Principles and Patterns of User Interface Design

User Interface Design is a platform where the effective interaction of the user with the system can be seen. A user more often judges a system by its interface rather than its functionality. An interface that is designed poorly or not leads to improper use of the system by the user. Many users in business systems interact with the systems using a graphical user interface. Even text-based interfaces are also used. Therefore, it is very important to consider the principles and patterns while designing a User Interface.

User Interface Design Principles: There are some principles that should be kept in mind while designing the User Interface. These principles are given below:

1. User Familiarity: Instead of using computer terminology, make use of user-oriented terminologies. For example, in ‘Microsoft Office’ Software, the terms such as document, spreadsheet, letter, Folder are used and use of the terms directory, file, and identities are avoided.
2. Consistency: The appropriate level of consistency should be maintained in the user interface. For example, the commands or menus should be of the same format.
3. Minimal Surprise: The commands should operate in a known way. This makes user to easily predict the interface. For example, in the word processing document under the tool menu, there should be a facility of spelling and grammar checking.
4. Recoverability: The system should provide a recovering facility to the user from his errors so that the user can correct those errors. For example, an undo can correct those errors, or while deleting something the confirmation action must be provided so that the user can think again while deleting something.
5. User guidance: The user interface can be effectively used by a novice user if some user guidance such as help systems, online manuals, etc. are supplied.

User Interface Design Pattern: User Interface Design Pattern is very important in today’s world. Nowadays, it is very common and very essential to include User Interface Design Pattern while designing a program or software. These design patterns help in solving the problem as this design pattern serves as a problem solver in many conditions. Some examples are shown in the table given below:

Pattern	Meaning
Progress Indicator	In many programs, we will see this pattern during installation so that the user can feel some process or operation in process behind the screen. It is used to reassure the user that the System is not hung during installation.
Wizard	This pattern is generally used to indicate that the task is completed through various windows. It is used to indicate the user that the installation is complete.
Shopping Cart	This is generally used in online-shopping sites like amazon, flipkart, etc. It is used to provide the list of items to the user that can be purchased.