This is a great book if you want a summary of the psycholocial research studies that relate to human computer interaction and design. Summaries are great because you can gain a quick gist of the study. However, summaries can also be flawed because they often leave out essential details about the methodologies and findings.
Some of the valuable takeaways:
People Love Faces:
If you put an image of a face on the site, that will be the first thing the user’s eyes focus on.
Even if it is a cartoon, it has a big emotional impact.
After we see their face, we look where the their eyes look.
Placing Most Important Information:
People look at things based on their mental model, they have a sense of where the search button will be.
Put the most important info, or things you want people to focus on, in top third of the screen, or in the middle.
Avoid putting anything important at the edges
Colors
High contrast color schemes are hard on the eyes. Color has meaning associated with it.
Color means different things to different cultures.
Readability:
Capitals letters look like SHOUTING. Use uppercase sparingly. Save for headlines, getting someone’s attention
Don’t assume people will remember specifics
Providing a meaningful title is essential
Use simple words and fewer syllables to make accessible
Line Length
people read faster with a longer line length,
but prefer a shorter line length
long line (100 characters per line)
short line (45-72 characters per line)
Memory
People can only remember 4 things at once (some say 7)
(Nav bar size ideal)
Don’t ask people to remember info from one page to another
Chunking helps remember
Concrete words store long term better than abstract words (Kitties vs. Love)
visual memory stronger than words
when you are sad you tend to remember sad things
info in the middle of a presentation will be the least likely to be remembered
memories change, they reconstruct every time we think of them
Progressive Disclosure
tabbing vs. scrolling
providing only the info people need at the moment. one piece at a time. bite sized, show people what they need, when they need it
vs. Minimizing Clicks, scrolling down
Do UR to make sure you know what people want
Motivations
People get more motivated when we get closer to a goal
Motivated to compete when there are fewer competitors