Usability: Universal Principals of Design, Part 1

Published in 2003 by William Lidwell and Kritina Holden, Universal Principles of Design outlines a number of design principles that are applicable across disciplines. In 2017, my professor (and UX designer for Audible) Kristen Kersh asked us to provide positive and negative examples of each principle. 

80/20 rule

• Positive: I mention it below, but I use an app called Bear for note-taking / word processing. It’s done a nice job of letting the user focus on writing. There are small panels to navigate tags and past notes, but the critical 20% of features is the focus. There are a number of other professional features / export / import / styling tools but they’re subtly hidden in menus.
• Negative: Our reading said that identifying the critical 20 percent of a software product can reduce complexity. The critical 20 percent represents 80 percent of the usage. Excel breaks this pattern by surfacing most of the functionality in its complex top feature panel. ​

​Accessibility

• Positive: The ramps built into sidewalk corners (called curb cuts) create an easier path for people of any ability.
• Negative: One of my coworkers is working on a project with a major airline. He’s helping them make their website usable for blind people. Currently, it’s nearly impossible to book air travel if you’re not a sighted user.

Aesthetic Usability Effect

• Positive: I now use a fitness tracker called a Misfit Ray. Before the Ray, I used another Misfit product called the Flash. The Ray is made out of aircraft grade aluminum and has a better, low-profile aesthetic. Though the tracking app is the exact same, I prefer the Misfit Ray.
• Negative: Before this holiday break, my dad was using my Netflix account. I was helping him set up is own and we needed to sign him in on Roku. The Roku is a beautiful, streamlined device. The remote has just a few buttons. It was nearly impossible to sign out and re-sign in to Netflix.

Affordance

• Positive: Knives (kitchen knives, pocket knives) have affordances (the grip shape) that help you cut things effectively.
• Negative: Scissors often have affordances for right-handed people but the affordance doesn’t exist (or is at least uncomfortable) for a left-handed person.

Confirmation

• Positive: Apple products require confirmation before deleting apps (which also deletes all user data from the device). This is an appropriate confirmation.
• Negative: I really wish my oven would turn off after a set period of time. I don’t specifically need a confirmation, but this feature would help prevent the error of leaving my oven on when I leave for work. Also, when I stayed in a hotel in Dublin, I had to arm (stick room key into) to fire (turn light switch) the lights. It was overkill for lighting.