Application Design Articles & Videos

  • Overflow Menu Icons

    Overflow menu icons are widely recognized, but hiding key actions inside them can hurt usability. Use them for secondary actions, and always prioritize clarity and proximity.

  • Icon Interpretation vs. Recognizability

    Icons aren’t universal. Learn why recognizability and interpretation matter and why testing is essential for clarity.

  • Is the Floppy Disk Dead?

    The floppy disk still signals “save” to most users. But is it still the best way to show “save”? Maybe not.

  • Checkbox Design: 8 Guidelines

    Design effective checkboxes by using square boxes, clickable labels, and clear, positive wording. List items vertically with instructions, and ensure legal checkboxes are unchecked by default to respect user consent.

  • Wireflows 101

    Wireflows combine wireframes with flowcharts to help document user interactions. They can aid in team collaboration, developer handoff, and help ensure clear communication for complex interactions.

  • 2-Factor Authentication (2-FA)

    2-FA is one of the simplest ways to protect user data, but you must balance security with the potential impact on usability.

  • Direct Access vs. Sequential Access: Why Direct Is Better

    Sequential access frustrates users. Consider these examples to help you find ways to give them more direct access wherever possible.

  • Bulk Actions: 3 Design Guidelines

    When designing bulk actions, provide a Select All option, use a contextual action bar, and give users clear feedback with the option to undo actions to ensure a smooth and efficient experience.

  • CASTLE: Measure UX in Workplace Software

    Discover the CASTLE framework for measuring UX in workplace software, an alternative to Google's HEART model.

  • How to Increase the Visibility of Error Messages

    Error messages can be a crucial point in the user experience. To be effective, they must be clearly visible, which can be accomplished by displaying them close to the error's source, using noticeable, redundant, and accessible indicators, designing them based on their impact, and avoiding displaying them prematurely.

  • Power Law of Learning: How to Launch New Designs Successfully

    Time on task decreases with the number of times the task has been performed in the past. As a result, a new version of an app translates into a temporary productivity loss for its users.

  • 3 Strategies for Managing Visual Complexity in Applications and Websites

    In application design, prevent users from being overwhelmed by putting things in predictable places, using a clear visual hierarchy, and taking advantage of progressive disclosure.

  • Empty States in Application Design: 3 Guidelines

    Well-designed empty states in applications can help increase user confidence, improve system learnability, and help users get started with key tasks quickly.

  • Progressive Disclosure

    To reduce complexity in a user interface, employ progressive disclosure to defer secondary options to a subsidiary screen. This focuses users' attention on the primary options, which are the only ones shown by default.

  • Designing for Long Waits in Applications: 3 Guidelines

    3 guidelines help mitigate the frustrations users often feel during long waits experienced in complex applications.

  • Making Design Improvements vs. Upsetting Established Users

    Even if a design change improves the overall user experience, it can frustrate existing users who are used to things working a certain way.

  • 3 Ways to Level Up Your Visual Design Skills

    Designers, researchers, and generalists alike can improve their visual design skills through creative exercises focused on identification, replication, or exploration.

  • The Aesthetic Usability Effect and Prioritizing Appearance vs. Functionality

    Users believe that designs that look good also work well, and UX should take advantage of this. But don't make aesthetic usability lead you astray as a designer, because the UI must actually work well for long-term success.

  • Short-Term Memory Limitations Impact User Interface Design

    People can only hold a small amount of information in their short-term memory, which fades fast. These facts impact most aspects of screen design and dictate many usability guidelines.

  • Using Fitts's Law to Make Links and Buttons Easier to Click

    Fitts's Law describes how long time it takes to click a target, based on the distance to the target and its size. Use this information to make buttons and links faster to click.