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101 UX Principles

You're reading from 101 UX Principles A definitive design guide

Product type Paperback

Published in Aug 2018

Publisher Packt

ISBN-13 9781788837361

Length 414 pages

Edition 1st Edition

Concepts

User Experience

Author (1):

Will Grant

View More author details

Table of Contents (108) Chapters

101 UX Principles

Contributors

Preface

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1. Anyone Can Be a User Experience (UX) Professional FREE CHAPTER

Learning points

2. Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces

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3. Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers, So Use Them

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4. USE TYPE SIZE TO DEPICT INFORMATION HIERARCHY

5. Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy

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6. Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step

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7. Make Your Buttons Look Like Buttons

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8. Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function

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9. Make the Whole Button Clickable, Not Just the Text

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10. Don't Invent New, Arbitrary Controls

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11. Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"

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12. Sliders Should Be Used Only for Non-Quantifiable Values

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13. Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers

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14. Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options

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15. Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions

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16. Think About What's Just off the Screen

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17. Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed–Style Content Only

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18. If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle, and End, Use Pagination

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19. If You Must Use Infinite Scroll, Store the User's Position and Return to It

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20. Make "Blank Slates" More Than Just Empty Views

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21. Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable

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22. When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item

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23. Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu

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24. Make Your Links Look Like Links

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25. Split Menu Items Down into Subsections, so Users Don't Have to Remember Large Lists

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26. Hide "Advanced" Settings From Most Users

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27. Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View

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28. Use Consistent Icons Across the Product

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29. Don't Use Obsolete Icons

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30. Don't Try to Depict a New Idea With an Existing Icon

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31. Never Use Text on Icons

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32. Always Give Icons a Text Label

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33. Emoji are the Most Recognized Icon Set on Earth

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34. Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible

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35. Obfuscate Passwords in Fields, but Provide a "Show Password" Toggle

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36. Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields

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37. Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses

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38. Don't Ever Clear User-Entered Data Unless Specifically Asked To

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39. Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields

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40. Don't Ever Make Your UI Move While a User is Trying to Use It

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41. Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently

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42. Pre-fill the Username in "Forgot Password" Fields

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43. Be Case-Insensitive

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44. If a Good Form Experience Can Be Delivered, Your Users will Love Your Product

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45. Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible

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46. If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention

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47. Be Forgiving – Users Don't Know (and Don't Care) How You Need the Data

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48. Pick the Right Control for the Job

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49. Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish

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50. Use Drop Downs Sensibly for Date Entry

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51. Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details

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52. Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes

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53. Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input

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54. Make it Painless for the User to Add Images

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55. Use a "Linear" Progress Bar if a Task will Take a Determinate Amount of Time

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56. Show a "Spinner" if the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time

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57. Never Show an Animated, Looping Progress Bar

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58. Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar

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59. Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends

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60. If You Must Use "Flat Design" then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls

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61. Avoid Ambiguous Symbols

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62. Make Links Make Sense Out of Context

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63. Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation

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64. Don't Only Use Color to Convey Information

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65. If You Turn Off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You're Evil

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66. Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order

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67. Write Clear Labels for Controls

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68. Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications

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69. Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized

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70. A User's Journey Should Have a Beginning, Middle, and End

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71. The User Should Always Know at What Stage They Are in Any Given Journey

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72. Use Breadcrumb Navigation

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73. If the User is on an Optional Journey, Give Them a Control to "Skip This"

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74. Users Don't Care About Your Company

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75. Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern

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76. Show an Indicator in the Title Bar if the User's Work is Unsaved

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77. Don't Nag Your Users into Rating Your App

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78. Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen

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79. Make Your Favicon Distinctive

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80. Add a "Create from Existing" Flow

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81. Make it Easy for Users to Pay You

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82. Categorize Search Results into Sections

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83. Your Users Probably Don't Understand the File System

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84. Show, Don't Tell

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85. Be Consistent with Terminology

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86. Use "Sign in" and "Sign out", Not "Log in" and "Log out"

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87. "Sign up" Makes More Sense Than "Register"

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88. Use "Forgot Password" or "Forgotten Your Password", Not Something Obscure

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89. Write Like a Human Being

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90. Choose Active Verbs over Passive

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91. Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page

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92. Pick Good Defaults

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93. Don't Confound Users' Expectations

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94. Reduce the Number of Tasks a User Has to Complete by Using Sensible Defaults

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95. Build Upon Established Metaphors – It's Not Stealing

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96. Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible

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97. "Does it Work on Mobile?" is Obsolete

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98. Messaging is a Solved Problem

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99. Brands Are Bullshit

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100. Don't Join the Dark Side

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101. Test with Real Users

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102. Bonus – Strive for Simplicity

Index

Chapter #32. Always Give Icons a Text Label

Now, I don't mean text on the icon (see #29 Don't Use Obsolete Icons)—I mean a text label near the icon, not just an icon on a button on its own. Small, nondescript buttons, with obscure mystery icons on them, are next to useless and consistently perform terribly in user tests. There are exceptions to this—frequently-used controls (like bold, italic, underline, and so on.) can be recognized without a text label, but icons in a main menu or toolbar really need descriptive text next to them.

Let's go back to the original purpose of the icon—to provide a quick visual shorthand by which the user can instantly recognize a control, and to provide a target for the user to click or tap. The icon isn't meant to describe a button the first time that the user sees it—the user will need a text label for that. However, if the icon is distinct and recognizable, then the user will locate the control and recall its purpose more quickly with an icon.

Which is easier...

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Authors (1)

Will Grant

Will Grant

Will Grant is a British UI/UX expert and a digital product designer. He is a web technology entrepreneur with over 25 years' experience, leading teams (and products) at the intersection of technology and usability. After his Computer Science degree, Will trained with Jakob Nielsen and Bruce Tognazzini at the Nielsen Norman Group – the world leaders in usable design. Since then, Will has overseen the user experience and interaction design of several large-scale web sites and apps, reaching over a billion users in the process. Will is a "design purist" and obsessed with building beautiful, compelling, and familiar products that customers intuitively know how to use.

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