9 comments

  • James LaneJames Lane, over 5 years ago

    A Fair Choice Card

    Isn't this better to show a 'fair choice' to the user?

    Whilst I understand the need for contrasting buttons, the only reason I can think of doing so is for marketing purposes (i.e. to subconsciously make a user pick the 'highlighted' choice to, for example, buy a product or agree to something).

    I can't think of a scenario where the consequences of making a choice would be 'dire'.

    0 points
    • Matthew Morek, over 5 years ago

      The message on that mock-up was just for fun, though I understand where you're coming from.

      Indeed, having equal weight for both of these actions could seem like giving users the ultimate power in a decision-making process, though in reality these messages are usually prompted by a specific action on user's behalf, making choice facilitation somewhat problematic with both actions looking the same. Context is the key to making sure the right options are presented at the right time.

      An example could be a "Remove" action taken against several selected photos in an album. We could facilitate this action without requiring a confirmation at all (and deleting the photos immediately), or allow the user to confirm her action, because she may have tapped the "delete" button by accident (happens to all of us).

      In the above scenario we could use "Cancel" and "Remove" actions. I would emphasise the "Cancel" button as the most prominent action, and here's why.

      • Firstly, defaulting to a non-destructive action reduces the risk of data loss (it's in the user's best interest if they accidentally tapped on "Remove").
      • Secondly, contrast is what helps people act quickly on cues, and they will complete a desired action quicker, whether it's "Remove" or "Cancel", when they can see the difference between actions at a glance.

      Nudging can be used for either purpose, good or bad, and it's up to us as designers to decide what is in the user's best interest. We're only facilitating choice, and we can either do it in their best interest (user-centric), in our client's best interest (business-centric), or find a good balance between the two (which is usually what we're expected to do).

      "I can't think of a scenario where the consequences of making a choice would be 'dire'."

      As for the above, it's all personal what each of us considers to be 'dire'. For my girlfriend deleting a few photos she accidentally selected, because the actions weren't highlighted properly would be dire if she wouldn't be able to revert this, while I would not mourn a few lousy shots if I did it myself.

      2 points
      • James LaneJames Lane, over 5 years ago

        It's a fair point and a good example of where it would be useful, now thinking about the red 'remove' button you get on iOS and it is helpful to have it in red.

        I guess I'm torn. As per my reply to Marc below, I think there are other ways in making it clear to a user that their actions could be important decisions, but at the same time, maybe a styled button is the solution that users are most accustomed to!

        0 points
    • Marc EdwardsMarc Edwards, over 5 years ago

      I can't think of a scenario where the consequences of making a choice would be 'dire'.

      I can.

      Ignoring extreme scenarios, even mild data loss or minor inconveniences are something that UI designers should be doing everything they can to avoid.

      1 point
      • James LaneJames Lane, over 5 years ago

        But when you have companies trying to trick users into choosing the option that is beneficial to them, then I disagree. If it's such an important step, there are other ways of making a message clear rather than through the use of styled buttons.

        0 points
    • Radley MarxRadley Marx, over 5 years ago

      I can't think of a scenario where the consequences of making a choice would be 'dire'.

      (Wondering if he ever used Photoshop before 5.0...)

      0 points