{"id":749,"date":"2021-10-29T06:07:56","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T06:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/premdm\/?p=749"},"modified":"2022-02-05T01:12:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-05T01:12:11","slug":"4-tips-to-avoid-cognitive-overload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/2021\/10\/29\/4-tips-to-avoid-cognitive-overload\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips to avoid cognitive overload"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by Fang, 2021 Cohort<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my last essay, I introduced several common forms of cognitive load in user interfaces. (\u201cCognitive load\u201d refers to the strain a user experiences when he\/she has to think too much in order to get something done.) Today, I am going to emphasize 4 tips to stop cognitive overload from killing your product\u2019s user experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Reduce the number of places to go<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The fewer windows and page screens we provide, the stronger sense of direction users can get, which means that designers should minimize the number of pages and views, as long as users can achieve their goals. We should avoid using components that are not wanted by users or hinder their use. Meanwhile, we should use scrolling as little as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Provide navigation<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Just as a sailor refers to the stars\/coastlines to navigate, our users refer to persistent objects on the interface to navigate. This is why we can always see fixed areas on the screen for displaying or editing data, such as toolbars, and menus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Provide overview<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While playing Dota or League of Legends (2 multiplayer online battle arena video games), would you check the small map in the game interfaces frequently? I believe the small map is essential for your victory because it provides an overview of the game and it helps users to locate quests. The overview can be graphics or text, depending on the characteristics of the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Avoid complex hierarchy<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, my husband complains that he can not find his stuff after I put everything \u201cin order\u201d. The same way, our users will complain that they could not find the things they want, if we hide them. If we have to use a complex hierarchy, the design and name of each hierarchy must conform to the user’s visions and assumptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I have to address that the ways to reduce cognitive overload vary on specific cases. Instead of employing them mechanically, we should understand the principle behind each method and use them flexibly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Fang, 2021 Cohort
\nIn my last essay, I introduced several common forms of cognitive load in user interfaces. Today, I am going to emphasize 4 tips to stop cognitive overload from killing your product\u2019s user experience. … Continue reading4 Tips to avoid cognitive overload<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1875,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[124,64,97],"class_list":["post-749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-user-experience","tag-cognitive-psychology","tag-design","tag-design-psychology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=749"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":751,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/749\/revisions\/751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.thecdm.ca\/techspeak\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}