Interactive design Analysis: The product status not to be neglected in design

This article is reproduced from the @ zi mu yoyo personal blog. In the product design process, the designer always likes to make the picture is very beautiful, in the virtual page content, uses the beautiful picture, arranges the content to be just right. But when the output interface demo, this page may be an empty content of the page, also may be a lot of content, resulting in layout dislocation.

Therefore, in the design of the interface, we must not ignore the empty state, excessive content, such as limit state. These states may only be encountered in the initial use, perhaps only a small number of users encountered, but these affect the quality of the product details.

In making interactive or visual drafts, to make the interface as real as possible, designers will be able to virtual some content on the page. But when you see the demo of the front-end students, designers always feel why and I did the page so different pinch?

Empty state

When users first use some products, often encounter empty content interface, especially social network products, users need to build their own circle, produce content. This is usually done in a novice-led manner, leading the user to the next step.

For example, when using Foursquare for the first time, users will be led to add friends, in order to facilitate the search for friends, but also from Facebook, Gmail, Twitter to import friends.

If you have not written any articles in your Facebook, he will also guide you through writing and publishing new articles.

Also, Flickr uses a guided approach that lets users know exactly what their status is and what to do next.

Gmail is the way to send mail to the user to guide the novice, so that users read the novice notice, that is, the first experience to complete the use.

Tumblr uses the empty state to explain the main operating area of the interface, not to specify what the user should do next, you can add attention, you can publish content, you can also decorate your home page. This is also the hope that users can quickly start.

State when there is too much content

The interface in Internet products should be extensible so that the content can be flexibly changed and fully expanded. For a specific approach, see the other article, "interface flexibility and scalability."