Thinking on the laws of UX

Laws regulate the ways we all live. They vary from country to country. Nevertheless, some principles are common to most countries, values they all uphold.

What about UX? Do we have laws? Do these laws help the designer or stifle creativity?

The laws of UX are a set of principles and guidelines designers can follow to create user-friendly and intuitive interfaces. Some of the most well-known laws of UX include the following:

1. Fitts’s Law: The time it takes to acquire a target is a function of the size of the target and the distance to it.
2. Hick’s Law: The time it takes for a person to make a decision increases with the number of choices available.
3. Jakob’s Law: Users spend most of their time on other websites. Therefore, it’s essential to make your website consistent with the expectations set by other websites.
4. Miller’s Law: The average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their short-term memory.
5. Gestalt Principles: These principles describe how the human brain organizes visual information into patterns and shapes.
6. Law of Prägnanz: The brain tries to simplify complex information into the simplest form possible.
7. Law of Common Region: we perceive objects as a single group in scenarios where the objects are within the same closed region.

Fitts’s Law

Fitt’s Law is a principle in human-computer interaction and ergonomics that states the time it takes to move to a target is a function of the distance to the target and the size of the target. The larger and closer a target is, the faster you will reach it.

Imagine you want to select a button on a screen to perform a task. If the button is large and located close to your cursor, it will be easier and quicker for you to select it. On the other hand, if the button is small and located far from your cursor, it will take longer for you to select it.

You can apply the principle to design elements such as buttons, links, and other interactive features on a website or application. By making the targets larger and placing them closer to the user’s cursor, designers can improve the efficiency and speed of interaction for the user.

In summary, Fitts’s Law helps designers understand how users move their cursor and interact with elements on a screen.

Hick’s Law

Hick’s Law states that the time it takes for a person to make a decision increases with the number of choices available. Therefore, it means that the more options a person has, the longer it takes to decide which one to choose.

Presume you’re shopping for a new pair of shoes. If you have two options, it will likely take less time to decide which pair to buy than if you had ten possibilities. The more significant number of choices available increases the time and mental effort required to make a decision.

You can apply this principle in web and app design, especially in cases where the user needs to choose from a large set of options. By reducing the number of choices and simplifying the options presented, designers can improve the user experience and reduce decision fatigue.

Hick’s Law is helpful for designers to understand how the number of options available affects decision-making time and to design interfaces that present choices in a manageable and intuitive way.

Jakob’s Law

Jakob’s Law states that users spend most of their time on other websites. Therefore, it’s essential to make your website consistent with the expectations set by other websites.

Let’s look at an example to illustrate Jakob’s Law:

Imagine you’re visiting a website for the first time. If the website has a similar layout, navigation, and design elements to other websites you’ve used, it will be easier for you to find what you’re looking for and understand how to use the site. On the other hand, if the website is entirely different from other sites you’ve used, it may take you longer to figure out how to use it and find what you’re looking for.

Jakob’s Law is a reminder that prior experiences and expectations heavily influence user experience. By designing websites and applications that are consistent with the expectations set by other websites, designers can improve the usability and accessibility of their products.

In summary, Jakob’s Law is helpful for designers to understand how prior experiences and expectations shape user behavior and to design interfaces that are consistent with these expectations to improve the user experience.

Miller’s Law

Miller’s Law states that the average person can only keep 7 (plus or minus 2) items in their short-term memory. In essence, this means that people can only remember a limited number of things at one time and that anything beyond that number may be difficult to recall.

Here’s an example to illustrate Miller’s Law:

Imagine you’re shopping and need to remember a list of items to buy. If your list is longer than seven items, it may be difficult to remember everything, and you may need to write it down. On the other hand, if your list is shorter than seven items, you can remember everything without needing to write it down.

Miller’s Law is relevant for designers because it impacts how we present information to users. By keeping the number of items on a page or screen manageable (ideally seven or fewer), designers can improve the user’s ability to understand and remember the information presented.

In summary, Miller’s Law is helpful for designers to understand the limits of short-term memory and to design interfaces that present information in a way that is easily understood and remembered by the user.

Gestalt Principles

The Gestalt Principles are psychological laws describing how people perceive and organize visual elements into groups and patterns. These principles help explain why people see patterns, recognize similarities and form groups based on visual cues.

Here are some examples of Gestalt Principles in action:

Proximity: we perceive objects close to each other as a group. For example, if you see a group of dots arranged closely together, you will perceive them as a single group rather than as separate individual dots.

