UX For Brains: Eight ways psychology can improve your design

Part two of the UX for Brains series gets actionable.

If part one established that users are distracted, forgetful, and easily overwhelmed, part two asks: so now what? The answer is a set of design principles grounded in cognitive psychology.

Simplify ruthlessly — not just for aesthetics, but because too many choices trigger analysis paralysis. Make strong first impressions, because users judge a site's credibility in under a second based on visual design alone. Use familiar patterns instead of inventing new ones. Build for errors, because no matter how clear your copy is, people will still make mistakes. And design for the full spectrum of users, not just the technically fluent.

The through-line: your job isn't to design for ideal users. It's to design for real ones.

Here are the guidelines for keeping UI interactions easy:

1. Simplify everything. Every. Thing.
2. Make a great first impression
3. Get users where they’re going
4. Provide opportunities for focus
5. Leverage existing patterns
6. Plan for mistakes
7. Put users in a good mood
8. Know your audience

This article was originally published on Lullabot.com.