The nine golden rules of

interface design

Stefan Ivanov

MSc in Media Informatics

UX Design lecturer

CEO & Co-Founder

Stefan Ivanov Using mappings, affordances, constraints and signifiers in UX

The nine golden rules

1. Strive for simplicity

2. Speak your users’ language

3. Be consistent and predictable

4. Provide feedback

5. Reduce memory load

6. Avoid errors and offer undo

7. Design for clear exits and dialogue

8. Provide help and documentation

9. Address diverse user needs

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Strive for simplicity

• The most important rule

• Avoid “creeping featurism”

• Consider reducing functionality as well

• The 80/20 rule

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Strive for simplicity

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Strive for simplicity

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Strive for simplicity

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Speak your users’ language

• Use wording typical for the domain

• Define terminology while getting domain insight

• Applicable for both terms and processes

• Avoid abbreviations

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Speak your users’ language

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Speak your users’ language

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Be consistent and predictable

• Consistency on all possible levels

• Follow the principle of minimal surprise

• Neither unexpected events, nor unexpectedly

difficult to complete tasks

• Timeouts are evil

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Be consistent and predictable

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Be consistent and predictable

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Be consistent and predictable

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Provide feedback

• Feedback eliminates confusion

• Subtle feedback for repetitive and less important

events

• Prominent feedback for important events

• The three human deadlines 0.1s / 1s / 10s

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Provide feedback

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Provide feedback

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Reduce memory load

• Short term memory has limited capacity

• Do not request the same information twice

• Offer clear access to help

• Read and select rather than remember and type

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Reduce memory load

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Reduce memory load

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Avoid errors and offer undo

• When possible prevent occurrence of errors

• Errors always stress your users

• Do not punish your users

• Offer instructions for recovering from errors

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Avoid errors and offer undo

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Avoid errors and offer undo

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Design for clear exits and dialogue

• Clarity about the state of the system

• Clear exits suggest how to go back and where to

go next

• Break complex operations in steps

• User in charge rather than being told what to do

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Design for clear exits and dialogue

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Design for clear exits and dialogue

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Provide help and documentation

• Use dynamic assistants and wizards when

necessary

• Provide online/printed documentation

• Offer tutorials to accelerate learning

• The user must always feel in control

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Provide help and documentation

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Provide help and documentation

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Address diverse user needs

• New users need guidance

• Proficient users look for speed

• Age has huge impact on design

• Interest towards technology varies

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Address diverse user needs

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

Address diverse user needs

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

The nine golden rules

1. Strive for simplicity

2. Speak your users’ language

3. Be consistent and predictable

4. Provide feedback

5. Reduce memory load

6. Avoid errors and offer undo

7. Design for clear exits and dialogue

8. Provide help and documentation

9. Address diverse user needs

Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

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Stefan Ivanov The nine golden rules of interface design

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