UX for Beginners

Chapter 74. Consistency and Expectations

Consistency is a way to make learning faster and create useful expectations about what comes next. But consistency is not automatically good design.

Consistency is the idea that a design looks the same from page to page, or device to device, or user to user. And in general, it’s a good thing. When I log in this time, I expect a site or an app to be the same as last time. It helps me find the menu, navigate to things I like, and quickly skip the advertising at the beginning. Branding-wise, it also helps me recognize the company, trust the content, and know that I came to the right place.

Patterns Require Consistency

A brain is a pattern-recognition machine. It is designed to experience something once, and then be better at doing the same thing again. That is why the menu should be in the same place on every page and screen, colors should indicate warnings and importance the same way everywhere, and why next time you will not ignore the sock on the doorknob of your parents’ room.

Consistency creates expectations. When the user expects something to work a certain way, and it does, that’s good usability.

But...

Consistency Is a Tool, Not a Rule

If someone slaps you in the face, you will flinch the next time she raises her hand. You expect her to do it again. If you want the user to expect the same thing, design it the same way. But often you don’t want that.

Your app and your website do not have to look exactly the same. You click one and swipe the other; ...