Webpage Design Analysis: Inclusive Design in uidesign

　　

 

In recent years, the mobile Internet industry has developed rapidly, and the Internet has become a frequently used channel for information exchange and access. Although mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, are quickly updated, most websites and applications do not consider the needs of special groups at the beginning of design. Even if the devices are more powerful, these groups still encounter many difficulties when accessing webpages or using applications. Therefore, the concept of "inclusive design" was introduced into the uidesign.

So what is inclusive design? The British Standards Institute (2005) defines inclusive design as "the design of mainstream products or services can be used by as many people as possible ...... No special adaptation or design is required ". Of course, some people will say that this does not increase production costs? Of course, we can't expect a product to meet the needs of various groups of people. However, if such an idea is applied during design, there will be more audience for the product, which may produce greater benefits and reflect social responsibility.

　　

 

In today's increasingly high-tech design, a sense of luxury, and a conceptual concept, inclusive design may be the most user-friendly and balanced design concept. It rejects the minority from obeying the majority, and does not want the majority to cooperate with the minority, it believes that the careful observation of extreme groups, coupled with extensive attention to the general public, can create a better design that is more inclusive and belongs to more people. Today, let's briefly talk about the areas that need attention and need to be improved in the inclusive design of uidesign:

　　Language and Aesthetics

The main tool of human communication of language, its influence is infinite, and the expression of language is also very important, but this is often ignored, a study by Duke University in the United States shows that, regardless of the type of job, if there is a significant gender preference in the recruitment advertisement, the attractiveness of the job will be affected. This raises the question: how much influence does the language expression selected during design have on the number of newly registered users or the number of users who buy products?

We all know that all interfaces have more or less texts on them. When selecting a language expression, let the text be colloquial as much as possible, instead of building up the rich and colorful words, because not everyone is a master of literature. It provides clear and concise labels for behaviors and maintains a simple text description. Users will appreciate this, because they no longer listen to the rules of others-they hear expressions like friends or even themselves. In this case, if the designer thinks twice about each pixel, icon, and font, he also needs to consider every word.

　　

 

Of course, the quality of language expressions is only one of the measurement criteria. In addition, aesthetics also plays an important role in the UI design. The placement and shape of elements (edges or rounded corners) and the use of color, in the eyes of users of different genders and cultures, the results are also different. Taking color as an example, there is no color solution that fits the appetite of all users. remember two things when using color. First, the color in different cultures has different meanings, so make sure that your target user can understand the meaning of the color you selected. Second, do not ignore the color blind users. When differentiating different elements, spend more time and effort using techniques other than colors, such as the bars in an icon. If the user is blind, they cannot distinguish specific colors. Most blind patients are blind, so you need to use other methods, such as different shapes and materials to distinguish.

　　User Cognition

Generally, people are divided into full-capacity persons and persons with disabilities. Based on this concept, products are designed to be used for full-capacity persons or for persons with disabilities, in fact, the value of a person's ability has a range of continuous changes, and such changes can be traced without regularity. For example, quantum physicists may encounter difficulties when using function phones, the same mobile phone gives a teenager with an average IQ, but he can play well.

In the field of uidesign, regardless of the user's cognitive ability and level, it should be a potential target user of the designer. Reducing the capability requirements of a product allows more people to use the product and makes it easier for those who previously felt difficult to use. This is also applicable to the uidesign, in an interface, the more elements you add, the more complexity the interface will increase, and the more effort you spend on using it. Someone once said: "The best design is not for viewing, but for experience ". This means that your UI should allow users to experience it, instead of showing users something like a ghost. The simpler the UI design, the better the user experience, and do not abuse design elements. Do not use crowded interfaces or crowded interfaces. No matter how powerful the functions are, users will be scared away.

In some excellent designs, you do not see flashy UI modifications or unused design elements. That is to say, the necessary elements must be concise and meaningful. When you want to add a new function or element to the interface, ask yourself, "Do you really need this ?" Or "Why do users want this small dynamic icon ?". Do you just add these elements out of your preferences? Remember, never show yourself the limelight in the UI design.

　　

 

　　Adaptive Interface

In view of the huge difference in users' cognitive ability, we need to constantly simplify the interface to take care of ordinary users, such as removing some functions, but another problem arises, if the interface is too simple, it is difficult to satisfy high-end users who want more functions or control. For example, a dummies camera is easy to operate and can be used by almost everyone, but cannot meet the needs of some high-end users, such as photographers. Therefore, the most common solution is to allow users to customize the interface based on their own needs. Is this method feasible? Studies show that less than 5% of users change the default settings, which means that the user-defined method is not desirable in the interface design.

Is there a way to automatically adapt to the user's cognitive ability and usage habits? Although it is still difficult to implement this function in the field of uidesign, it should be a solution worth trying. Moreover, the adaptive function has already set a precedent in other fields. The smart thermostat Nest invented by Tony Fadell, the father of iPod, may be a good reference. Nest not only looks very trendy, it can also automatically detect whether someone is at home to adjust the temperature, and automatically adjust the temperature to the most comfortable state according to the user's habits, and as the user uses it for a longer time, it will better understand the user's habits.

Although Nest is only a special case, it at least shows that the adaptive technology is feasible, which makes the thinking model of the interface designer more open. It may not be impossible to realize the adaptive interface in the future.

　　

 

　　Conclusion

We have overcome various technical difficulties, such as implementing Web standardization, introducing responsive Web design concepts, and launching various touch screen devices. Maybe we put too much effort into these technical difficulties, thus ignoring the importance of user-friendly interface design. We hope that the next revolution in the Internet industry will focus more on how to make more applications and products more inclusive and take the cognitive capabilities of different users into account, make the user interface more intelligent, so as to serve a wider audience more effectively, and make the storm of inclusive design more intense!

Finally, in view of the fact that the design of an inclusive interface is still in the exploratory stage, what we talk about here is just a one-stop statement. If it can lead to more thoughts, this article will make the best use of it.

Via SmashingMagazine

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