Experts' 7 principles for Design to swear by

Introduction

“People ignore designs, that ignores people.” - Frank Chimero 

Nowadays, companies want to have a good relationship with their customers. Their goal is to get continuous feedback from them. Design is about how the user interacts with a website.

But, as a designer, if you design something with unclear instructions or irrelevant elements, it might harm your brand image.

You shouldn't be focusing only on the aesthetics of your website. It's also about how well it connects with the people who use it. To produce a visually appealing and thoughtful website, designers employ a few rules:

1. Figure Out The Fundamentals of designs

Being a designer is not the same as knowing how to code. The ability to recognize issues and envision effective solutions is essential to becoming an excellent designer. An algorithm is just a logical puzzle. 

Any coder must be able to design it on a blackboard and describe it to a beginner in plain/simple terms. And this should be regardless of how complex the problem is. There will be plenty of time to learn about different platforms, technologies, and other resources. But any challenge should be solvable in the conceptual upfront.

After you learn the basics of a language, it's easier to understand the next language. For example, if you learn JavaScript, it will be easier to learn C++. Both of these languages are object-oriented. Object-oriented means that the language is built around objects. Objects are like buckets that hold data and operations. Operations are things that you can do with the data.

2. One-Trick Ponies Don't Work

The days of marketing yourself as a "C# programmer" or a "Java expert" to attract potential recruiters are pretty much gone. In the current modern tech world, adaptability is key. And for programmers, this means remaining language neutral. 

The inclination to excel in certain areas and the competence in others are evident in everyone. Although, the trick is to think of those characteristics as assets rather than constraints.

Companies want to hire people who are good at learning new things. You can show this by having a lot of good projects on your GitHub account.

3. Don't design for anyone but your clients

People who design software tend to think about what they would want. However, this is a bad idea.

Designers tend to think that people who will use their system will look like them. However, believing that "you are your customer" is not a good idea. The Fake Acceptance Theory is a term used in cognitive science to describe this phenomenon.

People who will use your design are likely to have a variety of backgrounds and beliefs. As you cater to a large population, they will have unique conceptions and demands. Overall, they are not you.

You should be checking with real customers rather than coworkers, friends, or family. It will allow you to figure out how to develop the best products for the people who will use them. It's time-consuming, but it's the only way to ensure that you're headed in the right direction. The planning process should include screening with real clients. And it should be given equal importance, like all the other steps.

4. Try To Branch Out

It's hard to be a full-stack developer because you have to know so many things. But DevOps is a way of doing things that makes it easier to be a full-stack developer. Instead of having to know everything, you just have to know one thing. 

For example, you don't have to know how to set up a server. You just have to know how to use a service like Amazon's Elastic Beanstalk. You can use Elastic Beanstalk to set up a server for you and do a lot of other things. It's a lot easier to be a full-stack developer when you use DevOps.

PaaS is not a reason to not understand the OS kernel. It doesn't mean that nothing will go wrong because it's computerized. And whenever it happens, someone needs to be able to spot the problem and fix it.

5. Do Try To Overload Your Clientele

There is a word for the amount of time someone can focus on a task without getting distracted. It is called their capacity to focus on specific data.

According to the latest Microsoft analysis, the ordinary human concentration ability has decreased from 13 seconds to 9 seconds.

This means that currently, a human's ability to concentrate is worse than a goldfish's.

Developers must adjust to this behavior. They should concentrate on delivering one piece of data at a time. Throwing too much on the users' plates will only result in discontent.  As a result, it will end in a failure of a diverse concept.

The best way to deal with this is to remove things that distract users. This means taking away objects that don't meet their requirements. Instead, choose a design that is more beautiful and simpler. This allows consumers to focus on just one thing at a time.

6. Reduce Cognitive Load

The human mind can remember only a few things at a time. We can only remember two or three pieces of information at a time.

If you're creating an interface that requires users to enter large amounts of information, divide them into smaller portions. It drastically reduces the number of mistakes made when entering data.

It enables us to acquire information for your visitors more accurately. For instance, your UI can allow customers to input contact information without dividing them.

However, it might lead to a lot of errors in the data. Also, it will not be a nice feeling for the visitor. That is why contact information and credit card details are broken down into smaller chunks.

Do you know how to memorize your 10-digit phone number in a single breath? No one can really manage it. Subconsciously, we all memorize these numbers in chunks.

7. Never Skip The Prototyping Stage

Prototyping is a way to test your idea before you make the real thing. You can do prototyping by making a small version of the real thing.

Prototyping is important because it lets you test your idea before you spend a lot of time and money making the real thing. It is also helpful because it can show you if your idea will work or not.

Rapid prototyping is the best way to make a prototype. Moreover, it helps you to quickly make the product. It can be a website or software, but remember to take the client's feedback into account.

8. Simplicity is key

Here's a Bonus tip.

When designing a website, it is not good to use different colors for different pages. It is confusing for the visitors. It is better to use the same colors for all pages.

The Principle of Least Astonishment is an important concept for interaction design. It states that users should not be surprised by the interface.

It is a common source of user dissatisfaction. As a result, it is critical to maintaining plain elements recognizable at all times.

Sometimes the things that you plan for your website may change, and you may end up doing something else instead. That's ok. But, it's important that your website remains consistent. 

The reason for this is that it will give a pleasant experience to your website visitors. Consistency will increase your chances of satisfying your website visitors' expectations. It will also help keep your website visitors more interested in your website.

Feedback is key to reducing failures.

It is natural for people to make mistakes. When it comes to design, mistakes are inevitable. It can be difficult to figure out what went wrong. You think you've created the perfect design, but then the test users can't complete the tasks.

You might think it is their fault. But if this keeps happening, you'll start to notice your mistakes. 

It is important to remember that feedback is a kind of development. It can help you get through the early sting of criticism. But after that, you'll only improve.

Final thought

With more and more upcoming startups, the demand for good designers is gradually rising. And as a developer, it is the perfect time to take care of your rough edges. 

There's a popular saying that It's never too late to make a fresh start. A great journey of success is waiting for you. However, to walk on the road, you should be able to comprehend your users. Accepting criticism is always the first step toward success. Make sure to go through all the points mentioned in this article and create a successful career for yourself