Don't let the user in a daze-the design of the anti-stay strategy

There are always some things in life that make us confused: What is the control I want when facing a row of lights or air-conditioning buttons? When you pull out a key in the lock, which is the right one? Pick up a U disk into the computer, in that direction is right? ...... A similar hesitation amply illustrates that you are stuck. Now it's time to save you from the "anti-stay" design.

definition

Anti-Stay (Japanese: ポカヨケ; English: fool-proofing) is a kind of behavioral restraint means to prevent the correction, using the restrictive method of avoiding the error, so that the operator does not need to pay attention, and does not need experience and professional knowledge to complete the correct operation accurately. In a broad sense, the prevention of staying is how to design a thing, and the chance to minimize the occurrence of the error. Avoid the occurrence of work errors, and then achieve the "first time to do the right" realm.

and Design

The most common anti-stay design in the computer, in order to allow ordinary users to assemble the computer will not make mistakes, the relevant 0 components are mostly shape-compatible design. Life is also no lack of the application of the design, the following 2013 if award-winning works of the Smile Key (Smile key) through the anti-stay design to solve the key of the 4 major problems. Natural Radian, more fitting thumb and forefinger, with more comfortable; it is easier to discern the direction of the key-no longer need to remember which side is the right direction, the nature of the thumb and index finger that side, is correct; when the key is flat, because this radian, it is easier to be picked up; The key has an unequal number of raised small particles, To distinguish who is who, for example, 1 small particles are office, 2 are their own door. This is especially convenient when you can't see it at night.

Anti-stay designs are often designed using sensory replacements. such as the following Cup cover, through the visual replacement of the sense of touch to prevent the stay. The temperature of the liquid in the cup can be displayed in different colors. Through the visual warning to remind people at this time of the drink is very hot mouth, to avoid a moment of confusion to pick up the drink.

The roadside indentation, as shown below, is just the opposite of a visual reminder to the vehicle driving to the curb: Your vehicle has deviated from the main carriageway. It is more effective than visual guidance to instruct the driver to adjust the direction as soon as possible through the vehicle's turbulence.

The important goal of anti-stay design is to avoid errors. Is it annoying to stay on the table with coffee? Then don't let this mistake happen: From designer Kim Keun ae creative, stain-proof coffee cup in the Cup's waist line opened a ring groove, so, along the edge of the cup of coffee stains, flow here will be horizontal development, will not continue to dirty table ~

In addition, the anti-stay will be designed at the appropriate time to remind users to help users complete the task. The creative balance vase from designer Risako Matsumoto (Songbenri yarn) also uses the idea of staying in: a graceful reminder to water the flowers. A wooden bracket with a vase on one side and a movable counterweight slider on the other, the whole structure is fastened to the wall by the hook to form a structure similar to the balance. When the water in the vase is reduced, the stent begins to tilt, the more water is reduced, the more inclined it is, and it is a great reminder that it should be added to the water.

Night reminders are also important. A power outage, but how can not find a candle? Australian Studio Den Studio brings fluorescent candles (blackout candle), which are designed to address this problem by using a special material of paraffin and luminescent powder, which absorbs light energy during the day and emits fluorescence at night; second, the styling founder has a small opening at the bottom. , just to fit in a box of matches--so even if a sudden blackout caught you by surprise, you find a candle and you find a match.

From the above several cases can be summed up the principle of anti-stay design: "To avoid errors, no need to think," detailed as follows:

1. Even if someone is negligent, there is no mistake--no attention required.

2. It's not wrong for laymen to do it--no need for experience.

3. No matter who or when there is no error--no need for expertise and a high level of skills.

From the user level analysis, anti-stay design is a professional, inexperienced user perspective, through the design to guide the correct operation of such users. Industrial design So, interactive design is no exception, the following is the author of the interaction of the strategy of the prevention of some thinking.

Anti-stay in

interaction

To put it simply, anti-stay design is the way to prevent errors from occurring. People are always blaming one mistake for happening, and less thinking about how to design ways to avoid mistakes. So we need to face up to the wrong, to the wrong, to avoid mistakes or to alleviate errors. In the interactive design, the user may be wrong is the direction we should prevent, we can refer to the idea of the design, through the design, to guide the correct operation of the user.

1. Restrict Operation

Imagine: Click on a Function button, and then hint can not use, how to do first ... Are you going to stay here: if you can't use it, why do you want to put it in a smoke bomb? So, when the user's current state is not doing something, hide these actions. Give the user the appropriate behavioral constraints--------close the wrong path for the user. As shown in the following illustration, if the Evernote Web Clipper is already installed in the browser, the page corresponding button appears dimmed and prevents users from repeating the installation.