Similarity: We tend to see objects similar to each other as a group. For example, if you see a group of dots of the same color, you will perceive them as a single group.

Enclosure: we perceive objects enclosed by a boundary as a group. For example, if you see a group of dots surrounded by a line, you will perceive them as a single group.

Continuation: The eye naturally follows a continuous line. For example, if you see a diagonal line, your vision will follow the line even if it extends beyond the bounds of the page.

Closure: People naturally tend to complete patterns, even when not fully formed. For example, if you see a circle with a gap, your mind will naturally try to complete the process to create a whole.

These principles are used in various forms of design, including web design, graphic design, and interface design, to guide the arrangement and presentation of visual elements.

Law of Prägnanz

Prägnanz is a German word that translates to “pithiness” or “economy.” Psychology refers to the principle that people naturally perceive objects and patterns in the simplest and most organized way possible. In essence, this means that people tend to simplify complex information into simpler forms and interpret ambiguous information in a way that makes the most sense.

Imagine you see a line drawing of a face. Your mind will naturally simplify the information and interpret it as a face, even if some parts of the picture are missing or unclear. This is because your mind tries to simplify and organize information in the simplest way possible.

Prägnanz is relevant for designers because it affects how people perceive and interpret information. By designing simple, organized, and easy-to-understand interfaces, designers can improve the user experience and make it easier for users to find the information they need.

In summary, Prägnanz is a sound principle for designers because it explains how people simplify and interpret information.

Law of Common Region

The Law of Common Region refers to the principle in psychology that objects within a common region tend to look as belonging together. If two or more objects are enclosed within a boundary or otherwise separated from other things, they are more likely to be perceived as a group.

Imagine you see a group of dots arranged within a square boundary. Your mind will naturally perceive the dots as belonging together because they are within a common region, defined by the square edge. On the other hand, if the dots were arranged randomly, without any clear boundary, your mind would be less likely to perceive them as a group.

The Law of Common Region is relevant for designers because it affects how people perceive and group information. By organizing data into straightforward, defined regions, designers can improve the user’s ability to understand and remember the information.

In summary, the Law of Common Region is a helpful principle for designers because it explains how people perceive and group information.

These are just a few of the many laws of UX. By following these laws, designers can create interfaces that are more usable, accessible, and satisfying to users.

References

1. https://lawsofux.com/ — A comprehensive website that provides detailed information on the laws and principles of user experience design, including Fitts’ Law, Hick’s Law, Jacob’s Law, Miller’s Law, the Gestalt Principles, and others.
2. Don’t Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability — A book by Steve Krug that covers the basics of web usability and provides practical advice on how to design websites that are easy to use.
3. The Design of Everyday Things — A book by Don Norman that explores the design of products and technologies and provides insights into how to design products that are easy to use and understand.
4. About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design — A book by Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, and David Cronin covers the fundamentals of interaction design and provides practical advice on designing user-friendly interfaces.
5. User Experience Design Fundamentals — A course offered by Udemy that covers the basics of user experience design and provides practical advice on designing user-friendly interfaces.
6. Foto de Leeloo Thefirst: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/2-decoracoes-em-formato-de-coracao-branco-e-marrom-5428836/
7. Foto de Markus Winkler: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/antiguidade-artigo-clausula-produto-4065400/
8. Foto de Michael Burrows: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/barba-borrao-mancha-nevoa-7129713/
9. Foto de CQF-Avocat: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/pecas-para-scrabble-613508/
10. Foto de Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/trilhos-de-trem-na-cidade-258510/
11. Foto de Christina Morillo: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/homem-em-pe-na-frente-do-quadro-branco-1181345/
12. Foto de Suzy Hazelwood: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/caderno-1226398/
13. Foto de Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/fotografia-em-close-de-uma-linha-branca-209981/
14. Foto de Ryan Miguel Capili: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/foto-de-close-up-da-cerca-de-arame-3605822/
15. Foto de Angela Roma : https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/bandeira-banner-cartaz-poster-7319318/
16. Foto de Максим : https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/proximidade-intimidade-conexao-ligacao-11966989/
17. Foto de Brett Sayles: https://www.pexels.com/pt-br/foto/foto-em-tons-de-cinza-de-um-homem-pensando-em-frente-a-um-relogio-de-parede-analogico-1194196/
18. By Foobar628 — Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69865276
19. https://sites.psu.edu/psych256sp15/2015/01/31/gestalt-art/
20. https://olympics.com/en/