Nobody wakes up in the morning hoping to finally identify crosswalks and fire hydrants that day. Yet every day, we prompt users through hoops and loops to sign up and log in. Let’s fix that. Authentication is a tricky subject. There are so many terms floating around us, from 2FA to MFA to OTP — […]
With the “Back” button, users often get confused and frustrated. How to design a better back button UX and where to put those “Back” buttons in our interfaces. There aren’t many things in usability testing that keep showing up over and over again. One of them is the anxiety people experience when they have to
Error messages need to be easy to spot, but they also need to be helpful. Let’s explore when error messages should live above input fields and why toast error messages are usually not a very good idea. When we design interfaces, we rarely think about error messages first. After all, how much is there to
Live, or inline validation in web forms is useful when it works, but frustrating when it fails. Too often it leads to an endless stream of disruptive error messages or dead-ends without any chance of getting out. Let’s fix it. Undoubtedly, there are major advantages of live validation. We validate input as users type, and
When designing navigation on mobile, we don’t have to rely on slide-in-menus or nested accordions. We can also use the curtain and billboard design patterns, and show multiple levels of navigation at once. When it comes to complex navigation on mobile, we often think about hamburger menus, full-page overlays, animated slide-in-menus, and a wide range
That’s how people behave on the web in 2023. Some observations from real usability testing on what people do and what they don’t do on the web. From disabled copy-paste to magic link sign-in. Many projects start with assumptions. We assume that users understand hamburger icons and how mega-menus work; that they understand how to
How do we design effective reviews and ratings? With a distribution chart, decimal scores, tags, recommendation score and unedited product photos. When we make purchasing decisions, we often rely on expertise from people like us who happen to have purchased that item already. And so we seek user reviews, often looking for a high enough
With one billion people aged 60 or older worldwide, inclusivity is more important than ever. Learn how to create digital experiences that empower independence and competence for older adults while enhancing usability for all. An upcoming part of Smart Interface Design Patterns. Today, one billion people are 60 years or older. That’s 12% of the
How to design for children aged 3–12, with insights into user behavior, considerations for parents, and practical UX guidelines. Children start interacting with the web when they are 3–5 years old. How do we design for children? What do we need to keep in mind while doing so? And how do we meet the expectations
Color accessibility is more than just ticking boxes. Even with good contrast, some color palettes can make interfaces challenging for users. Here are some practical guidelines to ensure more inclusive design for colorblind people. An upcoming part of Smart Interface Design Patterns. Too often, accessibility is seen as a checklist, but it’s much more complex
