Technology and Techies: Improving User Experience

Application, website and interface design are among the greatest concerns in technology these days, but user experience (UX) is even more important than the interface itself. Though it may seem as if the Apple Human Interface Design Guidelines are the be-all and end-all for developers, it is important to also take cues from Microsoft's Metro style and Google's Material Design. Here are five UX principles that developers and techies in general should always keep in mind as they design apps, websites, hardware, and systems.

Mobile operating systems make it very easy for programmers to include notifications in their projects, but too many of these alerts can become annoying for end users. Before including notifications, developers should gauge the value of the information presented.

One of the most controversial video games of all times features a very interesting and endearing look. "No Man's Sky" is an exploration game that was overly hyped and deceptively promoted, but the stylized look of the universe it created will always be remembered for its clever homage to the book covers of science fiction novels of the 1970s. It so happens that space exploration was a popular sci-fi theme of the 1970s, and thus the developers' choice to replicate that color palette and graphic design was very clever.

Presenting information with subtle animations is an excellent method to catch the attention of end users. Animations are particularly useful when users are expected to navigate a series of pages or screens; the idea is to prompt and give a slight sense of anticipation. Think about those PowerPoint presentations that feature animations to help slide transitions.

Although Apple announced its intention to do away with skeumorphism a few years ago, it has not completely delivered on that promise, and there is a good reason for that: we are not ready to live in a world without the icon that looks like a paper envelope indicating that we have a new message. For this reason, developers working on a Help Desk interface for an IT services company should not be afraid to use an unhappy computer icon to ask users to report a new issue. Other things like network security, are also important to consider.

Interaction is Engaging

Let users know that they have accomplished something through visual or audio cues. The satisfying ring of a cash register, for example, can be used for an online shopping cart application.

In the end, UX developers should not focus on a single set of design guidelines; instead, they should get ideas from diverse and respected sources.