Psychology of Design

Terminology

  • Hick's Law - Hick’s Law predicts that the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices available.
  • Cognitive load - refers to the mental processing power being used by our working memory. Our brains are similar to computer processors in that we have limited processing power: when the amount of information coming in exceeds the space available, cognitive load is incurred.
    • Too many choices will increase the cognitive load for users.
    • Break up long or complex processes into screens with fewer options.
    • Use progressive onboarding to minimize cognitive load for new users.
  • Miller's Law - predicts that the average person can only keep 7 (± 2) items in their working memory.
    • Don’t use the “magical number seven” to justify unnecessary design limitations.
    • Organize content into smaller chunks to help users process, understand, and memorize easily.
  • Jakob's Law of Internet User Experience - users spend most of their time on other sites, and they prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.
    • Users will transfer expectations they have built around one familiar product to another that appears similar.
    • By leveraging existing mental models, we can create superior user experiences in which the user can focus on their task rather than learning new models.
    • Minimize discordance by empowering users to continue using a familiar version for a limited time.
  • Full Article: Psychology of Design
Last Updated: : 8/25/2019, 6:02:21 PM