Design Laws to be Applied to User Interface
One of the design laws chosen to be applied to the FlexFest website and app is Hicks Law, “The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.”(Yablonski, 2022). Therefore, the interface designed for the website and app will limit the number of complex options the user is faced with. This will avoid unnecessarily overwhelming the user and provide a simple, stress-free experience.
The second design law chosen to be applied to the FlexFest website and app is Jakobs law “Users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.” (Yablonski, 2022). Therefore, providing the user with a more memorable interface will reduce unnecessary time spent learning the interface and more time spent on the task at hand, such as purchasing tickets. This will lead to more sales and time spent browsing festival information, therefore attracting a larger audience and making more profit.
Call to Action
Call to action is utilised in user interface (UI) design that typically consists of buttons. These buttons are usually used as a selling strategy to make a profit, “Call to action is a set of marketing tactics consistently implemented in the interface design.” (Messaki, 2022). This is an efficient way of directing the user straight to the most critical page of a website/app, such as a ticket purchasing page. This is a practical action for the buyer and the company receiving the profit as it skips a lot of potentially time-consuming efforts. Call to action will be utilised throughout the FlexFest website and app to direct the users to the most relevant information, such as ticket purchasing, the event line-up and other significant activities.
Usability Goals Applied to User Interface Design
There are five different user interface (UI) principles that must be applied to the website and app design to construct a memorable user experience. These principles include visibility, consistency, learnability, predictability and feedback. Applying visibility principles to the overall website and app design will ensure the user optimises the website to fulfil their overall goal. Moreover, for example, making sure that accessibility information is visualised within the app is essential for accommodating individuals’ requirements, ensuring they can see how and where they can achieve their goal. Consistency principles are crucial when using icons, menus and overall design patterns; these design patterns need to remain the same throughout the website and app to ensure the users can easily understand and relate to interface elements. Therefore, colours, menus, icons should all stay the same throughout the website and companion app. Learnability is an essential principle in which users can understand the interface without learning something new, as Jakob’s law suggests users only want to use familiar interfaces. Therefore, making sure the FlexFest website and app utilise a similar interface to other websites is essential. The predictability of the website and app design is vital when attracting more users. Predictability is valuable when users purchase tickets for the event; making sure they are familiar with the interface and what happens next will promote usage and prevent people from leaving the page prematurely because they can’t figure it out. Finally, providing the users with positive and negative feedback will help them navigate the website and app, giving regular prompts on how close they are to reaching their overall goal.
Stakeholder Interface Differences
The overall user interface will be similar across the website and companion app; identifying and addressing concerns for opposing stakeholders will focus on the user experience. Ensuring all the user interface (UI) principles remain consistent between consumers. The stakeholders differing user interface (Ui) will only be diversified through visibility and feedback. This ensures that the website and companion app are equally usable and accessible to a diverse range of people.
References
Created Academy. 2022. The 5 Principles of User Interface Design | Created Academy. [online] Available at: <https://www.created.academy/resources/the-5-principles-of-user-interface-design/> [Accessed 10 March 2022].
Messaki, E., 2022. Call-to-Action. The Foundations of Efficiency. [online] Medium. Available at: <https://medium.com/outcrowd/call-to-action-the-foundations-of-efficiency-f8218fa8e344> [Accessed 10 March 2022].
Yablonski, J., 2022. Hick’s Law | Laws of UX. [online] Laws of UX. Available at: <https://lawsofux.com/hicks-law/> [Accessed 10 March 2022].
Yablonski, J., 2022. Jakob’s Law | Laws of UX. [online] Laws of UX. Available at: <https://lawsofux.com/jakobs-law/> [Accessed 10 March 2022].