Frank Piacitelli

John McRee of EffectiveUI wrote back in May [2010]: “we have to be thoughtful about where we innovate versus what is familiar”. This so directly and simply stated an idea that UI designers grapple with on a daily basis. An idea that (IMHO) most professionals around us aren’t in tune with. Making a useful interface often involves incorporating tried and tested conventions—placing section navigation links all in a horizontal bar toward the top of a page, for example. The theory behind using common techniques is fairly obvious; if users are going to expect a certain functional or informational element to have a certain position or appearance, the path of least resistance is to give them what they expect. And very often, this is the right thing to do. However, if we always stick to what is common, we miss the opportunity to make leaps in ease-of-use and enjoyable user experiences. To innovate in UI design usually poses some (however small) initial challenge to the user. A good UI designer finds the proper opportunity for these departures from the familiar. In my experience, straying from conventions is often met with resistance—usually in the form of a demand for “consistency”. Keeping similar elements in a consistent style is often a shortcut to effective design (for example, a string of navigation links should usually be the same typeface, color, case, etc). But I often see “consistency” used as an excuse to turn off one’s brain—it’s often taken to the extreme. I hear things like “all our links should be one word only” or “we can’t have some links be nouns and others be verbs”. A UI designer’s goal is to create an effective and usually enjoyable experience for users. This doesn’t always follow prescribed rules. Such rules serve no purpose but to avoid thoughtful consideration, otherwise known as “thinking”.