APPlying APPtitude – The Principles of User Interface & User Experience

The user interface (UI) governs what the user sees – the series of screens, pages and other visual elements that allow the user to interact with an app. A user interface allows a user to work with a computer via visual elements as opposed to complex programming languages – first introduced in the early 1980s by computer scientists at Xerox PARC and brought to the user’s home by Apple with the Macintosh PC in 1984, the demand for personal computers with an accessible UI began, thus creating the role of a UI Designer. The UI Designer’s role has evolved as technology has grown, and now UI can be seen on smartphones, in virtual or augmented reality, and on voice, gesture and light applications (zero UI).

User experience (UX) governs how users feel during their interactions with applications, products and services, and how they feel afterwards. UX Designers need to ensure that a company’s product meets the needs of a customer in order to ensure they have a good experience and thus create a good public image for the company and increase potential sales. As user interface design has evolved, so has user experience design – UX and UI designers work closely together in order to ensure that a user can work an app with ease and have a good experience whilst doing so.

In order to successfully meet the APPlying APPtitude brief, I need to ensure my app follows the basic principles of UX/UI design:

• Show the value of the app upfront – place calls to action up front, highlighting key features in context at an appropriate place within the UI so they are easy to find, resulting in a stronger user experience.
  
• Allow users to “go back” in one step – users should be able to retrace their steps through the UI as opposed to starting over, which often results in lost data and a frustrated user experience.
  
• Create frictionless transitions between mobile applications and the mobile website – frustrations can occur when the app forces a user to move to the web to complete an action, especially when the look and feel of a website is completely different to the app. A fast and frictionless transition and a similar web UI can help reduce these frustrations.
  
• Speak the same language as the users – Unknown jargon creates a negative experience for a user as it will more than likely confuse them, so it is essential to use terminology that the user will understand.
  
• Let the user control the level of zoom – Allow users to zoom in on certain media as they prefer as opposed to setting a level of magnification to ensure a better user experience.
  
• Organise and label menu categories – Menu categories should be clear with no overlap, matching a user’s mental model.
  
• Provide text labels and visual keys – The majority of iconography within applications require labels to ensure proper interpretation and to increase the likelihood of them being used.