adjustafresh – user experience design | digital marketing strategy

We human beings choose to decorate ourselves in a variety of manners—fashion, cosmetics, tattoos, piercings, surgery, etc.—to express ourselves and communicate unspoken signals to each other.  Non-verbal cues are sent via our interface choices to everyone that we encounter on a daily basis.  What messages are you trying to send through your own personal user interface?

Here are some examples of human UI patterns that we encounter, and the subtext that they silently communicate.

The Business Man

The conservative haircut, the dull necktie and his subtle frown clearly communicate that he’s all business.  He’s not very approachable, but most likely fairly dependable.  Intrepid reader, he is the human incarnation of the spread sheet.

The Entertainer

An acquired taste—he’s clearly trying extremely hard to amuse and entertain.  He spent a fortune attending clown school and yearns to be the center of attention (a life caster perhaps?).  Simultaneously friendly and annoying, the clown UI is not something most people can spend much time with.

It’s Complicated

This interface is enigmatic, complicated and intriguing.  There is an intimidation factor, yet an underlying and attractive charm; a frustrating puzzle that keeps people returning in hopes of discovering a solution. If a person is open to it, an experiential interface that encourages discovery and requires time to figure out can be fun.

The Soldier

There is nothing ambiguous about this interface.  It’s clear and completely direct; nothing is implicit.  Depending on a person’s perspective, this interface can communicate security or menace.  The soldier combines precision and discipline with the ability to understand and complete his directives. He is the embodiment of the command line.

The Best Software is Anthropomorphic

Just like people, software user interfaces can and should personify human attributes (no, I’m not talking about Clippy!).  The best systems communicate to users via text, interaction and imagery to express the personality of the application.  These are the applications that people become emotionally attached to because they remind us of what it means to be human.

I have dug up some examples (which weren’t hard to find) of instances where a website’s information architect a.) never existed b.) went on strike or c.) just plain sucked at their job.

An IA Graveyard is a collection of content that, for some reason, would not fit into the existing architecture of a website, often resulting in confusion and a lack of findability for the end user. A lack of proper planning, dramatic changes to an organization’s infrastructure, flat out laziness or a combination of all three often lead to these data dumping grounds.

“Quick Links”

So someone wrote an “important” article that doesn’t fit into any of the content areas defined by the site’s architecture… Why not just add the title or topic of the new article to a list of Quick Links?  Typically consisting of a laundry list of topics and titles that a user must sift through, these lists quickly get out of hand and offer no help to a user trying desperately to find information on your website.  The ironically labeled “Find it Now” feature of the Little League website is a prime example of a list of links that grew out of control.

If you’ve resorted to building a handy list of “Quick Links” on your website, it’s time to consider a few things (especially number one):

1. Is this content really necessary?
2. Does the content fit into or duplicate any existing content buckets; can it be modified to work into the existing architecture?
3. Is it time to modify or redesign the site architecture?

IfAQ – Infrequently Asked Questions

At some point people forgot what the “F” in FAQ stood for.  FAQs have transitioned from a useful Q&A repository into a wasteland of unorganized and often irrelevant content.  My advice: avoid setting aside an FAQ section in the site’s architecture entirely.  Design the architecture and craft the content in such a way that it will address the topics that are of primary concern to your users.  Kevin Kelly agrees:

And of course, your FAQ does not need to be in the form of a Q&A at all. You can cover the same ground by writing it in prose, or essay form, or even a story.

Doing this requires that you do your homework; understand the topics your users are primarily interested in and glean a solid understanding of how they would like to search for and find that information.  If, after doing your homework and researching your audience, the content on your website still hasn’t answered your users’ questions, make it easy for them to contact you directly to get a personal answer.

Don’t be a Lazy IA!

Speak with users and site stakeholder to ensure that the site is well-planned to accommodate necessary content.  Push back when stakeholders start creating content that doesn’t have a home within the site’s structure.  Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions, especially: is this content really adding value for the user? If the content isn’t valuable for the user or meeting the overall business goals, it doesn’t belong on the website.  Stop that IA graveyard before it gets out of control and makes you look bad.