Psychology on Fernando Ruiz

Affordances vs. Signifiers: The Invisible Language of Design

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

info Quick Definition

An Affordance is the relationship between an object and a person: it is the property of the object that allows an action to be performed (e.g., a handle allows turning). A Signifier is the visual or auditory signal that communicates that capability (e.g., the shape of the handle indicates what to do with it).

Don Norman’s Legacy in UX

The concept of Affordance was originally introduced by James J. Gibson in perceptual psychology, but it was Don Norman who adapted it to design in his seminal book The Design of Everyday Things. For Norman, good design is one that doesn’t need instruction manuals: the user knows what to do just by looking at the object.

Chunking in UI Flows: Intelligent Fragmentation

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Chunking is the technique of dividing complex information or extensive user flows into smaller, logically grouped “chunks.” This makes it easier for the user’s brain to process, understand, and remember information without feeling overwhelmed.

Why Chunking is vital for Memory?

Our working memory is extremely limited. According to George Miller, we can only hold between 5 and 9 items at once in our mind. If an interface presents us with 20 form fields or a 10-step manual without pauses, our brain becomes saturated, and cognitive load skyrockets.

Cognitive Load Management in UX

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Cognitive Load is the total amount of mental effort a user must invest to complete a task or process information in an interface. Good UX design seeks to minimize unnecessary load so that the user can focus on achieving their goal with as little friction as possible.

Types of Cognitive Load: The Sweller Model

In cognitive psychology, three types of mental load are distinguished. For a UX designer, understanding these concepts is key to creating intuitive interfaces:

Error Prevention vs. Recovery: A Forgiving Interface

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Error Prevention seeks to design the system so that the user cannot make mistakes. Error Recovery designs the way out when failure has already occurred, helping the user return to the right path without frustration.

The Forgiving Interface Paradigm

Human beings are fallible by nature: we get distracted, we make typing mistakes, or we don’t fully understand instructions. Mature UX design doesn’t blame the user for their errors but assumes they will happen and designs an ecosystem that mitigates or solves them gracefully. This concept is based on two of Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics: #5 (Error prevention) and #9 (Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors).

Fitts's Law: Reach and Ergonomics in UI

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Fitts’s Law states that the time required to reach a target depends on the distance to the target and the size of the target itself. In short for UX: Make important actions large and close.

What is Fitts’s Law (and why should you care)?

Paul Fitts, an American psychologist, formulated this law in 1954 to measure human movement. In modern interface design, Fitts’s Law is the foundation of ergonomics: if a button is too small or too far from where the cursor (or thumb) is located, the user will take longer to interact and will make more errors due to lack of precision.

Hick's Law: Decision and Response Time

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

info Quick Definition

Hick’s Law states that the time it takes for a person to make a decision increases logarithmically as the number and complexity of choices increase. In UX, this translates into a golden rule: Less is faster.

What is Hick’s Law (and why should you care)?

William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman discovered in the early 1950s that adding extra options not only slows down the user linearly but can actually paralyze them or make them feel overwhelmed (a phenomenon known as “Analysis Paralysis”).

Mental Models of Undo and Redo: Time in the Interface

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

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Mental Models of Undo and Redo are how the user understands that they can go back or forward in the history of their actions. Correct Undo design reduces user anxiety, allowing them to experiment freely with the interface without fear of making irreversible errors.

The Power of Indulgence (Forgiving UI)

The “Undo” button is the most powerful psychological safety tool in interface design. When a user knows they have a “safety net” under their feet, their cognitive load decreases and their willingness to explore new features increases dramatically. Without Undo, the user becomes conservative and fearful with every click.