Awesome Characteristics of A Great User Interface Design

User interface design is the design of websites, computers, applications and likewise. As the name says its an interface design in which users are of prime importance. While designing the first and foremost thing that needs to be kept in mind is the user experience and interaction.

The main target behind designing an interface design is to make the user’s interaction as simple and efficient as possible. All in all, user centered designs are the best interface designs. If the user interface design enables the user to finish the task without any distraction it can be categorized as the good user interface.

Designing a good user interface is not as easy as it sounds to be. It asks for great designing skills, good knowledge of designing world and good understanding of the needs of the user. There are various processes that need to be followed before finally presenting the user interface design which obviously vary from project to project.

Well, as the title of this article reads let me come straight to the point without much time though its always a good idea to let the readers know about what basically the article focuses on for which I don’t hesitate sparing extra words.

Here, I will list down some of the common and most essential points that define a good user interface or I would rather say are the characteristics of a user-friendly interface. If you are a designer and wish to come up with a superlative user interface design and wonder as to what all should your interface design revolve around. Check out the list of characteristics of good user interface designs listed below

Characteristics of A Great User Interface Design

1. Clarity

Clarity is of prime importance in user interface design. It helps prevent user errors, makes important information clear and gives a perfect user experience. Clarity means the information content is conveyed accurately.

2. Conciseness

By clarity in user interface design it however doesn’t mean that you need not overflow your design with information. It is not at all difficult to add definitions and explanations but over flow of the content will surely bug the user as it will ask them to spend too much time reading them. It is highly suggestive to keep things clear and concise which means if something can be explained without sparing extra words do that! The idea is to save the valuable time of the users by keeping things as concise as possible.

3. Consistency

Consistency is yet another characteristic of a good user interface design. It enables users to develop usage patterns which will make them learn what the different buttons, tabs, icons and other interface elements look like thereby easily recognizing them. A unique design with conformity on user’s end speaks for a good user interface design.

4. Legibility

While designing a user interface what must be kept in mind is  legibility which means you need not use complicated words which might be difficult to read and understand instead use easy language and make sure your design includes information that is easy to read.

5. Responsiveness

By responsive user interface design we mean that there should be no time lag in loading. It should be quite fast! Witnessing good loading speed is sure to enhance the user experience. Besides, it should provide informative stuff to the user about the task in hand. Also, the interface should provide some form of feedback to the user. The interface should let users know as to what’s happening. Its a wise idea to play a spinning wheel or show a progress bar to let the user know the current status.

6. Forgiving

The best user interface design is the one that forgives users on making the mistake thereby making the user undo the wrong actions without any fuss. A good interface should enable user to restore the deleted items which at one point or the other can be done unintentionally. Nowhere while using the interface design user should feel lost. Make sure your design is such that it guides the user when a mistake is made by the user unintentionally. In short  user actions should be reversible.

7. Familiarity

If you make sure your user design interface is consistent then it is sure to make your users familiar with specific elements. By familiarity it means even when the user checks it out for the first time the interface elements are found at the places expected. Uniqueness in design is any day good thing but then it is always suggestive to place elements at expected positions to make it easier for the users.

8. Efficient

By making the user interface it means is to figure out what exactly the user is trying to achieve and then let them do exactly what they choose that too without any fuss. Prepare an interface that enables people easily accomplish what they want instead of fussy listing which can be bugging thereby marring the overall experience.

9. Attractiveness

Last but not the least, your user interface design should focus mainly on user experience which besides cool user-friendly features should include the visual appeal. If the visual appeal is missing in your user interface design, the overall effort goes waste. So, while preparing the user interface design do not underestimate the value of visual appeal.

To conclude, I would like to put it this way. A good user interface design should have it all. The above listed characteristics or call them elements should be imparted to make sure to enhance the over all user experience.  After all, the effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction of the user is what should be the prime target of user interface design.