Design Patterns — Avoid Frustrating Users
Like any other user, I prefer designs that make interaction intuitive and accomplishing a goal easy. So why are there loads of apps, websites and intranets which are anything but? One possible reason, those who developed those poor user interfaces didn’t take time to research and apply popular design patterns thereby leaving us with the arduous chore of understanding their retake on the wheel.
One sure fire way to alleviate a lot of user struggle with a UI is to leverage already understood norms (e.g. design patterns). Design patterns make understanding unfamiliar UIs easy for users and I’d argue that the most intuitive designs had designers who took the time to explore and apply design patterns to their product. To help illustrate the general understanding design patterns provide, I’ve posted a few popular design patterns below.
Those Horizontal Dots:
An indication of more to come, it’s a minimalist approach to the once famed thumbnail images and is provided by a screen conscious designer.
The Stereotypical Login Screen:
The login screen is potentially the most standard element throughout apps. Now that I’ve mentioned it, you’ll take notice of how little these vary from app to app.
The Famed Hamburger Menu:
The hamburger menu, not sure how it became so popular but it works and is very well known and used throughly.
So I’ve only posted three but know there are so many more and that researching popular design patterns is but a search away. Below are a few resources I’ve curated after a brief Google search:
Obviously, no designer sets sail looking to create an application with the aim of having users struggle. So next time you’re developing a UI, research and apply design patterns to ensure your design is more intuitive and provides a better user experience overall. Your users will thank you!
