The Psyche of Outstanding UI/UX: Creating Designs That Consider User Behaviour Which is the trend?

 

UI/UX design is fundamentally about understanding people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviours while dealing with digital products, not only about utility or aesthetics. We can create interfaces that lead users more naturally, lower cognitive friction, and increase enjoyment by drawing on psychological concepts. A framework for forecasting user behaviour is provided by ideas like Fitts' Law, Von Restorff Effect, and Hick's Law, which is crucial for creating experiences that seem natural.

As a designer, I've discovered that one of the most effective methods to raise usability and engagement is to include psychology into the design process. These ideas enable me to create designs that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also make sense to the user, whether I'm creating a straightforward navigation bar or a sophisticated insurance software interface.

 

Why Is It Important?

Working on initiatives such as Helpee made me realise that users, particularly the elderly, suffer from cognitive strain and decision fatigue while navigating complicated systems. We could streamline interactions and greatly improve the app's intuitiveness by being aware of their cognitive limits. Designing with the psychology of the user in mind may greatly lower friction, produce more interesting experiences, and eventually increase user retention.

 

Key Psychological Principles to Leverage in UI/UX Design:

1. Hick's Law: Make Decisions Easier

According to Hick's Law, a user will take longer to decide the more alternatives they have. In 2024, as applications and websites vie for users' attention, cutting down on option overload will be more crucial than ever.

We optimised the user dashboard by eliminating pointless choices and combining related tasks in a portal overhaul for an eldercare platform. Customers could locate what they wanted more quickly and without having to sift through a huge number of possibilities, which reduced decision time and increased user satisfaction.

 

2. Fitts' Law: Make It Easy to Take Actions

According to Fitts' Law, the size and distance to a target—like a button—determine how long it takes to travel towards it. This means that in UI design, big, simple-to-click buttons in the places where people naturally navigate save effort and enhance usability.

When I worked on the eldercare Platform interface, big, strategically placed call-to-action buttons made it easier for senior users to engage with the system without having to strain to click on tiny, difficult-to-reach spots on the screen. Both work completion rates and user comfort were significantly increased by this.

 

3. The Von Restorff Effect: 

Emphasise Important Details According to the Von Restorff Effect, sometimes referred to as the isolation effect, individuals are more likely to recall an object that sticks out from the others. When it comes to drawing attention to crucial elements or calls to action in your design, this technique is invaluable.

I made use of this effect in the leads management system project by emphasising important actions like "Table View" and "Kanban View" with contrasting highlighted with colours. This decreased the number of form completion errors by helping users focus on the most crucial stages.

 

Designing for Emotional Impact and Cognitive Load: 

Keeping people interested requires minimising cognitive load, or the mental work necessary to utilise an interface. When individuals come with excessive information or unclear navigation, they are more inclined to give up on the activity. Understanding cognitive constraints can help you create processes that lead people without being too demanding.

From an emotional perspective, consumers' ability to engage with your product is greatly influenced by emotional design, which involves crafting moments that evoke pleasant sentiments. Enhancing consumers' sense of control and enjoyment, whether through colour, animations, or micro-interactions, increases user happiness.

To establish trust and foster an emotional bond with users—especially senior citizens in need of protection and care—we employed warm hues and amiable graphics for Helpee. Users were intended to feel reassured and rewarded by even the tiniest design decisions, such as task completion animations that elicited good emotions.

The booking experience at Airbnb is a fantastic illustration of how cognitive load and emotive design can coexist. They use friendly images and light-hearted animations to make the experience seem airy and upbeat, while also breaking down difficult activities into manageable chunks (lowering cognitive load) and improving emotional design.

 

In conclusion:

An awareness of human behaviour and thought processes is the foundation of the greatest UI/UX design. We may design more intuitive and pleasurable user experiences by utilising psychological concepts like Fitts' Law, Hick's Law, and the Von Restorff Effect in addition to knowledge of cognitive load and emotional effect. In my experience, these concepts have continuously improved usability, decreased mistakes, and strengthened emotional bonds with users in initiatives like eldercare and the insurance sector. In 2024, if you want your ideas to be unique, you need to start thinking more like a psychologist than a designer.