All over my stint as a UX Design Student, I focused on learning the Universal Design Principles. Sometimes it involved by-hearting, discovering and what not. At all ends, we only heard of its importance. They magnify usability, trigger thoughts, add aesthetic value and assist all guide designers to enhance their design decisions. In turn, these design principles always helped me find a way out whenever I was stuck. While working on a recent application, I discovered twenty principles that can assist me to carve out a unique one.
Before I get into talking about the 20 Design Principles, here is something about the app I worked on.
I was asked to create a mobile application on the Principles of Digital Design class which will help people learn and understand design principles. I planned to create one application with a different design principle every day. I had to keep it simple so that it will be read by high school students as well as retired professionals. Also, I had to ensure it is timeless and appeasing to all.
Now let us talk about the design principles. In the creative process, principles hardly find its relevance. But what designers fail to understand is that all designs are based on multiple principles. They impact, trigger and inspire us to do better. Using them to our benefit is just the initiating stage. Over 100 design principles exist, but I am talking about the 20, which sharpened my expertise.
1. Uniform Connectedness
The name says it all. Yes, as simple as it sounds. To define it, we can say, by keeping components in the application configuration associated with uniform visual properties. Let us presume, colour as a property; user has a simpler time relating the properties to one another than when they arenāt associated. As per the user, it is simple to gather or piece the properties together by visual similitudes. This helps utilize regular regions such as grouped text, clusters of elements, and will overwhelm and correct the control positions. In the application, we see this with the side navigation and bunch of social media icons.
2. Hierarchy
Hierarchy must be the most essential design principle of all. It allows you to keep all information and elements in an organized way in a simple form for the purpose of visualization and understanding. User will have thorough knowledge of the system and will not have the need to use help guides. I chose to stick to the tree hierarchy for my design. We see this in the side route. I put the most significant element on top, at that point followed down to the least or most unused component I figured the client wouldnāt use a lot in the slightest degree. By utilizing the tree chain of importance, I had the option to adequately speak to an increasingly unpredictable progressive system in the least complex of ways that were best to the client.
3. 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 principle is 80% of the impacts in any enormous framework are brought about by 20% of factors. This guideline is helpful for concentrating on assets while acknowledging more prominent efficiencies in plan. For any great plan framework, 20% of the highlights that are most as often as possible utilized ought to be the most open. This leaves the remaining 80% of its highlights ought to be covered up. Apart from that we have the footer, the settings etc. By keeping to this standard, it takes into consideration a cleaner and an increasingly straightforward plan that has proficiently been a top priority.
4. Accessibility
While making the Design Principle of the Day, I needed to accomplish something in view of accessibility. It states a design that ought to be usable and with no modifications. Most importantly, accessibility means being there for as many as possible. Even though it has those with disabilities in mind, the plan has everybodyās advantage as a primary concern. There are 4 fundamental attributes of open structures: perceptibility, operability, simplicity, and forgiveness. With the entirety of this, I made a point to utilize high complexity, the capacity for the framework to state so anyone might hear the expression of the day just as the summery by taping the notorious speaker catch and keep essential rules of use configuration to restrain however many blunders as could reasonably be expected. I tried to keep to symbols and configurations that a great many people are used to. Precisely, we can say, Heart ā for liking a word, burger catch to bring the side route, search symbol, and so on.
5. Redundancy
While making the application, I tried to have multi-works if in case the system fails. Ensuring the application has numerous methods for getting to a specific page or play out a particular activity will take into consideration the framework to in any case accomplish an objective. This takes into consideration a superior involvement in simplicity of the client. I needed to ensure things didnāt feel massive or abused yet at the same time, have various components to guarantee no disappointment.
For instance, I ensure there are numerous approaches to get to the present expression of the day without overpowering the client. We additionally observe this with the gift page. You can discover the choice to give in the side route just as the settings page.
6. Good Continuation
Making a component with great continuation is a simple method for gathering a thing without it resembling a ton or causing discomfort. This was a simple guideline to incorporate into my piece because of its inclination towards a straight path. Regardless of the gaps, the similitude of the catches is viewed as a gathering rather than solitary items.
7. Alignment
The arrangement is placing the elements that line up along a typical line or section and are focused with one another. This brings a feeling of solidarity and attachment. With the arrangement, comes style and can be ground-breaking methods for driving an individual all through the application. We see this in both plan and content. Since the client follows the progression of arrangement all through the presentation page, they additionally follow the arrangement of content by perusing left to right.
8. Affordance
As indicated by the book, āThe Design of Everyday Thingsā affordance alludes to the apparent and genuine properties of the thing, basically those central properties that decide exactly how the thing might be utilized. I utilized affordance all through numerous parts of my plan. We particularly observe it with symbols that the client is as of now acquainted with that was expressed above (for example cheeseburger symbol, search symbol, Heart, speaker, to name a few). The information that the client has about a framework or interface is more noteworthy than they know and exists before utilizing an application or site. I tried to adopt the strategy of being a client while making the plan to ensure for the smoothest and most utilitarian experience.
9. Mimicry
Mimicry is the demonstration of replicating properties of recognizable items or conditions to acknowledge explicit advantages managed by those properties. I made a point to remember the various types of mimicry in my plans which are surface, social, and practical.
Surface mimicry is characterized as making a structure seem to be comparative or like another plan. This enables the client to be unconcerned programming or application yet perceive and recognize what to do. For instance, one can utilize certain symbols which would trigger interest among the users.
