Everything that I’m referring to is under the umbrella of what is called “User Experience” or UX for short. Often when I am doing a UX analysis of someone’s website, I’ll suggest a tip, perhaps on the layout of a landing page’s interface. Sometimes people will think this is my opinion, but it’s not. While I do have a master’s degree in human and computer interaction, which encompasses a lot of user experience, the suggestions I make are based on research and real-world practicality.
The field of user experience has been a topic of study for over forty years, essential elements have been identified as common in establishing a clear and straightforward design. For instance, one of the pioneer’s of UX, Jakob Nielson, wrote a paper in 1994 titled, Enhancing the explanatory power of usability heuristics*. In it, he identified what he called “10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design”.
Nielson referred to this list as a set of heuristics “because they are broad rules of thumb and not specific usability guidelines.” All these years later, his list has still provided a roadmap for understanding and implementing effective User Experience.
- Visibility of system status
- Match between system and the real world
- User control and freedom
- Consistency and standards
- Error prevention
- Recognition rather than recall
- Flexibility and efficiency of use
- Aesthetic and minimalist design
- Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors
- Help and documentation
Since many of these design points are new and unfamiliar to organizations and entrepreneurs, having a skilled and experienced partner to guide you through creating a mobile app, web experience, or UX analysis on an existing product, is invaluable to the success of your vision.
The App You Create Could Be the Next Big Thing
If you are serious about building a new app or web experience, or just curious about learning more about the process, then I’d love to talk with you. The app you create could be the next big thing. It might open you up to new opportunities for your business or organization and completely change the world and your life.
Please send me an email to start the conversation.
jay@3rinteractive.com
Jay Johns, Founder of 3r Interactive, LLC
