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1500 questions
809
votes
17 answers
Should "Yes, delete it" be red, or green?
Designing an interface for a CMS (Content Management System), I stumbled upon a paradox and I'm a bit confused about what to do and why to do it..
Context
Before deleting an album, the user is asked to confirm the action.
Green "Yes"
Red…
Diéssica
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645
votes
13 answers
Why is the mouse cursor slightly tilted and not straight?
Is this a legacy thing or does a tilted cursor serve a purpose? I can tell that the angle provides a totally vertical left edge which helps when highlighting text but what else apart from that?
EDIT: When the cursor changes to the little hand cursor…
Thanos
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564
votes
24 answers
Should a toggle button show its current state or the state to which it will change?
I have a quick question about buttons that toggle between two states. (Think Play/Pause, or Shuffle/Regular Play.) As the title says, should the toggle show it's current state or the state to which it will transition?
I think people are used to the…
Michael Brown
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550
votes
16 answers
Should error messages apologize?
We are having a discussion on our team about an error message that says "Sorry, you do not have permission to access this feature. Please contact your administrator for assistance."
Is it appropriate to use language of "apology" in this instance? …
JoelFan
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496
votes
23 answers
Why do people clear the screen multiple times when using a calculator?
I've noticed that most people when using a real or a virtual calculator, they hit the Clear button multiple times when clearing the screen (even though hitting it once is enough), so I started wondering: is there a flaw in the calculator's design…
Mashhoor
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449
votes
10 answers
Why do credit card forms ask for Visa, MasterCard, etc.?
You can tell if it's a Visa or MasterCard based on the number it starts with, i.e. 4 for Visa, 5 for MasterCard. Why do most billing forms request the type of card?
It's not a barrier for bots (to my knowledge).
It's redundant information.
It's…
Aaron Hall
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410
votes
24 answers
OK/Cancel on left/right?
Should OK button be on left of Cancel button or vice versa?
Are there any studies suggesting either of the solutions?
Art
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394
votes
20 answers
What explains the current shift from glossy UIs to matte UIs?
I've noticed an interesting phenomenon in the user interfaces of many famous applications, they're moving away from the glossy complex to a more dull and bare minimum design.
Why the sudden change? It also appears that most of these companies have…
Adi
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364
votes
23 answers
Is this rotating cube interface user-friendly?
I'm working on a prototype for an innovative form interface, where different parts of the form are shown on different sides of a cube. The cube rotates, and the user can fill it out as the cube spins. Here is a working example:
To me, it seems like…
Peter Olson
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345
votes
14 answers
Should I use Yes/No or Ok/Cancel on my message box?
Semantically, the Yes/No buttons are roughly equivalent to the Ok/Cancel buttons, but in general what would you recommend to use? Should I always use Yes/No or always use Ok/Cancel? Or does it depend on the case?
laurent
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331
votes
23 answers
Using "Sign in" vs using "Log in"
Is there any research in this area, it seems "Sign in" is more common and hence more recommended.
corydoras
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306
votes
16 answers
Are carousels effective?
Go to just about any eCommerce site and the homepage is nearly guaranteed to feature a carousel - an auto-rotating panel, usually with some sort of small navigation, usually highlighting new product releases, sales or offers.
Are there any studies…
Alex G
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299
votes
6 answers
Why do progress bars animate backwards?
Gmail's new loading bar drew my attention to this today:
The colored pattern inside the bar animates from right to left.
The Mac OS progress bars do the same:
Is there a reason for this? If I was asked to animate a progress bar I'd automatically…
fredley
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297
votes
5 answers
Dark or white color theme is better for the eyes?
What is better for the eyes, a dark color theme or a white color theme?
Jack Twain
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282
votes
12 answers
What to call "Cancel" when "Cancel" is already the default action?
When attempting to cancel a service or setting, "cancel" is the default action. What should the normal "cancel" button be called?
Redbox uses a playful "just kidding", which may not be appropriate in all circumstances.
Luke Charde
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