• Make the purpose of your page clear
• Use symbols that help the user

Related Patterns

• Ensure the hierarchy of the site and menu structure is logical, easy to identify and navigate
• Use a clear and understandable page structure
• Ensure the most important things are easy to find
• Make each step clear

• Carolyn: Focus
• Frank: Making a medical appointment
• Maria: Pressing the correct button
• Maria: Dynamic website elements make key website information difficult to locate
• Tom: Understanding where information is in a hierarchical structure

• Use a design that the user is likely to recognize and understand
• Use a consistent visual design
• Clearly identify controls and their use
• Make the relationship clear between controls and what they affect

Related Patterns

• Ensure the most important things are easy to find
• Clearly state the results and disadvantages of actions, options, and selections

• Alison: Learning how to use new technologies and interfaces
• Amy: Coping with poor layouts and illogical navigation
• Anna: Finding important information
• Frank: Coping with icons that are not recognizable
• Frank: Using the heating
• George: Controls on videos and popup windows
• Sam: Using edit boxes where the instructions disappear
• Sam: Trying to activate elements that have been mis-recognized

• Use symbols that help the user
• Support a personalized and familiar interface

• Frank: Coping with icons that are not recognizable
• George: Using Symbols for communication

• Make it easy to identify the most important tasks and features of the site
• Ensure the most important things are easy to find

Related Patterns

• Provide search
• Make short critical paths
• Notify users of fees and charges at the start of a task
• Provide information so a user can complete and prepare for a task

• Alison: Learning how to use new technologies and interfaces
• Amy: Coping with poor layouts and illogical navigation
• Anna: Finding important information
• Carolyn: Gathering key points from a heavy text based document or web page
• Carolyn: Learning information from a video
• Maria: Dynamic website elements make key website information difficult to locate
• Tom: Finding the right words to use for searching

• Provide search

• Tom: Finding the right words to use for searching

• Ensure the hierarchy of the site and menu structure is logical, easy to identify and navigate
• Use a clear and understandable page structure

• Alison: Learning how to use new technologies and interfaces
• Amy: Coping with poor layouts and illogical navigation
• Frank: Making a medical appointment
• Frank: Using the heating
• Frank: Support when using search engines
• Maria: Dynamic website elements make key website information difficult to locate
• Maria: Access to information entered during previous step in process
• Tom: Understanding where information is in a hierarchical structure
• Sam: Having well-spaced text with words that are easy to pick out
• Tom: Cognitive overload

• Break media into chunks

• Carolyn: Learning information from a video

• Use clear words
• Use a simple tense and voice
• Avoid double negatives or nested clauses
• Use literal language
• Keep text succinct
• Use clear, unambiguous text formatting and punctuation
• Include symbols and letters necessary to decipher the words
• Explain Implied Content
• Provide a Summary of Documents and Media

• Carolyn: Gathering key points from a heavy text based document or web page
• George: Finding ways to read instructions
• Sam: Having well-spaced text with words that are easy to pick out
• Sam: Coping with complex language
• Tom: Using speech recognition to navigate the web
• Tom: Being confident that he understands the content

• Separate each instruction
• Use white spacing
• Ensure foreground content is not obscured by background

Related Patterns

• Use a clear and understandable page structure
• Use symbols that help the user
• Keep text succinct

• Amy: Coping with poor layouts and illogical navigation
• Anna: Finding important information
• Carolyn: Gathering key points from a heavy text based document or web page
• Carolyn: Learning information from a video
• Frank: Support when using search engines
• George: Finding ways to read instructions
• Sam: Having well-spaced text with words that are easy to pick out
• Sam: Coping with complex language
• Tom: Finding the right words to use for searching

• Provide alternatives for numbers

Related Patterns

• Enable APIs and extensions

• Alison: Coping with online banking and shopping
• Frank: Managing dates and booking holidays
• Jonathan: Coping with quantities when shopping online
• Jonathan: Spreadsheets

• Ensure controls and content do not move unexpectedly
• Design forms to prevent mistakes
• Use clear visible labels
• Provide flexible form inputs
• Avoid data loss and "time outs"
• Provide feedback
• Notify users of fees and charges at the start of a task
• Keep the users' information safe and help users understand known risks
• Use familiar metrics and units

