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What are Design Guidelines?
Design guidelines are sets of recommendations on how to apply design principles to provide a positive user experience. Designers use such guidelines to judge how to adopt principles such as intuitiveness, learnability, efficiency and consistency so they can create compelling designs and meet and exceed user needs.
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Find out how design guidelines help us craft successful designs, and how to adapt them to suit the content in creative ways.
Design Guidelines – An Essential Bridge between Principle and Judgment
Over many years, cognitive psychologists provided the foundations of many design guidelines through findings from their studies. Still other design guidelines exist thanks simply to common sense. For example, users can tell when a webpage looks too busy the moment they see it. So, designers should also be able to tell, and understand why. Design guidelines fall into several groups, including these:
Style – e.g., brand logos, colors
Layout – e.g., grid or list structure
User interface (UI) components – e.g., menus, buttons
Text – e.g., font, tone, labels/fields
Accessibility – e.g., Aria markup for disabled users
Design guidelines are rules of thumb for you to create work which never frustrates users. Likewise, you should also cater to users who have a wide range of disabilities. How you apply design guidelines also depends on the contexts of use, your design’s platform and the type of interaction users will have with it (e.g., voice-controlled).
Industry pioneers such as Don Norman and Jakob Nielsen identified areas which designers and developers should consider to design products that offer the best user experience. Here’s an example of how a designer might realize one of Jakob Nielsen’s ten design principles.
Design principle: Provide plain-language error messages to pinpoint problems and likely solutions.
Design Guideline: Write large-lettered, jargon-free text in web-safe font. Use short sentences and draw users’ attention to causes and remedies.
Design rule: Use 20-pt, black Georgia on lavender background (#e6e6fa Hex). Put instructions in bold.
Note the differences. The principles represent general points of direction. The guidelines reveal how to approach these. The rules are direct instructions. So, the designer approaches the design principles and then uses design guidelines to determine the design rules. Designers often apply design guidelines subjectively when they design products. One designer might interpret a guideline differently from another.
At the Interaction Design Foundation, we follow the design principle that we use recognition rather than recall. So, we have a design guideline to always show you where you are inside a course -so you don’t have to remember.
It’s vital to give users what’s most fit for purpose. Brands have various guidelines for designers to tailor dashboards to minimize cognitive load and maximize readability. Microsoft, Apple and Google are examples of companies that have exemplary standards (e.g., Google’s Material Design) for use in customization. Designers also have to accommodate users’ cultural considerations (e.g., color use and text direction). Moreover, when you design for mobile devices, you have to balance between brand consistency and maximal use of limited screen space. That’s why designers often use pictures or icons to represent information on mobile designs.
Author/Copyright holder: 200 Degrees. Copyright terms and licence: CCO.
Google’s Material Design is a good example of company specific design guidelines that relates both to branding and user experience.
In all cases, it’s best to apply design guidelines with care, where you balance user data and insights with brand directives to create designs that users find intuitive and pleasurable.
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
The rule of layout is a set of principles that guide the arrangement of visual elements in a design. These principles help designers create works that are visually appealing and easy to understand. There are several rules of layout, but some of the most common ones include:
The grid: Grids give order to graphic design. They speed up the design process by helping designers decide where content should be placed rather than where it could be placed.
Emphasis and scale: The eye generally needs a place to rest or something of interest to hold it. Otherwise, people will look at your design and quickly move on. You want to use scale and emphasis to communicate to the viewer.
Balance: Balance refers to the distribution of visual weight in a design. A well-balanced design feels stable and harmonious.
Rule of thirds: The rule of thirds divides an image into thirds both horizontally and vertically and then places the most critical elements of the image along those lines or at their intersections.
Rule of odds: The rule of odds suggests that an odd number of elements in a design is more visually appealing than an even number of elements.
These rules are not hard and fast, but they can be helpful starting points for designers looking to create effective layouts.
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Watch this video to learn more about the layout methods in detail.
What is the difference between design principles and guidelines?
Design principles provide general direction, while guidelines offer specific recommendations for implementing those principles. For instance, a principle may focus on legibility and readability. However, a guideline would specify using large, jargon-free text with short sentences and drawing attention to causes and solutions for effective communication. Combining these elements ensures that design decisions align with overall principles while offering actionable steps for implementation, fostering a cohesive and practical design approach. Principles serve as the guiding philosophy, outlining broad objectives, while guidelines provide a practical roadmap for achieving those objectives. The relationship between these elements is pivotal for every designer to understand and implement them.
