GUI Design Principles

Visibility

Clarity of the presented information

E.g.: Is the goal obvious? Icons used? 

Feedback

Information sent back to user after their action

E.g.: Sound? Label showing success or failure?

Affordance

How clear is the use of an element to the user?

E.g.: Label “Push” on one side of a door; a button saying “Click Me”.

Simplicity - KISS (“Keep It Simple & Sweet”)

E.g.: Place an “Open File” option on a menu, under “File” tag.

Structure

Are the elements set out in a meaningful way from the perspective of the user?

E.g.: Group information within a dialogue box. 

Consistency

How easy is it to learn and remember the appearance, positioning and behavior of the elements?

E.g.: [X] to close a window is always on top right hand side of the window; the most important buttons are the same size with only labels indicating different goals.

Tolerance

Prevents user making errors or provides easy recovery or graceful fail 

E.g.: Ignoring of wrong or invalid keyboard input; Hiding options inappropriate in a context.

Did you find this resource page useful?

Post your comment here.