book

101 UX Principles

Name: 101 UX Principles
Author: Will Grant
ISBN: 9781788837361

by Will Grant

August 2018

Beginner

414 pages

3h 16m

English

Packt Publishing

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101 UX Principles
Table of Contents
101 UX Principles
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Contributors
About the author
About the reviewer
Packt is Searching for Authors Like You
Preface
#1. Anyone Can Be a User Experience (UX) Professional
Learning points

#2. Don't Use More Than Two Typefaces
Learning points
#3. Users Already Have Fonts on Their Computers, So Use Them
Learning points
#4. USE TYPE SIZE TO DEPICT INFORMATION HIERARCHY
Headline that tells you something
Learning points
#5. Use a Sensible Default Size for Body Copy
Learning points
#6. Use an Ellipsis to Indicate That There's a Further Step
Learning points
#7. Make Your Buttons Look Like Buttons
Learning points
#8. Make Buttons a Sensible Size and Group Them Together by Function
Learning points
#9. Make the Whole Button Clickable, Not Just the Text
Learning points
#10. Don't Invent New, Arbitrary Controls
Learning points
#11. Search Should be a Text Field with a Button Labeled "Search"
Learning points
#12. Sliders Should Be Used Only for Non-Quantifiable Values
Learning points
#13. Use Numeric Entry Fields for Precise Integers
Learning points
#14. Don't Use a Drop-Down Menu If You Only Have a Few Options
Learning points:
#15. Allow Users to Undo Destructive Actions
Learning points
#16. Think About What's Just off the Screen
Learning points
#17. Use "Infinite Scroll" for Feed–Style Content Only
Learning points
#18. If Your Content Has a Beginning, Middle, and End, Use Pagination
Learning points
#19. If You Must Use Infinite Scroll, Store the User's Position and Return to It
Learning points
#20. Make "Blank Slates" More Than Just Empty Views
Learning points
#21. Make "Getting Started" Tips Easily Dismissable
Learning points
#22. When a User Refreshes a Feed, Move Them to the Last Unread Item
Learning points
#23. Don't Hide Items Away in a "Hamburger" Menu
Learning points
#24. Make Your Links Look Like Links
Learning points
#25. Split Menu Items Down into Subsections, so Users Don't Have to Remember Large Lists
Learning points
#26. Hide "Advanced" Settings From Most Users
Learning points
#27. Repeat Menu Items in the Footer or Lower Down in the View
Learning points
#28. Use Consistent Icons Across the Product
Learning points
#29. Don't Use Obsolete Icons
Learning points
#30. Don't Try to Depict a New Idea With an Existing Icon
Learning points
#31. Never Use Text on Icons
Learning points
#32. Always Give Icons a Text Label
Learning points
#33. Emoji are the Most Recognized Icon Set on Earth
Learning points
#34. Use Device-Native Input Features Where Possible
Learning points
#35. Obfuscate Passwords in Fields, but Provide a "Show Password" Toggle
Learning points
#36. Always Allow the User to Paste into Password Fields
Learning points
#37. Don't Attempt to Validate Email Addresses
Learning points
#38. Don't Ever Clear User-Entered Data Unless Specifically Asked To
Learning points
#39. Pick a Sensible Size for Multiline Input Fields
Learning points
#40. Don't Ever Make Your UI Move While a User is Trying to Use It
Learning points
#41. Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently
Learning points
#42. Pre-fill the Username in "Forgot Password" Fields
Learning points
#43. Be Case-Insensitive
Learning points
#44. If a Good Form Experience Can Be Delivered, Your Users will Love Your Product
Learning points
#45. Validate Data Entry as Soon as Possible
Learning points
#46. If the Form Fails Validation, Show the User Which Field Needs Their Attention
Learning points
#47. Be Forgiving – Users Don't Know (and Don't Care) How You Need the Data
Learning points
#48. Pick the Right Control for the Job
Learning Points
#49. Allow Users to Enter Phone Numbers However They Wish
Learning points
#50. Use Drop Downs Sensibly for Date Entry
Learning points
#51. Capture the Bare Minimum When Requesting Payment Card Details
Learning points
#52. Make it Easy for Users to Enter Postal or ZIP Codes
Learning points
#53. Don't Add Decimal Places to Currency Input
Learning points
#54. Make it Painless for the User to Add Images
Learning points
#55. Use a "Linear" Progress Bar if a Task will Take a Determinate Amount of Time
Learning points
