The Importance of Visual Design
If we cast our minds back to the very first chapter of this book, we took a look at the many disciplines that intersect to form part of what we know as User Experience Design. Although visual design is just one part of the larger whole, we should not unde
- PDF / 921,704 Bytes
- 24 Pages / 504 x 720 pts Page_size
- 77 Downloads / 194 Views
The Importance of Visual Design If we cast our minds back to the very first chapter of this book, we took a look at the many disciplines that intersect to form part of what we know as User Experience Design. Although visual design is just one part of the larger whole, we should not underestimate its importance to the collective user experience. In this chapter we want to provide a better understanding of visual design, the psychology that underpins the visual design decisions that can be taken, and how accurately representing these design choices in the interfaces you build has a beneficial impact to the user experience. Visual design is an instrument we use to communicate with the vast majority of people through a digital medium. The use of color, layout, spacing, illustrations, photography, icons, and typography forms the palette from which we can create the visual interfaces through which our users will engage with our products. In a study carried out at Northumbria University, a number of online health sites were analyzed on how the content and design factors influenced the trust of the user. Of the feedback received from the participants, 94% was about the visual design, with only 6% regarding the content. The visual appeal and navigation methods had, by far, the biggest influence on the user’s first impression of the site. Another set of studies carried out by Dr. Gitte Lingaard at Carleton University looked to ascertain how quickly people form an opinion about the visual appeal of a web page based on colors, layout, perception of simplicity or complexity, how interesting or boring they found it, and whether they perceived it as good or bad design. The first two studies rated people’s opinions after being presented with a website home page for 500 ms at a time. The third study did the same, but for only 50 ms. Throughout the three studies, the visual appeal ratings were highly correlated, meaning that visual appeal can be assessed by a user within 50 ms. This is a very small timeframe in which we must give
© Westley Knight 2019 W. Knight, UX for Developers, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-4227-8_8
103
Chapter 8
The Importance of Visual Design
a good first impression to our users. The effects of this first impression cause a halo effect, or a cognitive confirmation bias where users then unwittingly search for evidence that confirms their initial reaction, while ignoring evidence to the contrary. Lingaard commented, “Even if a website is highly usable and provides very useful information presented in a logical arrangement, this may fail to impress a user whose first impression of the site was negative.” Both of these studies show us that a good implementation of visual design on a website can have a huge positive impact on the experience of the user. But isn’t this the realm of the designer? Isn’t it their job to create a compelling visual design so that our users become engaged with our product and develop trust with it by association?
Why Should Visual Design Matter to a Developer? Just as the choi
Data Loading...
