Everyday you interact with dozens of well-designed, digital interfaces. You understand how to use them and how to integrate them into your life. In fact, these devices are so integrated that you may not even be aware how design continually affects your world. Good design is a universal language.
Your alarm clock, dishwasher and HVAC controls have all been carefully calculated to take into consideration the array of human experiences. Despite all the variations in human culture, there are signs of universal understanding. For instance, the use of color to depict hot and cold, the use of icons to communicate when to cross the street, and the use of imagery to help us order at restaurants, all illustrate this understanding. The right design delivers the right messages no matter who you are.
When it comes to designing for the web, designers must become an engineer of interaction. Not only is an eye for color and style a must but a web designer must adhere to functional details that will meet the objectives of any project. When dealing with interactive design, there are a few ways to tell if it has been well “engineered.”
Signs of a successful layout:
- intuitive and simple for any user to find the information they are searching for, regardless of the user’s experience, knowledge or skill level
- flexibility in that the design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences on how they view or scan a page for information
- communicative to the user, regardless of what is going on around them or on their computer/device at the time
We use the universal language of design when creating web sites and applications. This allows for greater use by all people without the need for adaptation.
