6 UX Laws Every Designer Should Follow to Create Great Products

A website can be exceptionally attractive but can still fall short of user engagement. It is because the user experience (UX) is more than just a few UI elements put together. UX encapsulates usability, desirability, and accessibility.

And the bottom line is you need a winning UX to make a first impression that lasts. There needs to be a perfectly-balanced framework that ensures user-friendliness to foster user engagement on a website. But the challenge is how to create a website with a balanced UX?

There are some foundational UX laws that everyone – whether it’s a newbie or a seasoned designing enthusiast should follow. These proven UX laws revolve around user behavior to create immaculate experiences for them. Let’s dive in!

6 UX Laws Every Designer Should Know

UX designers and enthusiasts rely on more than just visually appealing designs. They refer to a set of UX laws established after studying the users’ responses to deliver stellar experiences. Whether you are a newbie or an experienced designer, understanding the psychology of end-users is essential to meet their expectations.

Following are six foundational ‘laws’ of UX design that every designer should be familiar with –

1. The Aesthetic – Usability Effect

Visually pleasing designs work better. Studies^[i] prove a strong correlation between ease of use and aesthetic appeal. In fact, users tend to favor the aesthetics of the interface even when they try to evaluate the functionality only. Moreover, great aesthetics can overshadow minor usability issues.

Takeaways for Designers –

• An aesthetically pleasing design can make users accept minor usability issues
• It creates a positive response in people’s brains and they believe that the design actually works better

2. Doherty Threshold Law – The Quick Reaction Effect

When you visit a website and click on something, what do you do in case of no response? You start wondering whether something is wrong with the internet, your device, or the website. As a matter of fact, the attention timespan of a user is >400 ms^[ii]. If your interface fails to respond before 400 ms, users will grow restless.

So, the idea behind this law revolves around the timely reaction of the design elements. There needs to be an appropriately designed reaction to every click. When users feel engaged with the interface, they tend to stick longer.

Takeaways for Designers –

• Keep users engaged by responding before 400 ms
• Incorporate progress bars to make the waiting time engaging for users
• Adding animation while loading can make the interface aesthetically pleasing

3. Fitt’s Law: The Accessibility Factor

As Fitt’s law states – the time required to reach a target (example: moving the cursor) is a function of the distance to the target divided by the size of the target. In simple words, the longer the distance, the smaller the size of the target. As a result, the sizing and positioning of interactive elements influence the usability of an interface. If you shop online, you must have noticed big ‘buy now’ buttons on eCommerce websites. They are placed in a noticeable manner and place to grab maximum attention. It immediately grabs the attention of users and enables quick decision-making.

Takeaways for Designers –

• Make touch targets easily noticeable and accessible by making them bigger than other elements
• Ensure enough spacing is given so users can easily click on it

4. Jakob’s Law: The Principle of Familiarity

Jakob’s law is about offering a sense of familiarity to the users. If you think about it, all websites are the same at the base level. The logo is on the left side, the search bar on the right, the menu on top, the footer will have all the contact information. It is because users surf multiple websites but still demand a sense of familiarity. So, when they switch from one website to another, they can easily understand the interface on the core level.

Takeaways for Designers –

• The existing mental model-based design reduces the usability friction
• Create familiar designs that enable users to focus on tasks rather than learning new models

5. Hick’s Law: KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) Principle

This law states that the time required by a user to make a decision is proportional to the complexity of the choices they’re offered. In other words, endless options can result in delayed decision-making. So, the idea behind this law is to eliminate the complexities by organizing the interface. For instance, a new Netflix subscriber might get overwhelmed with thousands of options. To overcome this, Netflix asks their preference upon joining and highlights recommended shows to them. Moreover, it organizes the options in various categories to make them easier to follow.

Takeaways for Designers –

• Minimizing options especially with time-sensitive tasks
• Break complex tasks like payment processes into smaller steps
• Highlight the recommended options to reduce delayed decision-making

6. Miller’s Law: Isolation Effect

Miller’s law states that the maximum number of objects in a human brain’s memory threshold is 7^[iii]. So, the idea behind this law is to break up overwhelming information into smaller digestible information. The most common example is the phone number. People would be able to remember ‘987-654-3210’ more easily as compared to ‘9876543210’. It enables a clear understanding without requiring users to invest too much cognitive effort.

Takeaways for Designers –

• Break down the complex processes into small, engaging steps
• Organize the information in manageable chunks for better understanding

Conclusion

From the outset, these UX laws may seem too complex. But as you analyze all of them, you’ll notice that they provide sneak-peek of the user behavior and expectations. It will help you understand why users behave in a certain way, enabling you to create product experiences for them.

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Statistics References

^[i] UX Magazine
^[ii] Medium
^[iii] Bootcamp