#56. Show a "Spinner" if the Task Will Take an Indeterminate Amount of Time
Learning points
#57. Never Show an Animated, Looping Progress Bar
Learning points
#58. Show a Numeric Progress Indicator on the Progress Bar
Learning points
#59. Contrast Ratios Are Your Friends
Learning points
#60. If You Must Use "Flat Design" then Add Some Visual Affordances to Controls
Learning points
#61. Avoid Ambiguous Symbols
Learning points
#62. Make Links Make Sense Out of Context
Learning points
#63. Add "Skip to Content" Links Above the Header and Navigation
Learning points
#64. Don't Only Use Color to Convey Information
Learning points:
#65. If You Turn Off Device Zoom with a Meta Tag, You're Evil
Learning points
#66. Give Navigation Elements a Logical Tab Order
Learning points
#67. Write Clear Labels for Controls
Learning points
#68. Let Users Turn off Specific Notifications
Learning points
#69. Make Tappable Areas Finger-Sized
Learning points
#70. A User's Journey Should Have a Beginning, Middle, and End
Learning points
#71. The User Should Always Know at What Stage They Are in Any Given Journey
Learning points
#72. Use Breadcrumb Navigation
Learning points
#73. If the User is on an Optional Journey, Give Them a Control to "Skip This"
Learning points
#74. Users Don't Care About Your Company
Learning points
#75. Follow the Standard E-Commerce Pattern
Learning points
#76. Show an Indicator in the Title Bar if the User's Work is Unsaved
Learning points
#77. Don't Nag Your Users into Rating Your App
Learning points
#78. Don't Use a Vanity Splash Screen
Learning points
#79. Make Your Favicon Distinctive
Learning points
#80. Add a "Create from Existing" Flow
Learning points
#81. Make it Easy for Users to Pay You
Learning points
#82. Categorize Search Results into Sections
Learning points:
#83. Your Users Probably Don't Understand the File System
Learning points
#84. Show, Don't Tell
Learning points
#85. Be Consistent with Terminology
Learning points:
#86. Use "Sign in" and "Sign out", Not "Log in" and "Log out"
Learning points
#87. "Sign up" Makes More Sense Than "Register"
Learning points
#88. Use "Forgot Password" or "Forgotten Your Password", Not Something Obscure
Learning points
#89. Write Like a Human Being
Learning points
#90. Choose Active Verbs over Passive
Learning points
#91. Search Results Pages Should Show the Most Relevant Result at the Top of the Page
Learning points
#92. Pick Good Defaults
Learning points
#93. Don't Confound Users' Expectations
Learning points
#94. Reduce the Number of Tasks a User Has to Complete by Using Sensible Defaults
Learning points
#95. Build Upon Established Metaphors – It's Not Stealing
Learning points
#96. Decide Whether an Interaction Should Be Obvious, Easy, or Possible
Learning points
#97. "Does it Work on Mobile?" is Obsolete
Learning points
#98. Messaging is a Solved Problem
Learning points
#99. Brands Are Bullshit
Learning points
#100. Don't Join the Dark Side
Learning points
#101. Test with Real Users
Learning points
102. Bonus – Strive for Simplicity
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Index

Content preview from 101 UX Principles

Chapter #90. Choose Active Verbs over Passive

Most of this book is concerned with using visual design to improve the user's experience. However, the words that we use as designers also have a huge impact on the usability of the products we create.

10 years ago, I found myself on a half-day course by the Plain English Campaign (the body behind the "Crystal Mark" for documents that are easy to read and understand). There were a lot of great tips on the course, but the section on the active and passive voice really stuck with me:

"A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is acted on by the verb. For example, in 'the ball was thrown by the pitcher', the ball (the subject) receives the action of the verb, and 'was thrown' is in ...

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101 UX Principles – 2nd edition - Second Edition

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9781788837361

Cloud Computing

Data Engineering

Data Science

AI & ML

Programming Languages

Software Architecture

IT/Ops

Security

Design

Business

Soft Skills

101 UX Principles

by Will Grant

Chapter #90. Choose Active Verbs over Passive

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
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