March 8, 2024
7
minutes
The truly outstanding digital products are backed up by in-depth research, in-depth interviews and a comprehensive survey of the market. And while these steps are undoubtedly key to a successful journey, there are some basic guidelines without which interfaces would never be truly user-friendly and ergonomic. These principles are known as the laws of UX, and knowledge of them is essential for any designer who wants to create the best possible user experience.
The principle of similarity
Elements that have a similar appearance (shape, colour) are perceived as similar. In data visualisation practice, elements of similar colour, shape and form should be used to illustrate that they belong to the same group, but of course this is also true for distinctness.
I have often wondered what it is about visual content that influences the emotions and decisions of consumers and users. The fact is that we love to evaluate and categorise things, and by exploiting this, designers have many tools to design for a purpose. And for UX designers, that goal is to make the digital product as transparent and understandable as possible to users.
One such tool, which despite its simplicity is incredibly effective and widely used, is the "similarity principle". In short, it is the tendency for people to group together the same or similar visual elements. So if elements of the same shape, size, colour or style are placed close together, they are more easily identified by the viewer as belonging to a group.
This is a great tool for designers to highlight important information or to organise elements structurally. An example used by video sharing sites such as YouTube is that short-form videos, which are very popular these days, are always in a rectangle with a standing position. This way they cannot be confused with the traditional longer videos, which tend to appear in the more familiar laid rectangle.
How do we use the principle of similarity in design 22?
My own example that comes to mind is Console World, with its clear colour scheme on product cards. On the cards, the magenta colour of Console World always indicates a discount, and the orange colour indicates the possibility of a detail fuse. These are visually easily distinguishable features that clearly indicate functionality.
As we work on a lot of eCommerce projects, we regularly apply the principle of similarity in the visual presentation and categorisation of products. When an online store has a wide variety of products, it is critical that the site visitor can easily navigate and quickly find the products they are looking for. By using the principle of similarity, products in the same category are marked with similar design elements, colours or styles, so that shoppers can easily group and interpret them. In addition, promotions, new product highlights or special offers are presented with similar design elements so that identical offers or discounts are instantly recognisable and easy for users to identify. A consistent and coherent visual presentation not only helps us to improve the user experience, but also to increase sales.