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Julie Dirksen • Design for How People Learn (Voices That Matter)
Two of the most important characteristics of good design are discoverability and understanding.
Donald A. Norman • The Design of Everyday Things
Basic control and flexibility that allows the user to easily go back, cancel, close, or undo is a given and should be supported in any interface. But allowing users to completely customize their experience should be reserved only for professionals or not given at all. The happy intermediary, where everyday users have enough flexibility that they’re
... See moreIrene Pereyra • Universal Principles of UX: 100 Timeless Strategies to Create Positive Interactions between People and Technology (Rockport Universal)
Even though they have not taken centuries to build, most programming systems reflect conceptual disunity far worse than that of cathedrals. Usually this arises not from a serial succession of master designers, but from the separation of design into many tasks done by many men. I will contend that conceptual integrity is the most important considera
... See moreFrederick P. Brooks Jr. • Mythical Man-Month, Anniversary Edition, The: Essays On Software Engineering
Implicit in Ockham’s razor is the idea that unnecessary elements decrease a design’s efficiency, and increase the probability of unanticipated consequences. Unnecessary weight, whether physical, visual, or cognitive, degrades performance. Unnecessary design elements have the potential to fail or create problems.
Kritina Holden • Universal Principles of Design, Revised and Updated: 125 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions, and Teach through Design
Your objective should always be to eliminate instructions entirely by making everything self-explanatory, or as close to it as possible. When instructions are absolutely necessary, cut them back to the bare minimum.
Steve Krug • Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability (Voices That Matter)
The devices will be able to do many useful things, but I fear they will also frustrate: so many things to control, so little space for controls or signifiers. The obvious solution is to use exotic gestures or spoken commands, but how will we learn, and then remember, them?