A few words about abstraction in an interface

Do you remember the great principle, glorified by Nielsen in his list of heuristics, about the need for a match between the system and the real world? In short, his idea is that you should always strive to reduce the level of abstraction in your interfaces.

The fact is that some trap must be taken into account when creating an interface — many symbols are perceived by us as obvious, although this is just a learned visual language.

For example, the popular style of a location icon, such a little thingy in the form of an inverted drop — is perceived by us quite naturally, but let’s be honest, this is a very strange thing. If anyone saw this 15 years ago, it would simply not be clear that this is just a pin stuck in a paper map.

So, there are two important aspects to note here.

I. Mobile interfaces, spreading all over the world, teach their own visual language. If (suddenly) Apple Corporation decides to designate the Wi-Fi signal level in the form of a hexagonal ass in the next iOS release, then this sign will become worldwidely accepted in just one month.

Some mobile manufacturers tirelessly increase the level of abstraction. Android Wi-Fi signal strength just a few iterations ago looked like — hmm — kinda radiated waves, but today it is just a plain segment of a circle. And so in many ways. This increase in abstractness is beneficial for mobile platforms, users will still learn new patterns, and designers will be able to create interfaces visually simpler, and therefore faster.

Many years ago, when drawing a button, we had to show its volume and shadow to show its clickability, now it’s enough just to show some bright rectangular shape. Making interfaces has become easier — but only because modern users have been taught for many years that a flat box with centred text is a button. Twenty years ago, no one would have understood this.

II. Bad news. Most likely, your interface is not a mobile OS interface that millions of people use for several hours a day. Your interface won’t be able to teach anyone new meanings (or it will but with great pain and suffering). It’s better not to even try.

But what to do if you need to show some specific things, but there is no generally recognized symbol for them?

So, the lower the level of abstraction for the interface, the better. The best icon for a “car in a parking lot” is a car surrounded by lines on three sides (instead of an upside-down teardrop with a P in a square), and the best icon for a phone is the outline of a smartphone (than an abstract tube from Henry Dreyfuss ebony phone, which people under 30 have never seen in their lives).

Reduce the level of abstraction, and get attached to the real and modern world.