UX design and psychology: is there anything that connects these two fields? At first it might seem they are two completely different things that have nothing in common, but in fact, psychology plays a huge role in building a user-oriented design. Since any software product is used by humans, and any human mind acts according to the rules and principles of psychology, the latter serves as a great tool for UX designers to create the best user experience for their audience. Here are a few psychology-related hacks that can be applied in UX design:
Less is more
Any element a user sees on the page of a website or an app takes part of their memory capacity, and human short-term memory capacity is very limited. An average person can hold about 7 ideas in their mind simultaneously, so if there are more than 7 elements of any sort on the page, you're not giving users any information, you're just overloading them. To avoid that, it's better to sort information and give it out in small groups of logically compatible pieces. This will help users grasp all the details without getting distracted and frustrated.
What's in the middle gets less attention
It is proven that when we read or see anything, we fully grasp the first and last pieces of information, but our brains tend to ignore or memorize less of whatever is in the middle. In UX, this phenomenon should be considered when you structure information or any elements on the page. Avoid putting anything that must grab users attention in the middle, as it won't reach the effect it should.
Everyone needs a sense of control
When interacting with an app or a website, users don't really have much control over what's going on, especially if the page takes too long to load or something is not working properly. But nothing that you can't control can be trustworthy, and software products are not an exception. This means, a well-build UX must give users a sense of control and assurance when needed – for example, with animated scale when the page is loading. It doesn't make the page load faster, but it does give users a sense that everything goes its way.
Less choice options lead to easier decisions
"The more, the better" is definitely not the rule one should stick to when providing users with options to choose from. A well-known psychological fact states that the number of options defines the time needed to make a decision, and the more options there are, the more our brain gets anxious about whether this or that decision is right. In UX, too many options may make users feel confused, frustrated or bored, eventually having a negative impact on user engagement. It doesn't mean options should be strictly limited – but rather given in small chunks or in a branch-like structure.
Novelty works only in balance with familiarity
As humans, we constantly need to go through new experiences, but we also rely a lot on familiar patterns, since they give us a sense of stability and control. The same applies to the UX. It is important to update and improve the product regularly, but it is also very important to preserve old features and avoid dramatic changes that can repel users. A huge part of user satisfaction lies in intuitive design, which implies providing users with easy familiar patterns of interaction with the product that shouldn't be changed. At the same time it doesn't mean the product shouldn't evolve, but it is vital to keep balance between novelty and familiarity.
Everyone desires personal attention
Any software product is obviously designed for vast groups of people. But the way human psychology works, everyone wants to personally feel a bit of attention to make sure the product caters their personal needs. A great way to implement that in UX is to use personalization. From putting user's names in greeting e-mails to personalized feed and ads, it all makes users feel the product is personally interacting with them, which helps gain more attention, increase engagement and build more trust.
Emotions provoke more emotions
Everyone knows that emotions are contagious: when someone laughs too hard, it makes everyone in the room laugh too; when someone is crying, you might feel a lump in your throat as well. In UX, this phenomenon urged designers to create a thing called emotional interactions. It is usually implemented in a form of animated mascots or just copy that interact with users, provoking their emotions and building virtual communication. This method serves as a proven way of increasing user engagement and managing the way users navigate within the product.
Our subconscious is working non-stop
One thing that influences our perception the most without us even being aware is our subconscious. This applies to our interaction with software products as well. For example, one might think that when users browse a restaurant app, all they need is a colorful menu and options for ordering food or booking a table. But subconsciously, they also need to know that this place is welcoming, safe and cozy. UX designers can convey this through suitable color palettes, background images, certain UX copy, storytelling and other methods. That's why it is vital to perform a thorough user research and understand what the audience subconsciously needs from the product before actually starting the design process.
It's always interesting to hear a story
As humans, we love hearing stories since our early childhood, and when it comes to software products, storytelling is a great way to engage users and gain their attention. Storytelling is a method that, basically, accompanies users’ navigation through the product with a story. It can be a story of the product’s history, or about the industry the product's related to. The main thing is that it should evoke positive emotions and make users genuinely interested while presenting the brand in a good light. It can be implemented in a form of interactive character that tells bits of the story while users browse the product, or in a form of traditional blog that gets regularly filled with product-related posts.
Details draw more attention than the whole picture
Small details are something that is often neglected, yet they draw human attention and evoke emotions the most. A design with a creative approach to details always wins over a design that is neat but monotone. Small animations that accompany users’ actions, creative 404 pages, interestingly-shaped buttons are just a few examples of details that can make user experience more fun.
Conclusion
UX design is aimed to provide humans with a comfortable and seamless experience, and one of the things that can help designers in that is psychology. Knowing how people's minds work and what influences their emotions leads to creating more user-oriented products and avoiding mistakes that might break users' trust. Of course, following the rules of psychology alone doesn't guarantee the product success, but it definitely helps UX designers get a better understanding of how users are going to interact with the product and what can be done to make their experience more joyful.
