‘Less is more’ in online user usability

Marianne Goguillon10th Commemorative

International Conferenceon Productivity & Quality Research

February 16, 2004Miami, Florida, U.S.A.

Overview

• ‘Less is more’

• Graphical user interface

• Gestalt principles

• User usability

• Online user usability guidelines

‘Less is more’

A method of taking only the essential components of architecture to enhance functionality.

“…reduce to essentials” Werner Blaser, Mies van

der Rohe, Less is More.

Graphical user interface (GUI)Point-and-click

Text box data entry

Source: www.yahoo.com

Gestalt principles• Proximity• Similarity• Continuity• Closure• Figure and ground

Source: www.coach.com

User usability• Learnability• Efficiency• Memorability• Errors• Satisfaction

Jakob Nielsen, Usability Engineering, 26

Online user usability guidelines

Icon

Source for the clear icon: www.verizon.com homepage as of March 2002 and for the confusing icon: www.verizon homepage as of April 2001.

Clear icon

Confusing icon

Online user usability guidelines

Navigation

Source for the content and navigation system windows: http://www.coach.com/shop/handbags_collect.asp.

Content window

Navigation system window

Online user usability guidelines

Intention and actual effect

 

Entry

Source for the user intention and ‘actual effect’:http://www.ebay.com/

Online user usability guidelines

Text label iconFigurative image icon

Source: www.coach.com

Online user usability guidelines

Display the right

amount of

information

Source: www.coach.com

Conclusion

Stripping down to bare essentials is the winning method of user usability. This unique approach of applying ‘less is more’ design principles to IA consolidates the web structure to create

highly functional user usability.