Injecting Creativity into Established UI Design Norms

Humans are creatures of habit, consistently gravitating towards familiar interactions with technology. This phenomenon has been well-documented, echoing the insights of 1960s architect Christopher Alexander who delved into design patterns, and aligning with Charles Duhigg’s explorations into the habitual nature of our daily activities. Nir Eyal also contributed to this understanding with his work on building habit-forming products. Such patterns have a powerful sway over our behaviors, making their application in design a sensible strategy. But how do you break the mold and innovate when your designs are rooted in the well-trodden territory of existing patterns? For strategies on harnessing design patterns while also carving out new pathways for innovation, continue reading.

The Pros and Cons of Design Patterns

Design patterns offer reliable blueprints for addressing common challenges, much like how cookie cutters provide shapes for consistent results. Consider the classic UI design move: placing the login button at the top right corner of a webpage. It’s a pattern because it works, as demonstrated by recognized websites like the Interaction Design Foundation site, LinkedIn, and The New York Times. Familiarity breeds ease of use, saving users time and making tech more user-friendly, which contributes to the stickiness of such conventions.

Convenient as they are, design patterns should be jumping-off points, not the destination. They guide you, but to truly resonate with users, the final design must go beyond the pattern to meet the unique needs of the audience.

How a UI Pattern Serves as a Time-Saver

Starting with a pre-existing design pattern speeds up the process, allowing for more time focused on testing and refinement.

You’re Building on Proven Success

Like a researcher benefiting from predecessors, as a designer, you are drawing from a well of established successes to meet your users’ needs.

The Trap of Over-Reliance on Design Patterns

Leaning too much on established patterns can result in designs that feel uninspired and disconnected from the specific needs of your users.

Identifying the Most Suitable Pattern

The first step is choosing a pattern that fits the problem you’re aiming to solve. This choice can make or break the clarity and efficacy of your design. Utilizing resources like ui-patterns.com can help in selecting and understanding the rationale behind various UI patterns.

Charting a Course for Innovation

With the right pattern as your foundation, the goal shifts to adjustments that will tighten the alignment of your design with the goals and needs of your users. Innovation can be about refining and custom-flexing parts within the framework of an existing pattern.

Here are two techniques to deepen the connection with your audience:

Exploring Mental Models

A mental model is what a person believes a system should look, feel, and operate like. Discrepancies between these preconceived expectations and the actual design can create stumbling blocks. Research, like user testing and card sorting, can reveal these mental models. Lyft, for instance, leveraged its users’ familiarity with navigation tools like Google Maps to tailor its UI design.

Using Empathy Maps as a Tool

Empathy maps are a tool for visualizing the user’s journey by delineating their needs, actions, feelings, and thoughts. This method can highlight gaps and pain points to consider in your UI design. A project we undertook involved designing an application for a marine transport company, where empathy maps were crucial in understanding how to capture the limited attention span of line haul captains with clear, prominent calls-to-action.

In Conclusion

While users find solace in the familiar, they also value solutions tailor-made for their unique needs. Starting from a conventional design pattern, let your research into user behavior guide you to innovations that genuinely aid your audience in achieving their objectives.