How can you design user interfaces that are easy to use?

1 Know your audience

The first step in designing a user interface is to understand who your target audience is and what their needs, preferences, and expectations are. Different types of games and genres may require different UI styles and features. For example, a casual puzzle game may have a simple and colorful UI, while a hardcore strategy game may have a complex and detailed UI. You should also consider the platform, device, and input method that your audience will use to play your game, and design your UI accordingly. For example, a mobile game may have larger and fewer UI elements than a PC game, and a touch-based UI may have different gestures and feedback than a mouse-based UI.

2 Follow common conventions

Another way to make your UI easy to use is to follow common conventions and standards that are familiar to most players. For example, you can use icons and symbols that are widely recognized, such as a gear for settings, a magnifying glass for search, or a heart for health. You can also use colors and shapes that convey meaning and emotion, such as red for danger, green for success, or circles for buttons. You can also use consistent layouts and alignments that create a sense of order and hierarchy, such as placing the main menu at the top or bottom of the screen, or aligning the text to the left or right.

3 Provide feedback and affordance

Feedback and affordance are two concepts that relate to how your UI communicates with the player and invites them to interact with it. Feedback is the information that your UI provides to the player when they perform an action, such as a sound, animation, or text. Affordance is the quality that your UI has that suggests how it can be used, such as a shape, size, or texture. For example, a button that looks like it can be pressed, or a slider that looks like it can be dragged. You should provide feedback and affordance to your UI elements to make them more responsive and intuitive, and to avoid confusion and frustration.

4 Minimize cognitive load

Cognitive load is the amount of mental effort that the player has to use to process and understand your UI. You should aim to minimize cognitive load by reducing the amount of information and options that you present to the player at any given time. You can do this by using visual cues, such as icons, colors, or fonts, to convey information instead of text, or by grouping or hiding related elements until they are needed. You can also use progressive disclosure, which is the technique of revealing more information or options as the player progresses or requests them, rather than showing them all at once.

5 Test and iterate

The final step in designing a user interface is to test and iterate on it based on feedback and data. You should test your UI with real users, preferably from your target audience, and observe how they interact with it, what they like and dislike, and what problems or questions they have. You should also collect and analyze data from your UI, such as click rates, completion rates, or error rates, to measure its performance and usability. You should then use the feedback and data to identify and fix any issues, and to improve and refine your UI design.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?