graphical user interfaces Articles & Videos

  • Why So Many Info Tips Are Bad (and How to Make Them Better)

    Information tips can clarify complex UIs, but they should not hide essential information, trigger redundant information, or disrupt the current workflow.

  • Designing Effective Contextual Menus: 10 Guidelines

    Contextual menus reduce clutter and interaction cost but have low information scent. Prioritize clarity, consistency, and proximity to balance the tradeoffs.

  • GenUI: AI-Generated Interfaces

    Generative UI uses real-time AI to create personalized interfaces, shifting UX from static design to dynamic, user-specific experiences.

  • The Floppy Disk Icon as “Save:” Still Appropriate Today?

    Users still recognize the floppy disk icon as ‘save,’ but evolving workflows mean it may no longer be the clearest or most appropriate choice in many cases.

  • The Hamburger-Menu Icon Today: Is it Recognizable?

    Hamburger menus are a more familiar pattern today than 10 years ago, but the same old best practices for hidden navigation still apply.

  • Hamburger Menu Icon Update

    Hamburger menus are now widely recognized—but still come with usability tradeoffs. Use them only when needed, and stick to tested best practices.

  • 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.

  • User-Interface Elements: Glossary

    Use this glossary to quickly clarify definitions for key graphical user-interface elements and controls.

  • Alt Text: Avoid Redundancy to Improve Usability

    Use alt text strategically to enhance both accessibility and usability by being cautious of redundancy.

  • Alt Text: What to Write

    Images are decorative, functional, or informative. Skip alt text for decorative. Describe the action for functional. Convey the message for informative.

  • Alt Text: Not Always Needed

    Write alt text that communicates an image's purpose without repeating page content. Focus on meaning rather than visual description.

  • Visual Design: Glossary

    Use this glossary to quickly clarify key terms and concepts related to visual design.

  • The Negative Impact of Mobile-First Web Design on Desktop

    Mobile-first web designs cause significant usability issues when viewed on desktop. Content becomes overly dispersed across long scrolling pages with expansive white space and enlarged images and fonts, making it difficult for users to consume and understand the information.

  • Overcoming the Articulation Barrier in Generative AI Using Hybrid Interfaces

    Hybrid user interfaces that combine prompt-based inputs with a graphical user interface (GUI) can make AI image-generation tools more usable by reducing users’ cognitive load and improving discoverability.

  • The IL1 Typography Test

    Using typefaces with distinct characters can help users easily differentiate alphanumeric data. Choose typefaces that pass the I-L-1 test for data tables and information seen at-a-glance.

  • The UX of Phone Trees

    Phone trees are notoriously frustrating for 4 main reasons. There are many small ways to make them more usable and less miserable, however.

  • Common Region: Gestalt Principle for User Interface Design

    Items within a boundary are perceived as a group and assumed to share some common characteristic or functionality.

  • Figure/Ground: Gestalt Principle for User Interface Design

    Users perceive interface design elements that differentiate the foreground (figure) from the background (ground) as something to focus on or interact with.

  • Continuation: Gestalt Principle for User Interface Design

    The eye automatically follows lines and curves, continuing them. Employ continuation to guide users along desired paths in the UI.

  • 40 Years in UX

    Jakob Nielsen on what has changed and what has remained the same since he started in UX in 1983.