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Refer to this video to understand more about design principles.
Where to learn more about good design?
In online education, there are many ways to educate yourself about design. You can explore courses like IxDFs' visual design course to learn more about good design. Witness the designs in action and delve into code-level examples. Additionally, broaden your knowledge by reading firsthand accounts from seasoned designers. This will help gain insights into how they apply and leverage good design principles in their projects. Engage with design communities and forums, where discussions and shared experiences contribute to a rich learning environment. Staying updated on industry trends through design blogs and podcasts and attending design conferences further fuels your understanding of good design. This will foster a continuous learning journey in the dynamic and evolving field of UX design.
Where to learn more about design guidelines?
You can enhance your understanding of design guidelines with courses from the Interaction Design Foundation. Explore design guidelines from industry experts like Don Norman and more on multiple topics. Discover various brand guidelines to deepen your knowledge and apply these principles effectively in your designs. Continuous interaction with online design communities, participating in design challenges, and seeking mentorship from experienced designers further enrich your understanding of design guidelines. This will also provide practical insights and networking opportunities. A culmination of the above will contribute to your growth as a skilled and informed designer. One of the popular courses offered by IxDF is UI Design Patterns for Successful Software. Besides these courses, you can also check Amazon's guidelines on UX design and a big repository of user interface platform guidelines.
What are the 7 rules of UX design?
1. Visibility: The design should make it easy to see possible actions and how to perform them.
2. Feedback: The design should provide feedback to the user about what actions have been performed, what results have been accomplished, and what state the system is in.
3. Constraints: The design should use constraints to prevent users from taking actions that are not allowed or that would lead to errors.
4. Mapping: The design should use natural mappings between the controls and their actions, the system state, and the user's expectations.
5. Consistency: The design should be consistent with user expectations and other products in the same category.
6. Affordance: The design should clarify possible actions and how to perform them.
7. Simplicity: The design should be simple and easy to understand, with unnecessary complexity removed.
(From Don Norman's Design of Everyday Things)
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Watch this video to learn more about UX design.
What is the format of a design statement?
A design statement is a comprehensive guide for crafting consistent, user-focused, visually appealing designs. It typically outlines design principles, associated guidelines, and rules for implementation. This structure of design rationale provides a framework for designers to curate products that align with user needs and aesthetic considerations. In UX, you need to understand the UX problem statement before working on the design statement. Incorporating case studies and user feedback into design statements enhances their effectiveness. The design statement also provides a robust framework for designers to articulate the intent and impact of their designs. Incorporating the design statement will include mapping out the users' pain points, highlighting the design's core issues, and suggesting probable solutions. This gives designers a basis to work and formulate their UX design.
How do you document design guidelines?
Design guidelines are documented by outlining principles, providing specific guidelines for their application, and detailing rules for implementation. This comprehensive documentation ensures that designers share a common understanding. This process also promotes consistency in design decisions, fostering team communication and collaboration. In addition to documentation, collaborative tools and real-world examples can also be used. This further enriches the understanding of design guidelines, providing practical insights for designers. These insights can then be effectively applied to their projects to deliver excellent, coherent, human-centric designs. Every budding designer is encouraged to adapt to the process of documenting design guidelines. This ensures a structure in their design process and will help highlight anomalies.
What are the key usability principles?
1. Simplicity: The design should be simple and intuitive.
2. Efficiency: After learning the design, users should be able to perform tasks quickly.
3. Satisfaction: The design should be pleasant, satisfying to use and meet users' expectations
4. Learnability: It should be easy for new users to navigate and use the interface.
5. Memorability: The design should be easy to remember, helping users to perform tasks with ease when they return.
6. Error Prevention: The design should prevent errors, and when they occur, provide clear ways to correct them.
7. Flexibility: The design needs to accommodate different user skills and preferences.
8. Visibility: The design should ensure all relevant options and functionality are easily accessible.
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To understand the three crucial issues of usability, review this video.
What are examples of design criteria?
The key criteria or principles in interaction design include:
1. Goal-driven Design: Designing interfaces that help users achieve their goals efficiently and effectively.
2. Usability: The interface should be easy to use, understand, and learn.
3. Affordances & Signifiers: Affordances are the potential actions the user can take, and signifiers indicate where those actions should occur.
4. Learnability: Users should be able to quickly and intuitively learn how to use the interface.
5. Feedback & Response Time: The design should provide feedback so users know if an action was successful, and response time should be quick.
