Software
People everywhere and everyday use apps for all kinds of purposes. They use them for work, leisure, motivation, planning, socializing, learning, and the list could go on like this forever. Therefore, building a successful product that can stand out from the clutter becomes a real challenge. Consumers know right away when they don’t like using an app, and they can easily recognize when they actually love using one. What they fail to understand is that one of the main reasons they love using it, is because the app is intuitive.
So, if you’re a UX/UI designer, a developer, or a project manager, you should know what it means to build an intuitive app. How exactly can you build one when the concept of intuition itself is so vague?
Every intuitive app revolves around one keyword: easy – easy to understand, easy to use, and easy to love. Although, the fact that it’s easy to use doesn’t mean that it’s simple to achieve.
Throughout the whole building process, constantly think about one question: how will your consumers use the product. Everything you design or build should exist only to make your customer’s life easier.
So, let’s take a look at a few things to keep in mind before you start designing a new app.
- EASY TO DISCOVER
The first interface sets the tone of your relationship with the app. A well-designed interface displays, from the first moment you open the app, all the main features in front of your eyes. Yet, everything looks clean and organized to avoid any chance of being overwhelming. Notifications, messages, settings, and all the main functionalities are within reach of your thumb for you to click and explore.
- EASY TO UNDERSTAND
You see a button with an envelope icon on top of it. Your intuition tells you that, most probably, that button will lead you to the messages section. You know the purpose of that button without having to click it first. The icon told you everything you needed to know.
That is why, in an intuitive app, visual representation leads your journey as a user.
- EASY TO PREDICT
That leads us to the importance of predictability. When you click on a button, you already know that something will follow that action. For instance, if you click on a +, you expect that to give you the chance to add new items. If the prediction doesn’t happen, you become confused, and you are no longer satisfied with the product. Making the design so obvious makes the operation predictable, thus making the app intuitive.
- EASY TO USE
We’ve all used apps that make us go through tiring user flows, asking questions after questions, and moving us from one interface to another. So before you finish the task, you’re already annoyed and want to quit using the app. An intuitive product makes the flow efficient; it offers you what’s necessary, nothing less than what you need and nothing more.
- EASY TO INTERACT
No one wants to click on a button and be left waiting and wondering without feedback. No reaction from the app might frustrate you. It might make you repeat the action over and over again and make you fail to complete it. That is why, for every action, there should be an immediate response that lets you know that the task has been successfully completed.
- EASY TO FIX MISTAKES
Using an app shouldn’t be so rigid; it should take into consideration your human flaws instead and help you correct them. Take Google, for example. When you search for a specific item and misspell the words, Google suggests the right options and the search engine still offers you the answers you were seeking. An intuitive app always offers solutions and solves your everyday mistakes.
