3. We Seek and Use Visual Structure

Structured information is easier to scan. Try using these. Reduce repetitive and similar words. Group the items by goals, and similarity. Help viewers' interpretation with common sense, design rules, and gestalt principles. ex) a table can deliver the same information faster than a paragraph. ex) a table can deliver the same information faster than a paragraph.

Structured information is easier to scan. To ease for viewers to scan, Reduce "Noises" Repetitiveness Similar Objects Group items Goals Similarity Help interpretation Common Sense Design Rules Gestalt Principles ex) a table can deliver the same information faster than a paragraph.

 

Visual hierarchy helps people find relevant information
Breaking information into sections, labeling them, putting different styles to different hierarchy items will help viewers quickly get information relate to their goals.

Information Hierarchy
Peer-level items can be grouped with similarities or with other matters. ex) Open your settings, go to specific top-level menu, see if they have several groups of same-level items.

"Chunking" helps people scan and enter data
Because of limited capacity of human short-term memory, providing visual guide to rest is helpful. ex) credit card numbers, phone numbers

Data-specific controls for data inputs
Removing ability to enter wrong format or data type will reduce user error. Choosing the most suitable input for data type will lead more inputs and better qualities. ex) text input for month/day/year > select input for month/day/year > select input for month, combobox input for day and year.