How to create an audit of the User Interface?

Source- Freepik

User Interface is not all about how beautiful your app or website is, but understanding and improving the user interaction with them.
Unlike UX audit which focuses upon how users navigate and function on the digital product, UI audit focuses upon how the product expresses itself in visible language.

For effective UI, the three principles are organize, economize, and communicate

There are three principles of effective UI design

1. Organizing- It provides users with a clear and consistent conceptual structure. A clear visual hierarchy enables consistency, clearly signifies relationships, and improves navigation.
2. Economizing- It is doing the most with the least amount of cues. Only elements that are critical to communication and relevant to the task at hand, should be included. The most important elements should be easily perceived, while non-critical elements should be de-emphasized.
3. Communication- UI should match the presentation to the expectations and capabilities of the user. It has to balance legibility, readability, typography, symbolism, multiple views, and color to communicate successfully.

There is no universal format for the UI audit but we can ask some questions while conducting it-

• Does UI reflect the perspectives and behavior of the intended users?
• Are images and icons used appropriately for the intended users?
• Are items that are functionally or logically connected, are grouped visually?
• Is the information presented in order of importance to the user?
• Do colors reinforce hierarchy and content or interfere with it?
• Is color use functional or merely decorative?
• Are the fonts used easy to understand?
• Do the fonts used reinforces hierarchy and content or interfere with it?

Asking these questions will help detect problems, distractions, or bottlenecks that prevent users from taking the desired actions. This levels up users’ satisfaction.

As a result, companies have lower user handling and acquisition costs, increase their retention.

References:

DESIGN RULES: Principles + Practices for Great UI Design