Ultimate Form of excellent interfaces: invisible Interfaces

A really good user interface is ignored, while a bad design forces the user to pay attention to the interface rather than the content. Users visit the website with a purpose: buy a new book, learn jquery, share an article with friends, discover new music, write a novel, or simply look for the nearest destination. They don't just come to play the interface. In fact, the user does not care about the interface design at all. Over the years, the absence of models and interactive tools for desktop systems has led people to think about the user interface. How does it play a role? How can we increase or decrease the design color? But do users really need to care about this?

Users are familiar with the interface pattern and composition elements, but they don't care. Over the years, web designers have spent hundreds of thousands of hours on button color, projection, border, and gradient, just to make the interface easier to use and more beautiful. But in fact, the ultimate form of a good user interface is not easy to use, but invisible.

As you may already know, mobile devices have been a major event in recent years. The advent of multi-touch devices has brought about a mobile concept-the user interface is a series of click operations and events on the content. The rise of mobile devices makes human-machine interfaces more natural. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but operations on the content directly, and the rejection of outdated concrete things (such as those on the desktop) give these devices a high ease of use, because their interfaces almost disappear.

However, we still need to work with desktops and laptops. We also need to browse websites and use web applications. Those magical and interesting multi-touch technologies and the more natural new user interfaces It creates may not be useful. So, since it is not available for us, should we continue to create outdated and "out of the way" UI elements? Of course not. The invisible interface should be the goal of every UI Designer and developer.

Interface, rather than Obstacle

The interface should not be an obstacle for users to browse content or achieve their goals. Before achieving this goal, you do not have to go through the UI traps and the navigation that is randomly arranged. Over the years, we have been using and inventing various UI barriers. On the surface, they seem to be able to solve some problems, but they add more burden to users. Bread is an excellent example. It is generally considered that bread chips are a good choice to let users know where they are in the application. However, it only adds unnecessary UI elements and affects normal user experience.

Although the bread does not directly burden the user, it occupies valuable space resources on the screen, which should be used to guide the user to achieve the purpose and display content. To solve the problem of navigation, we should try to solve it directly. To fix some UI problems, new elements are often introduced. However, too many unnecessary elements accumulate less, and the final interface becomes a difficult maze. How can I hide the UI if I add more UI elements?

Solve interface problems

This is closely related to what we have mentioned earlier. However, to create an invisible interface means to solve deeper problems, you must actually solve those problems. My back is a little faulty. Of course, knocking and using painkillers can relieve pain, but it is just a temporary cure. I lack exercise, often listless, stiff as a stone. The same is true for interface problems. When creating websites and apps, we always find various strange problems. Most of the time, we only do some superficial articles to solve the problem, but there are deeper problems hidden in the interface. This is only a headache.

But this has become a convention, because we have to learn to fight against project managers, website owners, shareholders, project progress, or just laziness. We conduct user testing and AB testing on this basis. "I know something is wrong, but I still use the user to verify if this is really a problem ." This is not a good method to implement an invisible design. A completely transparent interface means to solve the deepest problems in the design, so that they will not go out and become a stumbling block to users.

Tolerant Design

Tolerance is often a feature of the invisible user interface. The natural interface does not limit various exploratory clicks. When a user enters a dead end, it does not easily Display Error information, but leads the user elsewhere.

Tolerating users means they do not punish them when making mistakes. User error operations are often caused by unexpected results. We always blame users for the problem and bring out big warnings and error prompts to punish them. When users step into the trap, the invisible interface will avoid punishment for them. Compared with the pop-up error message, the excellent interface design can predict the high error rate in the application, provide a solution, and even guide the jump.

Tolerance also means that the website or app rules can be broken by users. This is the best practice, but if you break your mom's antique vase and want to stick it back, but you are caught by sticking your fingers together, this is certainly the most profound lesson. When users make up for their mistakes, they will be more familiar with your app, and do not show those red icon errors and obscure text.

The first task is to achieve the goal.

This is an excellent example of interaction design. It is a project that Cooper is working on. Since it is not yet online, I should be allowed to give a small note-a goal-oriented design. Your interface design should also focus on the user's purpose. It's not what the user wants or likes. It's not what it is. Instead, it mines users' needs and guides them to achieve their goals. This is funny. Users can boast nothing about what products they want to use, but do not know their own purposes. Your responsibility is to tap into their needs rather than requirements. "Requirements" may lead to bloated interfaces, obstacles, and user boredom.

Find the target and let the user finish it as soon as possible. They don't care about other things. arriving at the destination as soon as possible is the biggest reward for them. You do not need to design beautiful interfaces for this purpose, so you do not need to use over-design to compensate for poor target guidance.

Consistency

Yes. In the world of user experience, we have been talking about consistency principles. Consistency is the key in the interface design. If all your interface elements are placed in the same position and have the same color and functions, your interface will gradually disappear ...... Like Marty McFly. However, consistency cannot be solved if you only place all buttons in the same position on each page or use a special operation to perform the same function.

In user experience design, we often learn from the consistent or similar things in apps or websites. I have previously written an article explaining how similar environments make the interface more comfortable. However, it is not enough to create a real invisible interface for consistency purposes. The invisible interface has a "true consistency". Not only are elements, values, links, and other data displayed in a unified manner, but the scenes and meanings are also consistent.

For example, you should note that many other apps put the login button or link in the upper right corner, so you will feel that since other apps do this, it is certainly impossible to put it there. But in your app, it may be meaningless to put it in that location. Instead of creating a defective interface, it is better to place the interface elements in the most appropriate position and continue their consistency throughout the product.

Conclusion: inspire users

Finally, excellent stealth design also needs to inspire users. When the interface breaks away from the user's operation steps and leads them directly to the final goal, the user will concentrate on their goals.

The interface should be seamlessly switched between data and content to encourage users to establish a good relationship with it. Users sometimes like to explore a clever interface product and even have a good time. But more often, interfaces that do not exist are more encouraging for them.

Ultimate Form of excellent interfaces: invisible Interfaces