[UI/UX] (5)Consistency and standards

Consistency and Standards

One of the ten heuristics for user interface design is to maintain consistency and adhere to standards.

 

This topic is about enabling users to predict and learn the interface. Users should not have to wonder whether different words, symbols, situations, or actions mean the same thing.

 

In UX design, there are two types of consistency: internal consistency and external consistency.

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What is internal consistency?

Internal consistency refers to maintaining consistency within a product or a product line.

For example, a visual designer might decide to use a specific shade of orange to highlight actionable elements such as call-to-action buttons.

Unify Call to Action buttons with orange coloring

 

If suddenly the same shade of orange is used to highlight headline elements, it could compromise internal consistency.

 

Using the same color as the Call to Action button for emphasis is inconsistent.

 

This is because using the same color for emphasis as the call-to-action violates the established meaning of the orange color already designated for calls to action.

When internal meanings are violated, users may become confused about which elements of the interface are actionable.

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What is external consistency?

External consistency means maintaining consistency outside of the product.

You might have established UI/UX rules within your company, or you may be using common UI/UX rules like Material Design, Human Interface Guidelines (HIG), or others.

 

For example, most e-commerce sites have a cart function.

People are familiar with this function because they see it every time they use an e-commerce site.

Because it is frequently used and seen, people have expectations about how it works and where it is located (typically at the top right of the screen).

Shopping cart functionality

 

 

According to Jakob's Law, "People spend most of their time on other sites than yours."

This means that when other services follow consistent rules and your service breaks them, you are forcing users to learn something new.

 

Sometimes, forcing users to learn something new can be beneficial, especially if you have discovered a new and better pattern.

 

However, users should remember that learning something new adds cognitive load, so it should only be done when necessary.

 

In most cases, it is best to maintain both internal and external consistency.

If consistency is maintained, it will improve users' learning curve regarding your product.