progressive reduction & experience decay
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
PROGRESSIVE REDUCTION & EXPERIENCE DECAY
Progressive Reduction
Progressive Reduction
Last year, Flat Design has prompted design principles to be simpler and cleaner, and generally
encouraged a reduction of design.
Continuing with this design Era, new UI and UX methods have been appearing to make the
most of this design trend. One of the newer ideas is called Progressive Reduction, with the
general idea that as a user’s understanding of an application improves, the application’s
interface should adapt to the user.
Progressive Reduction
Here is an example showing how as a user
begins using the application over a period
of time the button will slowly simplify,
allowing a cleaner design and rewarding the
user with change.
It is important for the process to be smooth
and not too much change all at once
otherwise there is a chance that the user will
not feel comfortable with the new layout,
which puts the application at risk of losing
users and engagement.
Other ways in which progressive reduction
can be implemented is by changing colour,
labels, contrast, size etc. But each action has
to be justified and relevant to the element
being changed.
Progressive Reduction
Progressive Reduction
So, what if a user suddenly stops using the application for a few months, and then goes back
on and forgets what certain action buttons do?
This is where ‘Experience Decay’ comes into play. This is almost as important as progressive
reduction in a sense that if a user begins using the application less and less, then the UI will
decay over time, reverting back to the it’s original state.
Experience Decay
Progressive reduction and Experience Decay are implemented by assigning levels to each
feature, starting with level 1. As the user gains enough proficiency in the app, then the level 2
versions of various UI elements will be implemented. If the user then doesn’t use the app for a
certain period of time, the UI will regress back to level 1.
The idea of this is to allow a balanced UX minimizing the risk of creating a bad experience.
Progressive Reduction
It’s not all good news, and many designers are being skeptical about progressive reduction,
saying that the changes to design and UI could put an application at risk if it doesn’t work well
and the users are confused with changes which could lead to them stop using the app.
As it is a new approach only time will tell how successful this will be but a lot of people feel that
it definitely has a lot of potential whilst others are not as convinced.
It’s important to remember that it shouldn’t be used in every app, as many apps are initially
designed to a minimal standard. Progressive reduction is focusing more on apps with a lot of
information to display, allowing to free up space in order to create a better UX.
“Keep things as simple as possible. But not simpler.”
Albert Einstein
Progressive Reduction
Being able to customize the emphasis on various UI components allows you to encourage the
use of different features or hide unused ones. This potentially allows you to start thinking of an
interface of a highly customizable thing that can be tailored to individual users creating a
personal experience based on their actions.
Implementing Progressive Reduction
Here is a short document on how to implement Progressive reduction:
http://layervault.tumblr.com/post/42442865260/implementing-progressive-reduction
Transitions
Transitions
Important factors when including transitions in designs.
• Should be almost invisible to the user.
• Help the user understand where they are navigating to and where they have come
from.
• Should be smooth and quick.
• Any stall, or stutter impairs the overall user experience and tells the user that
something is wrong.
• Should aid the design, and be used where appropriate, not just because it looks
nice. Transitions should be used to add value to content, and make the user feel
comfortable.
Here is a great article showing simple transitions that really help the user connect and
improve their experience.
http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2013/10/23/smart-transitions-in-user-
experience-design
Transition Examples
Etsy Application Android
Transitions Examples
Path App
http://ui-animations.tumblr.com
Transition Concepts
http://dribbble.com/shots/1188335-Sidebar-transition?list=searches&tag=transitions http://vimeo.com/46506589 http://dribbble.com/shots/1229252--Animation-Calendar-navigation?list=searches http://dribbble.com/shots/1203575-Naviganimation-GIF?list=searches http://dribbble.com/shots/1254148-GIF-Slide-In-Freebie/attachments/171022
