Materials & UI Kits

earielteixeira

Aug 17

2 min read

A list of the main platforms

The purpose of an interface is to communicate with users, especially as distance learning (EAD) has become increasingly important. However, designers and users have different knowledge, expectations, and concerns. As a result, it is very difficult for designers to predict how certain design decisions will influence user behavior. Usability evaluation can therefore be understood as a procedure for gathering information about the usability—or potential usability—of a system, both to improve features in an interface under development and its supporting materials, and to evaluate an interface that has already been completed.

For those working in UX or seeking to enter the field, mastering evaluation methods, guidelines, and golden rules is essential. Here, I am referring to some of the foundations of the field. Does anyone remember them?

In his seminal book, Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction, Ben Shneiderman introduced his Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design. These are recommendations for creating interfaces that are efficient, effective, and satisfying. The Golden Rules are:

Strive for consistency.
Enable frequent users to use shortcuts.
Offer informative feedback.
Design dialogs to yield closure.
Offer simple error handling.
Permit easy reversal of actions.
Support internal locus of control.
Reduce short-term memory load.

The term Heuristic Evaluation in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) was introduced by Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich in the early 1990s, when they proposed a method in which designers apply a set of principles or heuristics to an interface.

Formative evaluation takes place before implementation and contributes to the development of the system, influencing the characteristics of the product under development. It is also known as developmental evaluation.

Summative evaluation takes place after implementation, with the goal of testing whether the final system functions appropriately. It is conducted when the objective is to assess or improve an existing product.

Because it is a general-purpose method, heuristic evaluation can be applied at any stage of the design process—from prototyping, as a formative method, to post-implementation, as a summative method.

Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics

Visibility of system status.
Match between the system and the real world.
User control and freedom.
Consistency and standards.
Error prevention.
Recognition rather than recall.
Flexibility and efficiency of use.
Aesthetic and minimalist design.
Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors.
Help and documentation.

In addition to usability inspection methods, having a solid understanding of the principles and components contained in the resources linked below can be a significant advantage, both on your résumé and during job interviews. Many of these materials represent usage patterns, integration formats, and design standardization and optimization practices that are particularly relevant when establishing a Design System.

In any case, I recommend incorporating them into new projects and reviewing those currently in progress. It is also worth updating your portfolio with projects designed for multiple devices, specifying which UI kit or design system resources you used when designing the screens.