No design is perfect on the first try. Combining iteration, parallel design, and competitive testing helps teams move quickly, explore broadly, and make confident, evidence-based design decisions.
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.
Disabled buttons often confuse users by appearing clickable but providing no response or feedback. Designers should use them sparingly, ensure they’re accessible, and clearly explain why the button is disabled.
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.
Keyboard accessibility is crucial for inclusive web design. Test your site using only a keyboard to ensure clear focus states, access to all interactive elements, and logical tab sequences.
Test your survey with three methods: Cognitive Walkthroughs check question clarity with target users, Mechanical Tests ensure software functions like skip logic, and Usability Tests observe real user interaction.
Destination pages fulfill users' information needs through detailed content, while transition pages guide them toward these destinations through navigation and brief overviews. Content prioritization based on user goals and information needs is key in designing both pages.
In-page links help users navigate to specific content sections on the same page. For effective use, use descriptive headings that match the destination, and clearly distinguish in-page links from other links.
When humans interact with computers, mistakes and misunderstandings are inevitable. In these situations, good error messages are a vital tool to avoid frustrations and provide a satisfying user experience.
Avoid using accordions when: 1. Users need access to most content; 2. There's little visible content on the page; 3. Content is complex with multiple levels; 4. Content can't be effectively chunked; 5. An uninterrupted reading flow is prioritized.
Accordions provide an overview of the whole page and mitigate the problem of long mobile pages, allowing users to directly access the content of interest.
Element, functionality, and content are three types of prototype specifications that help us document design details that are otherwise easily overlooked.
Before users can use an AR app, they must often calibrate it first. Usability studies find many big problems in calibration designs that can prevent people from ever getting into the actual AR experience.
Designers, researchers, and generalists alike can improve their visual design skills through creative exercises focused on identification, replication, or exploration.
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.