According to the user's use state, corresponding to perform the function item display and hides, is the effective avoids the user misoperation the commonly used method. The design of the operation restricted by the state is to a large extent prevented the user from possible error in operation.

In addition, it is also a friendly practice to remind users of the limitations through interesting forms. Feathers is a third party Twitter client, clicking on that cute Twitter bird tweet. As users gradually enter content, Twitter birds will gradually turn green, preventing users from entering more than 140 character limits.

2. Foresee error

Give the user the necessary predefined error tip--Tell the user that this might be an error before the user goes into a daze.

When the user mentions "Tomorrow" in the middle of the night, Siri asks the user the exact time to prevent the user from making the wrong definition of tomorrow.

When the battery is low, Dropbox automatically stops the photo upload action in progress. This intimate design allows users to avoid the power of the upload and exhaustion of the phone shutdown of the state.

When a user's behavior is likely to trigger a predictive error, the sooner the user is prompted and the feasibility of the proposal, the more easily the error can be accepted and corrected, the less the user's loss.

3. Jump out of the blank

Blank pages must be blank? NO. Simple blank pages can make users restless: what happened? What am I supposed to do now? ...... No way to go anxiety is certainly difficult to avoid this mentality, we need to give users the appropriate export, so that users in the blank page also have a way to go.

For example, in a blank page, provide user solutions, or provide users with other exports, guide the user to the next operation, so that users do not blank page in a daze, help let users quickly leave blank.

Or, to give users a unique blank page, so that users can think in the blank. Clear, when the user deletes all lists or creates a new blank entry, the page displays some interesting statements that allow the user to no longer be blank.

4. Step Status

In some complex operations, the user will have a certain psychological question: When is the head? At this point, to avoid users in a daze, you need to tell the user the status of the operation and the next steps.

What you need to do on this page, what has been done has a clear division, the current need to do, currently in the operating phase to be highlighted to attract people to operate; for the operating phase has not yet been introduced in advance, it is clear to introduce the complete task flow.

In addition, the clever identification of the state is also a useful way to prevent users from staring blankly. Too many operations, users may have forgotten some of the status, such as browsing the web, which have seen what has not seen. Opera has designed a corner processing on the new page label to remind the user that the page has not yet been browsed.

Without exact progress, change wording as time increases to remind users that the current page is still trying to load and avoid users mistakenly thinking that the page is stuck.

5. Unique Operation

Do not have professional knowledge, the operation of the flow of ordinary users do not expect, in some process complex interactive operation will always be more or less confused. How to reduce this confusion? The solution is to allow users to only perform a single operation, do not put the complex choice of questions to users, so that users in a daze.

For example, in the relatively complex task of computer anti-virus, only to provide users with a clear button at a time, to avoid the dilemma of users in the choice. Leave the simplicity to the user and leave the complexity to yourself. Users only give users the only recommendation, do not let users think.

6. Think what you need

Users do not maintain a high degree of care and patience in the operation, so help the user to think when necessary. Help users think what he did not think of, help users think he needs. such as Sina Weibo using the mailbox as a login, the user entered @, will appear input suggestions, input suggestions have a common mailbox suffix to assist input. At this point the user can directly select without input.

According to user scenario design user unexpected demand is the high state of the design. What would you do if you wanted to enlarge the content when you were using the phone's vertical screen? Yes, flip the screen to the horizontal screen and then touch it. Google translation of the scene to extend the design: when the translation of the sentence, if the screen rotation of the device will automatically screen and enlarge, easy to show to the people next to watch. This intimate detail takes into account the user's use of the translated scene ahead of time, helping the user save one step.

For users to think, to help users think they can not imagine, not limited and let users stop in a daze, but also to make users unexpected.

Conclusion

Anti-stay design is how to prevent the wrong way, so that not professional, inexperienced users can complete the first time the correct operation. Finally, the application of anti-stay in interactive design is summarized.

Avoid errors

1. Restrict operation: Hide the temporarily unavailable operation;

2. Foresee error: The user may be shown in advance, better than afterwards Zhuge Liang;

3. Jump out of the blank: Do not let the user stop and blank, the gap should be more widely play space;

No need to think.

1. Status guidelines: Let users understand the current state and future processes to prevent users from getting lost;

2. The only operation: Complex task flow do not let users too much choice, simple only good;

3. Think you need: The user is in a hurry, we want to give users think they can not imagine things.

In short, we should put aside their own advanced user perspective, in the user may be "stunned" every moment of fine carving. Deep excavation of user behavior habits and mental models, real from the user's point of view to analyze the use of may appear problems, through the design of the system to try to avoid the occurrence of errors-the simple left to the user, the complex to leave themselves, so that a daze become impossible.

(This article originates from the Tencent CDC Blog, please indicate the source when reprint)