Design
We Remember Only About Seven Things: Miller's Law
Miller's Law, drawn from psychologist George A. Miller's 1956 paper “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two,” describes the limited amount of information people can hold at on
Design
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34 articles found
Design
New but Not Unfamiliar: The MAYA Principle (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable)
Coined by industrial designer Raymond Loewy, the MAYA principle says a design should be as advanced as possible while staying within what people can accept. This article covers Loe
Design
Less but Better: Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles for Good Design
Dieter Rams’ Ten Principles for Good Design sum up, in ten sentences, the idea that design is not decoration but the work of making things useful, understandable and long-lasting.
Design
Tricks That Make You Click: Dark Patterns
Dark patterns are screen designs that use layout, color, and wording to trick or push users into actions they would not have taken if they had fully understood or been free to choo
Design
Flow Holds When Responses Come Within 0.4 Seconds: The Doherty Threshold
The Doherty Threshold is the principle that when a computer responds within about 0.4 seconds, people and machines stop waiting on each other and productivity rises sharply. This p
Design
Familiarity Drawn to Look Real: Skeuomorphism
Skeuomorphism is a design approach that keeps the look of old objects on new products so they feel familiar. This piece covers the word’s Greek roots and archaeological origins, ev
Design
The Whole Is Different from the Sum of Its Parts: The Gestalt Principles of Perception
The Gestalt principles describe how the eye groups scattered visual elements by cues such as proximity, similarity and continuity and reads them as a whole. This piece covers their
Design
The Odd One Out Stays in Memory: The Von Restorff Effect
The Von Restorff Effect is the principle that among similar items, the one that differs is remembered best. This piece covers Hedwig von Restorff’s 1933 experiment, four contrast d
Design
If It Looks Good, It Feels Easy: The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
Why do people assume a prettier app is easier to use before they try it? This piece explains the aesthetic-usability effect through Kurosu and Kashimura’s 1995 ATM study, Tractinsk
Design
Complexity Never Disappears: Tesler's Law of Conservation of Complexity
When a product feels simple, where did its complexity go? This article covers the origins of Tesler's Law, the three parties who share the burden of complexity, everyday examples,
Design
The Familiar Is Easy: Jakob's Law of Internet User Experience
Why do sites we use for the first time still feel easy? This article explains the origin of Jakob's law as stated by Jakob Nielsen, the principles of mental models and conventions,
Design
The More Choices, the Slower the Decision: Hick's Law
Why do decisions take longer the more options there are? This article explains Hick's Law, covering its meaning and origins in a lamp experiment, decision time that grows logarithm