6. Consistency: Components and operations should be consistent to help users understand and learn the interface.
7. Errors: The design should anticipate potential errors, prevent them, and provide helpful guidance when mistakes occur.
8. Accessibility: The design should be usable by people of all abilities in different contexts.
Remember, good interaction design isn't just about creating a usable interface; it's about creating a user experience that is pleasant, efficient, and satisfying.
If you’ve heard the term user experience design and been overwhelmed by all the jargon, then you’re not alone. In fact, most practicing UX designers struggle to explain what they do!
“[User experience] is used by people to say, ‘I’m a user experience designer, I design websites,’ or ‘I design apps.’ […] and they think the experience is that simple device, the website, or the app, or who knows what. No! It’s everything — it’s the way you experience the world, it’s the way you experience your life, it’s the way you experience the service. Or, yeah, an app or a computer system. But it’s a system that’s everything.”
— Don Norman, pioneer and inventor of the term “user experience,” in an interview with NNGroup
As indicated by Don Norman, User Experience is an umbrella term that covers several areas. When you work with user experience, it’s crucial to understand what those areas are so that you know how best to apply the tools available to you.
In this course, you will gain an introduction to the breadth of UX design and understand why it matters. You’ll also learn the roles and responsibilities of a UX designer, how to confidently talk about UX and practical methods that you can apply to your work immediately.
You will learn to identify the overlaps and differences between different fields and adapt your existing skills to UX design. Once you understand the lay of the land, you’ll be able to chart your journey into a career in UX design. You’ll hear from practicing UX designers from within the IxDF community — people who come from diverse backgrounds, have taught themselves design, learned on the job, and are enjoying successful careers.
If you are new to the Interaction Design Foundation, this course is a great place to start because it brings together materials from many of our other courses. This provides you with both an excellent introduction to user experience and a preview of the courses we have to offer to help you develop your future career. After each lesson, we will introduce you to the courses you can take if a specific topic has caught your attention. That way, you’ll find it easy to continue your learning journey.
In the first lesson, you’ll learn what user experience design is and what a UX designer does. You’ll also learn about the importance of portfolios and what hiring managers look for in them.
In the second lesson, you’ll learn how to think like a UX designer. This lesson also introduces you to the very first exercise for you to dip your toes into the cool waters of user experience.
In the third and the fourth lessons, you’ll learn about the most common UX design tools and methods. You’ll also practice each of the methods through tailor-made exercises that walk you through the different stages of the design process.
In the final lesson, you’ll step outside the classroom and into the real world. You’ll understand the role of a UX designer within an organization and what it takes to overcome common challenges at the workplace. You’ll also learn how to leverage your existing skills to successfully transition to and thrive in a new career in UX.
You’ll be taught by some of the world’s leading experts. The experts we’ve handpicked for you are:
Alan Dix, Director of the Computational Foundry at Swansea University, author of Statistics for HCI: Making Sense of Quantitative Data
Ann Blandford, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction at University College London
Frank Spillers, Service Designer, Founder and CEO of Experience Dynamics
Laura Klein, Product Management Expert, Principal at Users Know, Author of Build Better Products and UX for Lean Startups
Michal Malewicz, Designer and Creative Director / CEO of Hype4 Mobile
Mike Rohde, Experience and Interface Designer, Author of The Sketchnote Handbook: The Illustrated Guide to Visual Note Taking
Szymon Adamiak, Software Engineer and Co-founder of Hype4 Mobile
William Hudson, User Experience Strategist and Founder of Syntagm
Throughout the course, we’ll supply you with lots of templates and step-by-step guides so you can start applying what you learn in your everyday practice.
You’ll find a series of exercises that will help you get hands-on experience with the methods you learn. Whether you’re a newcomer to design considering a career switch, an experienced practitioner looking to brush up on the basics, or work closely with designers and are curious to know what your colleagues are up to, you will benefit from the learning materials and practical exercises in this course.
You can also learn with your fellow course-takers and use the discussion forums to get feedback and inspire other people who are learning alongside you. You and your fellow course-takers have a huge knowledge and experience base between you, so we think you should take advantage of it whenever possible.
You earn a verifiable and industry-trusted Course Certificate once you’ve completed the course. You can highlight it on your resume, LinkedIn profile or website.
Appropriation occurs when a user takes a design and puts it to use in a way that wasn’t anticipated by the designer. Thi
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