Usability design with mental models
People ignore design that ignores people- Frank Chimero, Designer
Have you ever been on a website that took you so long to navigate to complete the simplest task?
Having interacted with numerous websites, the Call-To-Action buttons are usually very big and bold.
Imagine not finding the CTA button,
you’re wondering if it’s some bait to keep you scrolling.
You either quit the webpage or find an alternative. Bad UX.
Users have expectations on how a user interface should look like, and how the interaction should flow… seamlessly.
We can make the assumption that many users will expect and understand certain UX conventions, such as:
- Links will be underlined or be written in a different color text
- Buttons will appear in a colored box
- Search boxes will appear in the upper hand corner of a website
- Logos will appear in the upper hand corner of a website
- Site-wide navigation will appear at the top or left-hand side of a website. (career foundry)
Designers want to be innovative and original, but users will always approach new products and features based on what they’ve used before (it’s called a “mental model”) and for this reason, designers should keep in mind user expectations.
In the context of UX design, a mental model is what the user believes about how a user experience works. Users build mental models within their brains based on their interactions with websites, mobile phones, and other interactive products.
Users learn from past experience and then apply that knowledge to whichever task they encounter.
The first point we must understand is that most of the time your users are viewing and using websites or apps that are not your own. Then they come to your website with an understanding of the average website they have used. If the elements in your UI design and the information architecture on your site fit their mental models, they would have no problem navigating your site and finding what they need.
Good UX design prioritizes the user. Any website, app, or software which does not consider the users’ needs will fail ultimately. Knowing your target audience really well is crucial to the UX design process. What are their goals? What are the challenges they face? What motivates them, and how do they act?
“If the user can’t use it, it doesn’t work.”- susan dray
Using card sorting is a useful way to discover your users’ mental model of an information space so you can better optimize your navigation.
Also, you can improve users’ mental models so that they more accurately reflect your process. You can do this by, for example, explaining things better and making labels clearer to make the UI more human.
User Pilot shows this by showing what actions to take every step of the onboarding process, great UX!
Good UX design should provide positive experiences that make users stick with the product or brand. Follow mental models. Test!. Test! and repeat.
Thank you for reading.
