These user-centered design principles are not just for industrial designers developing VCRs and radios. Web site designers must also anticipate and minimize the difficulties users might experience when they perform tasks: will users click on something believing it to be a link? Will users enter a page that offers no feedback about location? Or will users get trapped in a page that offers no way back or no way to other sections of the site? By applying Norman's principles to web design, designers can eliminate potential problems and create a more efficient web site. (5.14)

 
 


5.14 Principles of Good Design

Visibility: The animated arrows draw attention to potentially hidden links.

A good conceptual model: The graphic header identifies this page as part of the Razorfish site.

Good mappings: A rollover (image swap) is activated when the cursor hovers over the text link.

Feedback: According to the browser's status bar, the page is still loading.