As we are moving towards more inclusive and diverse design solutions to cater to various types of users and their needs, design choices are growing to be much harder to decide and act upon. In this article, I like to raise a few myths that I have encountered as design trends evolved, four of them in particular, (namely the need for aesthetic, need for simplicity, need for inclusivity, need for conversion) and how I would go about deciding which design to implement. Let me know what you think of these myths below:
1st Myth — Need for Aesthetic: Which graphic to use?
In option A, the design makes use of universal mapping. This allows the graphic to be as small as needed yet visually identifiable, and they can align aesthetically across the other design elements. However, sometimes the representation might be too abstract or unfamiliar to users.
In option B, the design makes use of real-world mapping. Though this provides the highest accuracy of information, it is hard to build consistency and visual alignment. It also requires more rendering and processing.
This is why different businesses uses different UI graphics. According to a study done, a part of our brain called the “gestalt cortex” helps people make sense of information that is ambiguous or incomplete, as well as dismiss alternative interpretations.
People think their interpretation of information is accurate or true from their own perspective and believes that other people are getting it wrong. We, as designers, need to identify these differences in biases, assumptions, beliefs, thoughts, ideas and conclusions through research to ensure the choice of graphic does not result in users facing issues.
2nd Myth — Need for Simplicity: How much to distil?
In option A, also known as progressive disclosure, it allows for collapsing of extensive list of pages and simplify understanding, but if the main categories are too vague, users have to interpret and click in to view what the subpages are.
In option B, also known as listing, users are able to quickly navigate to the information they want directly, however, if the list gets too long, it may get hidden and hard to find.
As much as we want to design to reduce cognitive load, it should not be at the expense of easier navigation. Different users might have different expectations versus what the reality actually transpires, creating more errors. We have to always user test the information architecture and design of the site to ensure the best user experience.
3rd Myth — Need for Inclusivity: Do we need to include?
In option A, it is a more inclusive-focused approach. Designers should consider this option if they require to cater to new unique and non-targeted users, however be careful that the design might become informational heavy, cluttered and under-utilised.
In option B, it is geared towards a more general-focused approach. Though this allows seasoned users to focus on the core-use case with its clean design, it deters unique and non-targeted users from using or trusting the product.
As designers, we always want to make sure that users are fully informed of their choices, but how much is too much? The reason this myth occurs is because according to psychological studies, people prioritise their information needs differently. We choose to select different aspects of a message to focus our attention based on what we consider important, what interests us or what is familiar to us.
This difference in information prioritisation lead to some people feeling that certain information is meaningless or even a hinderance to them, hence impact of the design decision needs to be measured. Products need to start moving towards personalisation and customisation to cater for differences to maintain various level of inclusivity.
4th Myth — Need for Conversion: How fast to push for conversion?
In option A, users have the option to view more information. This allows them to better understand and confirm the details of the purchase. However, there is a possibility that users might drop off on the next page.
In option B, users directly view details on the checkout page. Though this lead to a more direct and faster conversion, the checkout page might be overloaded with information.
Firstly, we need to understand the concept of choices. When there are more options or different ways of achieving a task, users require more effort from the user to make a decision. This is why sometimes it is a struggle to build comparison in-product for users to assist them to make decisions. Creating options for explorations needs to be balanced with ease to get to an outcome quickly. Design solutions should be optimally built to ease users to the right decision or outcome.
In conclusion, there is never one right way to design a certain product or service. This makes user experience study so valuable in businesses. Constant research, testing and iterations have to be done. Are there any other myths that you, as a designer, face as new design trends are emerging?
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