Apple Settings demonstrate the Search symbol and highlight, Instagram Profile page indicating the Hamburger symbol, Instagram demonstrating the Heart like element, and Cash App demonstrating a comparable screen to the Donate screen.
10. Iconic Representation
The utilization of Iconic Representation is a simple method to pass on a thought or activity without stating what the result will be. This keeps the user comfortable in a new environment. Even though this may be the clientās first time experiencing my application, the utilization of symbols can make a first time becoming accustomed to the framework. Keeping the symbols like stages the client goes on consistently, will take into account moment recognition. This lets for plans to be basic and tidy without building up a zone with words and buttons.
11. Layering
Layering is a simple method for joining and arranging data into gatherings and connections. This assists with multifaceted nature just as strengthen connections. On the off chance that layering is done well, it can likewise prompt a decent structure by utilizing two-dimensional and three-dimensional layering. Data is currently more straightforward, helps recount to a story, and presents a grouping of occasions. Instances of this in my plan are catches, side route, the expression of the day, and presenting on a particular application.
12. Depth of Processing
With an application configuration like an expression of the day application, I needed to ensure the degree of handling was dependent upon the client to open up the capacity to contact more individuals. The profundity of handling is data that is dissected profoundly than broke down externally to all the more likely reviewing the data. By giving a picture and content to characterize the word, the client has a decision of how in-depth they wish to go while memorizing a word. These choices take into account a client to utilize the application at their simplicity opening up the experience to suit all clients.
13. Proximity
At the point when it came to structuring the application, I needed closeness to assume an immense job in how the application would be created and what it would resemble. Since I had heaps of components, space between them affected how the client would see each gathering. I needed to ensure that the structure was perfect however was still simple to follow. Proximity takes into consideration the components to be identified with one another than when they are further separated. When utilizing vicinity appropriately, it diminishes unpredictability in the plan and fortifies the relatedness of the components. It will likewise overpower any contending obvious signals and guarantee irrelevant or ambiguous things to be far away from each other.
14. Constraint
The constraint is the strategy for keeping pace the activities or capacities that can be performed on a framework. In spite of the fact that this may appear to be a nightmare, it wipes out disarray and makes the framework simpler for the client to utilize. It limits multifaceted nature and decreases the likelihood of blunder while utilizing the program. I needed to keep the application basic and simple to use as could be allowed. By including requirements, it keeps the plan clean while limiting blunders making less disappointment for the client.
15. Golden Ratio
The brilliant proportion is seen all through craftsmanship, it has been discussed for quite a long time, and planners and craftsmen follow the proportion with their entire specialty. The proportion is found inside the components of a structure, for example, tallness to width, approximating 0.618. The brilliant proportion isnāt just found in workmanship yet in nature and design too. Utilizing the proportion prompts great, aesthetical structure. Itās somewhat simple to do and is done for the most part without notice. I understood that my brilliant proportion is found without the expression of the day page. The picture occupies less room than the content, being a 1.618 to 0.618 proportion.
16. Symmetry
All through the application development, I had to remember Symmetry. It is the visual comparability among components in a structure. With evenness comes magnificence, which is appropriately found in nature, the human body, creatures, and plants. It is satisfying to the eyes and makes balance. It is good to see something balanced as opposed to something that isnāt. I needed to prop this up on all pages by utilizing the cheeseburger symbol and search symbol to be similarly balanced. By including this slight detail, the structure has a feeling of parity, concordance, and soundness.
17. Priming
Priming takes into consideration the actuation of explicit ideas in memory to impact resulting practices and ought to be considered in all parts of the plan. For instance, giving the main decision on the screen be the expression of the day joined by an envision starts the clientās enthusiasm to then finish getting more data. Although this doesnāt work with all clients, in the event that one has expectations of searching for a particular word, they would simply finish their needs. Notwithstanding, since each client shares the objective of needed to get more data on structure standards, indicating positive symbolism and huge words will make preparations to respond more well to the application for the most part than they would something else.
18. Attractive Bias
At the point when individuals see something rather that is an individual or item, they are bound to consider it to be progressively astute, skilful, good, and amiable than something that isnāt. This is called Attractive Bias. With regards to plan, a framework that looks great and is viewed as alluring is bound to be utilized and at least discussed. Something that helps a structure become alluring is the utilization of hues, pictures, and textual styles. By keeping the plan perfect and beautiful, it is seen more outwardly appealing to the eye than some other level or highly contrasting.
19. Prototyping
Prototyping is a method that fashioners use to show their work before it turns into the last item. All through the prototyping preparing, the originator makes a rearranged and fragmented model of the structure to investigate thoughts, expand necessities, refine particulars, and test usefulness. My application experienced various periods of prototyping before choosing the last plan. To test usefulness, I made an intelligent model to guarantee that the capacities and stream appeared well and good to how the client would utilize the application.
20. Development Cycle
The development cycle is ostensibly the most significant structure standard any new form could go, however. The procedure is ordinarily founded on four phases; requirement, design, development and testing. Comprehending and utilizing this cycle to further your potential benefit could help improve any structure. For me, I had the option, to begin with, a drawing, which would be the prerequisite stage, up to the testing stage by making an intuitive model out of me. With the entirety of this, my structures turned out to be better every time and helped my vision turn into reality.
I hope to see more consistent design around in the world. Happy Design!!!
