“The Leverage of Familiarity: Understanding Jakob’s Law”
My motive
“I am humbly honored to welcome you to my daily learning journey blog. I look forward to sharing with you the knowledge and experiences I have gained on my journey. While my perspective may not resonate with everyone, I believe that by keeping an open mind and considering my experiences, it may offer some valuable insights that can have a lasting impact on your personal and professional growth. I hope that by following along with my journey, it may inspire you to take steps towards your own growth and self-discovery. I kindly invite you to join me on this journey with an open and empathetic mindset, and let’s see where it leads us.”
“Before reading this article, keep in mind that UX is not an inflexible set of rules.”
As User Experience (UX) designers, our ultimate goal is to create digital products that are intuitive, efficient and enjoyable for our users. However, this can be a challenging task, especially when designers fail to consider the needs of certain users. The experience created for them can be frustrating, confusing and even harmful. This is where Jakob’s Law comes into play.
Jakob’s Law, also known as “users spend most of their time on other sites”, states that users have a mental model of how things should work based on their past experiences with similar products. When our design deviates from this mental model, it can cause confusion and frustration for the user. By understanding and incorporating these mental models into our designs, we can create a more seamless and efficient experience for our users.
For example, let’s say a user is accustomed to using a navigation menu that is always located at the top of the page. If a website they visit has its navigation menu located on the side, the user may have difficulty finding it, leading to a poor user experience. By incorporating the familiar mental model of a top navigation menu, we can improve the user experience.
When making changes to our designs, it’s important to minimize discord by empowering users to continue using a familiar version for a limited time. This can allow users to adjust to the changes at their own pace while still being able to complete their tasks.
Incorporating Jakob’s Law into our UX design process can not only lead to more efficient and enjoyable experiences for our users, but it can also help to create more inclusive and accessible designs for all users. As UX designers, it’s essential to understand that every user is unique and may have different mental models. By considering Jakob’s Law and approaching our designs with the user’s needs in mind, we can create products that truly meet the needs of our users.
In conclusion, Jakob’s Law serves as a reminder that in order to create superior user experiences, designers must consider the user’s past experiences and design with their needs in mind. By understanding and leveraging the existing mental models of our users, we can create digital products that are intuitive, efficient and enjoyable for all users.
“I am grateful for you taking the time to read my article on Jakob’s Law and for sharing your valuable feedback. I hope the information in the article was beneficial in expanding your knowledge on the topic. I am looking forward to continuing our discussion in the future.”
