Designing is an opportunity in a short time with a minimum set of tools to find out how efficiently this or that solution works, or the ability to find it. It allows you to understand whether the right product is being created, whether it will be useful to customers and how to make it better. But behind any design, there should be analytics and design.
Where design begins
Designing a user interface begins with the question of what it is for and who will manage it. A good designer always takes a critical look at the reality around him and does something not just for the process, but thoughtfully, for some reason. Proper interface design is the process of finding solutions to user problems. Their experience of interaction (UX) influences the decision to buy or perform another conversion action and can make them abandon even a high-quality product. The interface also solves business problems, because how convenient it is for themenjoy customers, depends on the profit of the company.
Pyramid of product needs
Designer Maxim Desytykh proposed a model of the important components of any product, regardless of who it is intended for. He called it the "Product Needs Pyramid". It can be used in the development of the user interface. At the heart of this model, the most important evaluation criterion is performance. If a product doesn't work, no matter how attractive it is, it won't succeed.
On the second step of the pyramid is expediency. If the product works, it must be used for something and solve user and business problems, as well as be functional. That is, if similar products on the market have some functions, but the one being developed does not, it will become unprofitable. The next step in the pyramid of product needs is productivity, speed compared to competitors. If it is less than that of competitors, the product will be used less willingly. At the top is aesthetics, as an attractive but non-functioning website or application will not interest the consumer.
User Stories and Scenarios
When developing graphical interfaces, the concepts of user story and user scenario are used. The first term refers to a way of describing the requirements for a designed product in the form of several sentences. The second is a detailed description of possible behaviorsuser when interacting with the interface. They are needed in order to create the right product. For example, when designing a form on a website, the designer must understand how many fields it should have, what will be sufficient, and what will be redundant. That's what a custom script is for. An example of a good option is a few lines with a detailed description of the expected user actions and various reactions of interface elements to them. But it is important to keep in mind that it will not be possible to write down all user scripts before the launch of the product.
Developing a managed interface
The ability to independently change the interface to the needs of the user exists in the products of the company "1C". For example, in the 1C:Enterprise 8.2 system, using the built-in development tools, the administrator can program forms, optimize interaction between the client and server parts, and refine the platform. Application solutions are available not only in the local network, but also via the Internet, if low-speed communication channels are used.
The development of the interface in 1C takes place using a built-in language, thanks to which the user can dynamically rebuild its parts and create their own algorithms for data processing. The structure is defined by a set of commands arranged in a certain sequence. The system has no restrictions on the number of nesting levels. In the process of developing an interface in 1C 8.3, there is a mechanism for configuring the program depending on the user's access rights andteam affiliations. The administrator can configure user rights and the visibility of certain items for various groups, and the user himself has access to additional settings with permission from the administrator.
Psychophysiology of perception of interfaces
In the process of designing and developing interfaces, it is important to have a good understanding of the psychophysiology of human perception. The quality of the future product depends on this knowledge. Currently, the so-called energy theory is gaining popularity, which states that the brain seeks to save its own resources as much as possible. It feeds on highly refined carbohydrates, prepared in a special way. Only such carbohydrates can penetrate the brain and nourish it. This resource is very expensive and valuable, so energy should not be wasted. When there is an opportunity not to activate some neurons, the brain tries not to do so. Therefore, in the process of solving the problem, the least energy-consuming solution is found. If the brain successfully coped with it, the hormone of satisfaction - dopamine - is released. This is important to consider when designing interfaces.
Magic numbers 7±2 and 4±1
In the 1920s, psychologist George Miller conducted an experiment in Bell Labs in which groups of people solved certain problems using a different number of objects. As a result, it turned out that the fewer objects are used, the more effectively the task is solved. After reviewing the results of the study, MillerHe deduced the rule that 7 ± 2 objects is the maximum number that a person's short-term memory can accommodate. The brain begins to avoid large numbers to save resources. Not so long ago, a new study appeared, which says that there should be not 7±2, but 4±1 objects.
The difference in how the brain processes objects
But there is a difference in the speed of information processing when working with different objects. Simpler ones are processed faster than complex ones. Problems with numbers are solved faster. In second place in terms of processing speed are colors, in third place are letters, in fourth place are geometric shapes. Much also depends on motivation. If the result is worth the effort, the brain is more willing to take on the challenge. If the 7±2 rule is not observed during the interface development process, the user is lost in the abundance of elements and does not know which actions to perform first. They may refuse to solve a problem that is too difficult and leave the site or application.
Importance of applying the 4±1 rule
The user has to solve many problems in everyday life, so the interface of the program or site should not cause him any difficulties. Everything needs to be built predictably, logically and simply. When developing software interfaces, it is necessary to take into account the resource of the human brain and not force it to waste energy on unnecessary actions. Proper information architecture and taxonomy, when menu items are grouped in an understandable way, helps the user navigate and find what they are looking for.
The developer needsset tasks for him, for the solution of which it is enough to operate with a small number of objects, after which you can move on. When the user looks at the page, he selects approximately 5 objects with which he subsequently interacts. Of these, he chooses the one that will quickly lead him to the goal. Working with the object, he solves the problem and moves on. As a result, its energy will be saved, the problem solved and the user will be satisfied, having received a pleasant experience of interacting with the product. Therefore, applying the 4±1 rule makes the interface better.
Using color and size perception
Human perception has several other important features that are used when creating interfaces. For example, the principle of contrast allows you to highlight significant objects, making them clearer and brighter. The volume contrast makes you look at a larger object. A large button highlighted in color attracts attention faster than a small and nondescript one. Buttons with unwanted actions, such as unsubscribing, are designed in the opposite way. Blurring the background behind it and aerial perspective are used to indicate the important, which allows you to control the user's focus and pay attention to a specific object.
Features of color perception are also used in the development of program and application interfaces. For example, red for a person means danger. Therefore, various warning buttons and signs indicating actions that cannot be undone are colored this way.color. Yellow is used to attract attention, green and orange are associated with something safe and natural. But if there is a large percentage of color blind users among users, color contrasts should be used with caution. One way to direct the eye to a specific point is to add an image of a human face. Since childhood, people have been taught to recognize faces and pay attention to them, therefore they always react to such a picture.
Image and text
In the process of reading, several large areas of the brain responsible for recognition are activated, but much less effort is required to perceive the image. Therefore, interface developers try to replace text with pictures or icons. Application development interfaces often themselves consist of icons and other visual elements. The desired sequence of reading information by users can be set using correctly selected images. But there is a problem with pictograms - not everyone can decipher their meaning correctly, without a learning process.
For example, the icon with a floppy disk, which means saving changes, is still used in some programs, but the image of a cloud or a cloud with an arrow has become more common. Therefore, at the first iteration of the product, new pictograms need to be signed, which will explain to the user what action will follow them. Then, for users who failed to learn at the first stage, a signature is added in the new version of the product, but in a smaller size. ATfinal product, when the icon has become familiar, the caption can be removed. These icons save space and are more quickly recognized by users, which is especially important for mobile applications and responsive websites.
Text readability
Contrast rules are important not only for graphic elements, but also for textual content. For example, book readers have a special night mode that allows you to make the background black and the text white. Thanks to this, in the evening lighting, the eyes are less tired from the bright screen. The same principle is used by programmers in the process of writing code. With color coding, the eye recognizes more shades on a dark background, especially the red and violet spectrum. Proper typography helps save brain resources and read text faster. It used to be thought that people were better at reading serif fonts, but according to new research, people are now more likely to read a familiar font, whether it's serifed or sans serif.
After developing the concept, designing and prototyping, the final stage of interface design is testing. After successfully passing the tests, the project is launched.
