Human Factor in User Interface Design

Human Factor in User Interface Design

We have all came across the word UI in our day to life so what exactly is UI?? Ever Wondered!!

Well UI stands for User Interface and it is all about creating visual parts of a product like an app or website which focuses on how a product’s surface look and functions. It is the process of building interfaces in software or programmed devices with a focus on good design. A good User Interface design isn’t ostentatiously attractive.  It doesn’t need to force the envelope of technical complication. A good design is unsophisticated, crystalline and in hindsight clear.

So now you may be wondering what is “Human Factors”!! Let’s see what does they mean.

Basically “Human Factors” are the capabilities of human’s mental, physical, and perceptual on the other hand “User Interface (UI) Design” is a design which creates the visual components for user and application (or product) to interact with each other.

There’s a famous quote by Edward Tufte-

“The user is never wrong and the user is never stupid. In information design, only designs are wrong and stupid.”

So to not the make design stupid we have to gain complete understanding of users and their tasks. Solicit early and ongoing user’s involvement and perform rapid prototyping and testing. We also need to modify and iterate the design as much as necessary.  And for doing all this user research that allows designers and developers to build human factor based user interface we take advice of Human Factors Department. The study makes it easy to understand human factors and to decrease the amount of usability problems. It aids to generate strategic result through tenacious design. And the design should not just be a design, it should be a change that user wants to see. An excellent design needs living in an ocean of reforms although development is full of surprises.

Numerous manufacturing companies have human factors division or recruit a consulting enterprise to survey how any brand new merchandise will be welcomed by the users that it is designed for. A human factors expert typically has an advanced scholarship in psychology or has exceptional experience. The study makes it simple to understand human factors and to minimize the amount of usability issues.

The way humans interact with application (or product) are influenced by human factors. The manner an interface is developed can considerably shape how well users can perceive, learn and remember how to do their work. Theoretical frameworks, like mental models bestows techniques of understanding how and why users interact with application (or product).This can assist in thinking about how to design better products.