A well-designed user interface improves the usability and frequency of the app. The âEight Golden Rules of Interface Designâ proposed by Ben Shneidermann
- The design of the app has to be consistent in regard to appearance, colour, layout, terminology and processes
- Shortcuts are essential for frequent users to reduce the number of interactions and simultaneously increase the pace of interaction. Expert users value abbreviations, hidden commands, function keys.
- Offer informative feedback: Keeping users in the loop about the latest updates and changes
- Design dialog to yield closure means that actions should have a beginning, middle and end part. After a completed action it important to notify the users of the completion.
- By offering simple error handling that is built-in to the system users are generally more experiment-friendly without making serious errors.
- By permitting to easily reverse actions the user is aware that errors can be undone which in turn encourages users to explore the interface with reduced anxiety about possible mistakes.
- By supporting the internal locus of control users are feeling in control of the application rather than just responding to the system.
- By using a clear structure, placing visual aid, and making objects, actions and options available the short-term memory load is reduced since the user does not need to remember information.
These set of rules aim to simplify the use of the application, thus enhancing the user experience by avoiding frustration. This is crucial since users are scared away by sites that have the functionalities that users need. Nobody likes to use an app where they have to constantly look for features. Therefore, accessibility and usability are key to a good interface design. The Story of Us application aims to implement these interface design rules. It is vital to keep a simple to use interface, especially for our elderly users. The app is aimed to be designed with focus on personalization. The app will allow users to configure the settings to their need and preferences such as bigger font sizes or audio aids for elderly or disabled users. The app is designed to operate on desktops, tablets as well as mobile phones. Â Speed is essential for every app nowadays without any effort our app should be enabled to start, resume or stop without effort. For the design of the app extensive testing is necessary to ensure high- functionality.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 W3C Proposed Recommendation 24 April 2018 Online: https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
Shneidemann,B: The Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design. https://faculty.washington.edu/jtenenbg/courses/360/f04/sessions/schneidermanGoldenRules.html
Written by Naida Balafkan
