ensure that users can get timely and effective help when they encounter problems.
In conclusion, the principle of fault tolerance is one of the key principles to improve product usability and user experience. By optimizing the design of error messages, providing solutions and suggestions, and providing functions such as undo and redo, the possibility of user error can be effectively reduced, and effective support can be provided when users make mistakes, so as to improve the overall satisfaction of users with the product.
10. The principle of humanized help
The principle of humanized help emphasizes that in the process of product design, users should be provided with timely, effective and humanized help and support. At the heart of this principle is the enhancement of the user experience, making it easy for users to understand when using the product, to get started quickly, and to receive timely help when they encounter problems.
Specifically, the application of the principle of humanized help is reflected in the following aspects:
First of all, in the product design, the user's cognitive characteristics and operating habits should be fully considered to ensure that the interface layout is clear and the operation logic is reasonable. In this way, users can quickly understand the functions and operation methods of interface elements when using the product, and reduce the confusion caused by unfamiliar operations.
Second, for complex functions or operations, detailed help documentation or guides should be provided. These documents or guidelines should use plain language and avoid jargon or complex formulations to ensure that they are easy for users to understand. At the same time, the documentation or guide should contain specific operation steps and examples to help users quickly learn how to use it.
In addition, real-time feedback and prompts should be provided during the use of the product. When the user performs an operation, the system should provide immediate feedback on the operation result, and should provide clear hints and suggestions for incorrect operations or potential problems to help users correct errors in time and avoid potential risks.
Finally, the Humane Help Principle also emphasizes that help should be provided while respecting the privacy and autonomy of users. When collecting user data or providing personalized recommendations, users should be clearly informed of the purpose of use of the data and allowed to choose whether to receive help or recommendations.
The product design that follows the principle of humanized help can provide users with a more friendly and convenient user experience. By providing a clear interface, detailed help documentation, real-time feedback and tips, and respecting user privacy and autonomy, it can effectively reduce the user's learning cost and use difficulty, and improve the user's satisfaction and loyalty to the product.
In practice, the Humane Help principle complements other Nielsen principles and together forms the foundation of good product design. By combining these principles, designers can create products that are more user-friendly, easy to use, and user-friendly.
03 Summary and outlook
After a deep dive into the Nielsen Ten Principles, it is easy to see that these principles are not only core guidelines for product design, but also key elements to enhance the user experience. From the principle of consistency to the principle of fault tolerance to the principle of human help, each principle emphasizes different aspects of user experience optimization, and together builds a complete and systematic design framework.
In this era of rapid change, user needs and behaviors are constantly changing. Therefore, we need to continuously learn and apply the Nielsen Ten Principles and integrate them into every aspect of product design to ensure that the product can evolve with the times and meet the needs and expectations of users.
At the same time, it's important to realize that the Nielsen Ten Principles are not isolated, they are interrelated and complementary. In practical applications, we need to flexibly apply these principles according to specific product characteristics and user needs to find the most suitable design solution.
In closing, I would like to emphasize that the Nielsen Ten Principles are not only a valuable asset for designers, but also a fundamental knowledge that everyone involved in product design and development should know and master. Only by deeply understanding and applying these principles can we create products that are truly user-friendly, excellent, and easy-to-use, bringing better experience and value to users.
Let's work together to incorporate the Nielsen Ten Principles into every product design to create a better future for our users!