„And “it” doesn’t “work” in isolation. Design is how it works for a human being. Thankfully, there’s more than 40 years of experimental research into human-computer interaction that tells us what human beings need.

At heart, what users — humans — need is to not deal with bullshit:

  • A user should never have to ask themselves: “Is that clickable?”
  • A user should never have to pause and be concerned: “Wait, am I in the right app?”
  • A user should never wonder: “Did that tap… work?”
  • A user should never have to use a widget where proper use impedes accuracy (e.g. a date/time scroll wheel, where scrolling with your finger covers the time being selected).
  • A user should never have to click on every single element to figure out which is a radio button, which is an on/off, which is a multi-select, which is editable text.
  • A user should never have to wonder about the purpose of the menu bar.
  • A user should never, ever, EVER be mistaken about whether the Shift key is active.
  • A user shouldn’t have to work harder to read text because it is made out of “translucent material.”

These rules are small, and basic. Break one of these rules and it’s not a big deal. Each of these rules represents a small frustration for an individual user.“

 

Excerpt taken from a post on cheerfulsw