Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design
Shneiderman's foundational principles for creating effective and user-friendly interfaces.
Also known as: Shneiderman's Rules, Golden Rules of Interface Design, Eight Golden Rules
Category: Principles
Tags: ui-design, ux, principles, interface-design, usability, hci
Explanation
The Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design were developed by Ben Shneiderman, a renowned human-computer interaction researcher. First published in his 1986 book 'Designing the User Interface,' these principles remain foundational guidelines for creating usable interfaces.
The Eight Rules:
1. Strive for Consistency: Use consistent patterns in terminology, layouts, colors, and actions throughout the interface. Familiar sequences of actions should be used in similar situations.
2. Enable Frequent Users to Use Shortcuts: As users gain experience, they desire reduced interaction steps. Provide abbreviations, hotkeys, hidden commands, and macro facilities for power users.
3. Offer Informative Feedback: For every user action, provide appropriate system feedback. Minor actions get modest responses; major actions receive more substantial acknowledgment.
4. Design Dialogs to Yield Closure: Sequences of actions should be organized into groups with a beginning, middle, and end. Provide informative feedback at the completion of action groups.
5. Offer Simple Error Handling: Design the system so users cannot make serious errors. If errors occur, offer simple, constructive instructions for recovery.
6. Permit Easy Reversal of Actions: Allow actions to be reversible. This reduces anxiety since users know errors can be undone, encouraging exploration.
7. Support Internal Locus of Control: Users should feel like they're in charge of the system, not the other way around. Avoid surprises and support user-initiated actions.
8. Reduce Short-Term Memory Load: Don't overload users' memory. Keep displays simple, consolidate multiple-page displays, provide visual cues, and allow sufficient training time.
These rules complement modern UX principles and remain highly relevant in contemporary interface design.
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