Don’t Make me Think Guiding Principles Summarized by Andrew Piatek Don’t Make Me Read Don’t Make me Think Guiding Principles Summarized by Andrew Piatek

Don’t Make Me Think! Page should be mindless, obvious, and effortless. Easily identify what page is, displaying what the person wants faster. Unnecessary wording of things require thought. Instead of “employment opportunities,” use jobs. Make clickable things obviously clickable. How to search Do the thinking for the user like Amazon.

How We Really Use The Web People don’t use sites the way we think they do Only scan pages because user is in a hurry, doesn’t need to read everything, and it is habitual. Don’t choose the best options, we satisfice with first reasonable option We are in a hurry, limited penalty in wrong choice, spending more time doesn’t improve chances, and guessing right is faster and more pleasant Don’t waste time in figuring out how something works, but just use it. Not import enough to learn, and if it works already, won’t learn the right way.

Billboard Design 101 Create a clear visual hierarchy on each page through font size, descending the page, and nesting sections. Use conventions like newspapers, large headlines that summarize content or icons that represent things that are widely accepted like a shopping cart. Break pages up into clearly defined areas Make it obvious what’s clickable Minimize noise.

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral? Users’ clicks must be painless and keep them on the right track. Keep choices clear First question of the word game Twenty Questions, “animal, vegetable, or mineral?” is a mindless choice.

Omit Needless Words E.B. White’s rule “A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences.” Krug recommends removing half of the words on the page. Reduces noise, useful content is more prominent, and pages are shorter. Don’t use “happy talk,” or the greetings that accompany pages that no one reads anyway.

Andrew Piatek adpiatek@buffalo. edu http://www. acsu. buffalo