UX Principle - Familiarity

Familiarity is a principle in UX design I find incredibly interesting. Designs used on a daily basis are so familiar to us that we interact with them without thinking. Users now expect products to share similarities with other products so they don't have to think about it. Consistency comes with benefits, you want the user to become very familiar very fast with the new product without any additional learning costs. The more predictable the design is to the user, the better their experience and the sooner they reach their goal.

So, where can we see some of this familiarity?

We see it in the use of icons such as the bell icon represents a notification. This is a symbol that you have received an interaction that needs your attention.

Imagine trying to replace this efficient icon with a letter 'N'. It would cause more confusion than efficiency. Another example is the floating action button;

A floating action button performs the primary (most common) action on a screen. It appears in front of screen content, usually as a circular shape with an icon in the center which prompts the user to tap it.

Here are some examples you probably know from Twitter and Google Docs;

So, what's the benefit of all interfaces using the same user flows?

Using well known user flows leaves time for designers on a project to focus on the right goals and strategies. Introducing a new way to use an interface isn't always necessary and is usually met with the phrase "there's no need to reinvent the wheel." since users dislike change. If we take into account that a new design will be a worse design simply because it breaks user expectations, how does using familiarity as a principle encourage progression?

We could say that a new design would have to play on the users familiarity and build in new features by using how their existing knowledge of a systems work. Meaning, building on what you already have can lead to the creation of fresh familiar designs. Just don't replace the foundations. Good UX design isn't about showing users what you can be created, rather communicating to them that what you have created is easy to use.

Familiarity also supports other principles such as the design's accessibility. It's a designer’s responsibility is to ensure the design is usable for as many people as possible. Meaning it's accessible to people with disabilities too.