Related Patterns

• Let users control when the content changes
• Provide help for forms and non-standard controls
• Enable APIs and extensions

• Alison: Learning how to use new technologies and interfaces
• Alison: Giving feedback
• Anna: Logging in
• Anna: Filling in a form to ask for an ejournal article
• Carolyn: Losing focus when completing tasks
• Frank: Managing dates and booking holidays
• George: Controls on videos and popup windows
• Jonathan: Coping with quantities when shopping online
• Maria: Pressing the correct button
• Sam: Using edit boxes where the instructions disappear
• Sam: Trying to activate elements that have been mis-recognized
• Tom: Finding the right words to use for searching
• Tom: Being confident that he understands the content

• Let users go back
• Make it easy to undo form errors

• Alison: Learning how to use new technologies and interfaces
• Anna: Filling in a form to ask for an ejournal article
• Maria: Pressing the correct button

• Limit interruptions
• Avoid too much content
• Provide information so a user can complete and prepare for a task
• Make short critical paths

Related Patterns

• Clearly state the results and disadvantages of actions, options, and selections
• Make the purpose of your page clear
• Make each step clear
• Use a clear and understandable page structure

• Amy: Changing colour schemes, flashing, blinking and automatic playing videos or music
• Carolyn: The power to stop scrolling carousels and banners
• Carolyn: Losing focus when completing tasks
• Frank: Making a medical appointment
• Sam: Trying to activate elements that have been mis-recognized
• Sam: Having well-spaced text with words that are easy to pick out
• Tom: Being confident that he understands the content
• Tom: Understanding where information is in a hierarchical structure
• Tom: Cognitive overload

• Do not rely on users memorizing information

• Maria: Access to information entered during previous step in process

• Provide a login that does not rely on memory or other cognitive skills
• Allow the user a simple, single step, login
• Provide a login alternative with less words

Related Patterns

• Do not rely on users memorizing information

• Anna: Logging in
• Jonathan: Remembering pin numbers and passwords

• Let users avoid navigating voice menus

Related Patterns

• Limit interruptions

• Frank: Making a medical appointment
• Maria: Access to information entered during previous step in process

• Provide help and alternative content for complex information and tasks
• Provide help with directions
• Provide human help
• Make it easy to find help and give feedback

• Alison: Giving feedback

• Provide reminders

Related Patterns

• Use symbols that help the user
• Provide feedback
• Provide help and alternative content for complex information and tasks
• Enable APIs and extensions
• Support a personalized and familiar interface

• Frank: Coping with icons that are not recognizable
• George: Using Symbols for communication
• Sam: Using edit boxes where the instructions disappear

• Clearly state the results and disadvantages of actions, options, and selections

Related Patterns

• Notify users of fees and charges at the start of a task
• Keep users' information safe and help users understand known risks

• Tom: Being confident that he understands the content
• Tom: Cognitive overload

• Provide help for forms and non-standard controls

Related Patterns

• Use clear visible labels
• Provide information so a user can complete and prepare for a task

• Frank: Using the heating.
• Jonathan: Coping with quantities when shopping online
• Sam: Using edit boxes where the instructions disappear
• Tom: Being confident that he understands the content

• Let users control when the content changes
• Support simplification
• Support a personalized and familiar interface

Related Patterns

• Use symbols that help the user
• Provide alternatives for numbers
• Provide help and alternative content for complex information and tasks
• Enable APIs and extensions

• Alison: Learning how to use new technologies and interfaces
• Amy: Designs that make use of abstract imagery and metaphors
• Frank: Coping with icons that are not recognizable
• Frank: Using the heating
• Jonathan: Coping with quantities when shopping online
• Jonathan: Sharing online spreadsheets with colleagues
• Sam: Trying to activate elements that have been mis-recognized

• Alison: Correcting typos and writing fluently
• Alison: Coping with online banking and shopping
• Anna: Logging in
• Jonathan: Remembering pin numbers and passwords
• Tom: Using speech recognition to navigate the web