The Laws of UX: the art of creating intuitive interfaces

User experience (UX) plays a central role in the success of digital products. Whether on a mobile application or a website, designing intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces represents a major challenge for designers and developers. At MV Studio, we rely on fundamental principles, often referred to as “laws of UX,” to guide our creations and ensure a smooth and pleasant user experience.

Here is an overview of these laws and their application in designing effective interfaces.

1. Hick-Hyman Law: Simplifying decision-making

Hick’s Law demonstrates that the more choices a user faces, the longer it takes to make a decision. As UX specialists, we strive to limit the available options on interfaces to avoid cognitive overload and simplify navigation.

By reducing the number of choices in menus or forms, we speed up decision-making while improving the user experience.

2. Fitts’ Law: Making targets more accessible

According to Fitts’ Law, the time required to reach a target depends on its size and distance. To ensure smooth interaction, our teams make sure that buttons and interactive elements are large enough and placed in easily accessible areas, especially on mobile devices.

This allows users to interact with interfaces more naturally and without extra effort.

3. Jakob’s Law: Respecting conventions

Jakob Nielsen showed that users expect websites to function according to familiar conventions. We take these expectations into account by adhering to design standards while adding our innovative touch.

By maintaining recognizable structures, such as well-positioned menus or standardized icons, we ensure intuitive navigation without disrupting users’ habits.

4. Miller’s Law: Reducing cognitive load

Miller’s Law indicates that users’ short-term memory can hold about 7 items at a time. For us, this translates into a clear and concise presentation of information to avoid overwhelming the user.

By segmenting content into understandable groups and avoiding an overload of information on the screen, we facilitate user comprehension and engagement.

5. Law of Proximity: Visually organizing elements

The Law of Proximity, a Gestalt principle, suggests that elements close to each other are perceived as related. We use this principle to structure interfaces by visually grouping related elements, which enhances the clarity and coherence of our designs.

This way, users can navigate more easily between information and quickly identify logical links between content.

6. Pareto Principle: Prioritizing key features

Pareto’s 80/20 rule suggests that 80% of users will only use a small portion of the available features. Our designs, therefore, focus on highlighting essential features to offer a smooth and efficient experience.

The most frequently used features are made easily accessible, while secondary options remain available without cluttering the main interface.

7. Tesler’s Law: Thoughtfully managing complexity

Tesler’s Law, which posits that every application has a certain degree of complexity, encourages us to minimize this complexity as much as possible for the user. We strive to simplify the user experience by automating processes or presenting streamlined interfaces while maintaining strong performance in the background.

This approach allows users to focus on their tasks without being hindered by complex processes.

Conclusion

At MV Studio, we apply these UX laws to design interfaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also functional and intuitive. By relying on these principles, we create user experiences that simplify navigation, streamline decision-making, and facilitate interactions. With this approach, each project benefits from an optimized UX, ensuring user satisfaction and engagement.