Do you know that before visiting your website, users already develop certain expectations in their minds? Credit goes to several other websites the users visit before yours.

And as a result, they usually end up developing certain habits.

Now, have you ever thought about what if you don’t try to change these already developed habits of your users but incorporate them into your UX design?

Welcome to Mental Models, one of the most promising concepts of the human-computer interaction mode.

When incorporated properly in UX designs, these psychological concepts can tremendously boost the effectiveness of your web design.

Let’s learn in detail about what are mental models and why are they important in interface design as well as how you can use them to enhance your UX design.

Mental Model - Know What They Are

Rooted in psychology and philosophy, mental models describe the interactions between humans and computers.

Did it just go over your head! Well, let me simplify the idea of what is mental model a bit for you.

Mental models explain how users already have a perception of how something functions. They represent what is already known to the users about a website before they even begin to use it. Having prior experiences and knowledge influences a user’s reaction to what he sees, feels, or hears.

Mental models, in simple words, refer to what users believe about how user experience actually works. And the tricky part is that a user mental model is based on the incomplete facts, predictions, and beliefs that come from the previous experiences of the users.

And it is because of this that mental models are different for every individual. The metal models of different users might be similar but never really be the same as the background is different for each person.

Utilizing Mental Models For Better UX Design - Know-how

When it comes to UX designs, mental models can help designers better understand and analyze the disputes in their designing through user testing. And that’s probably why are mental models important for UX designs.

When you can understand the mental models of your users, you can make your designs more effective, usable, and intuitive by simulating those models in your design.

After all, to ensure the success of a website, its design must meet the requirements of the users as well as expectations and mental models.

Let’s take a look at some of the best practices of incorporating different types of mental models in your UX designs to make them flawless.

Jakob’s Law

According to Jakob’s law (Jakob Nielsen is the founding member of the Nielsen Norman Group), users expect your website to function the same way as the other websites they have already visited and have spent most of their time.

When several people take the same missteps or do the same mistakes on your website, know that either they have developed erroneous mental models or the designers have misinterpreted or misunderstood the mental model.

Therefore, to ensure you’re incorporating the right mental model into your web design, you need to design your site with such patterns that users are accustomed to using.

NUI/Natural User Interface

In designing NUI is an invisible user interface. Users can’t see this interface while learning about complex interactions continuously. The importance of mental models in interface design lies in the objective of NUI which is to provide the users with a greater sense of accomplishment. A NUI becomes successful only when the design feels natural to the users.

We can see an ideal example of NUI when users swipe between the home screen pages on an Android or iOS device. As the home screen pages imitate the flipping of the pages of a book, swiping between the screens feels very normal to the users.

Given the role of the user mental model in HCI, to connect with the emotions of users and to boost customer engagement, companies like Apple have been using NUI by designing real-world-like elements.

You can also try the same technique for creating elements and interactions that can make the users more comfortable when they interact with your application.

Card Sorting

When it comes to determining how the information provided in your design will be categorized by users, card sorting can be an effective technique. If you go by the mental models book, this useful user testing method can help you understand the mental models of your users about navigation and how the users are likely to find their way around your website.

You can conduct ope card sorting sessions where participants will be given a pack of cards and asked to group them as they find meaningful. You can also ask questions regarding the groupings to obtain a clear understanding of the preemption and thinking process of the participants.

With the help of card testing, it’s possible to design the information architecture of your website as per users’ expectations. It will help in reducing the interaction time and help users easily find what they are looking for on your website.

Avoid Confused Mental Models

Mixed-up or confused mental models occur when users are unable to identify the major differences between the similar parts of an application. If not avoided, such mental models can impact the discoverability of information within a system or product.

Some of the most common confusions regarding mental models that users face almost every day are:

• Remote and local information
• Windows and applications
• Passwords and login options
• Applications and icons

Commands within an app and browser commands

One of the most familiar examples of a mixed-up mental model is the search feature of Google Search Engine. Why? Because in many cases it has been observed that users are unable to differentiate between the URL entry field in a browser and the search field of Google.com. As a result, instead of directly entering the URL of a website in the URL bar, they enter it in the search field and then click the website link from the search results.

On the contrary, some perfect mental models examples in web designs are Google search bar, images that come with unclickable buttons, radio buttons, and checkboxes, modal windows, etc.

Improve Mental Models That Are Misaligned

So, what do misaligned mental models mean?

Well, when there’s a discrepancy between a user’s mental model and the way the design works, misalignment of mental models takes place.

As the product fails to match the existing knowledge and expectations of users, such disconnection of mental models leads to serious usability issues.

If you’re a designer then make sure to keep your designs in line with the existing mental models and improve them accordingly. Some brilliant examples of UX design that has incorporated mental models in perfect alignment are Disney+ Landing Page, Apple Compare Items, Zoom experience, etc.

Some of the best ways to detect and improve such misalignments are:

• Perform usability testing
• Apply various UX research methodologies
• Focus more on interactive tours
• Ensure careful onboarding
• Pay attention to real-time feedback

The refreshed look of Google’s calendar application in 2017 is one misaligned UX mental model example. Here, Google had introduced some new changes to the calendar interface which forced the users to adopt a new mental model as well as a new design.

And guess what! Neither the feedback nor the reviews went well. And as a result of the changes being not at all well-received, Google had to revert to their original calendar application interface.

Final Thoughts!

Now that you have a clear idea about what are mental models and why are they important in interface design in HCI, the last thing you would want is to neglect the mental models in designs.

Want designs that make sense to your target audience?

Want designs that offer an intuitive experience to your users that’s also easy-to-follow?

Then it’s time you contact us, Klizo Solutions, a professional in UX designing.

Our designing experts at Klizo know exactly how the design of a product serves as a powerful medium for making the services or products more engaging. Hence, they use all the modern tools and latest means of knowing how users are likely to interact with a website, product, or service.

Utilizing one of the most promising concepts of the human-computer interaction model, i.e. mental models, our designers craft such designs that promise a great user experience.

By learning the mental models of users, we understand what your users think. As a result, we ensure awesome user-friendly UI UX development that strikes an instant connection with the users.

So what’s holding you back? Contact us today and make sure your web design provides a superior user experience like no other!