Jakob Nielsen’s Usability Heuristics

While reading a book about UX Design, I encountered the 10 principles for good design from UX thought leader Jakob Nielsen. I began reflecting on the principles and realized I’ve organically applied several of them throughout my life, especially in how I manage my home and kitchen. Here are a few snippets of the principles in action.

Visibility of system status
I store my dry goods (rice, oats, sugar, etc.) in mason jars in my pantry. This allows me to see how much of a given ingredient is remaining with a glance, which helps when I’m planning meals and shopping lists. An empty jar in the dishwasher means we’re completely out.

Match between system and real world
One of my favorite pastimes is bikepacking — I load up my bike with everything I need for a night of camping, and head into the woods. I organize my packing list by where items live on the bike. This helps me while packing, as I’ll grab a single bag, load it up, and then attach it to the bike.

Consistency and standards
I have a basket at the front door of my home, and as soon as I get home I place my keys and wallet there. Those are items I only use when I am outside the home, and by placing them there, I always know where they are and can easily grab them when I leave the house. No more wandering around asking “now where did I put my keys?”

Error prevention
My house contains a steep set of stairs into the basement. My dog can go down the stairs with no problem, but he trips over himself coming back up them. A baby gate keeps him from going down the stairs, preventing the error state where he is stuck in the basement until someone carries him back upstairs.

Recognition rather than recall
Another kitchen example: all shelves in the pantry are labeled with the type of product that gets stored there. I initially put up these labels when I moved into this house, but after more than a year here I’ve decided to keep them because they greatly help when I’m searching for an ingredient.