How to Perfect Your User Interface

Hello Indiana, It's time for your next introduction to the world of user experience design. We have already covered the user experience and how to optimise your conversion rate. But what about the interface itself? ​ In this email, I want to share with you my approach to user interface design. How can you create simple and intuitive interfaces for your websites and mobile apps? ​ But before we get into that, I promised you another little gift. ​ One tool that has become essential for user interface designers is a high-quality pattern library to work with. It can save days and days of repetitive design work. ​ That is why I have created an in-depth guide on how to create your first pattern library, that you can access for free. ​ Okay, enough of free giveaways. Let's look at some useful posts. ​ Avoid the Common Pitfalls I've been designing websites for 23 years, and I have made a lot of mistakes. Don't make my mistakes and avoid some of the more common pitfalls. Check out this post where I list my top 10. ​USER INTERFACE DESIGN: 10 PRINCIPLES LEARNED FROM PAINFUL MISTAKES​ ​ Simplicity Wins Every Time The biggest mistake is complicating websites. Simplicity wins because, as I said in the last email, it lowers the user's cognitive load. But how do we ensure our sites are as simple as possible? ​HOW TO CREATE COMPELLINGLY SIMPLE WEBSITES​ ​ Ensure Consistency and Predictability Another common mistake is a lack of consistency across a site. User interface elements vary between pages and change behaviour. Even navigation moves or changes. To avoid this, you should look at building a pattern library. ​HOW TO CREATE A PATTERN LIBRARY AND WHY YOU SHOULD BOTHER​ ​ Even More From Me! Once again, this is a subject about which I have a lot to share. With that in mind, here are some other articles I have written about user interface design. ​ Make Your Interfaces Inclusive You want to ensure as many people as possible can use your interface to maximise conversion. That is what making a site accessible is all about. It is not only about supporting the disabled. ​ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK​ ​ Test Everything Including Aesthetics Testing lies at the heart of creating a successful user interface. But how do you test styling? How do you prove to that client who hates the colour, that your decision is correct? Well, you can test aesthetics. ​TESTING DESIGN: HOW DO YOU TEST A DESIGN COMP​ ​ Winning Over Stakeholders Winning over your client and stakeholders is a constant battle. A significant example of this is their desire to clutter pages with way too much information. A good workshop exercise can help. ​HOW TO GET CLIENTS AND COLLEAGUES TO CONSIDER USER ATTENTION​ ​ Don't Try and Be Clever Not that we are perfect. We want to be creative and do something different. We want to innovate! Although there is a place for this, it can cause problems. Always put user expectations before your portfolio. ​DESIGN CONVERGENCE IS NOT A DIRTY WORD​ ​ Get an Outside Perspective Designing a great user interface is hard, in part because you become too close to your work. You lose objectivity and cannot see some of the issues. That is where an outside perspective can help. Get in touch and I will provide you with some constructive feedback. ​ Next time we are going to talk strategy, so make sure you keep an eye out for my email in two weeks. ​ ​ ​ Sharing Is Caring, and Rewarding Too! ​ Do you enjoy these emails? Share them with a friend and get rewarded for doing so! ​ You have referred 0 people and your only a few clicks away from your next reward. For more information on the rewards program and your progress, visit your dashboard. ​ ​ ​ Copy and paste this link to share it with others: https://boagworld.com/subscribe/?rh_ref=14fd3254 If you no longer want to hear from me, I completely understand and you can unsubscribe from all emails here. Alternatively, if you need to update any of the information about yourself you can edit your profile here.