Why it is important to maintain Design Consistency

 

Designing is an art. And art, unlike most things, is not supposed to be the same. It needs to be varying, dynamic, adaptive and appealing.  The norm of compliance to rules is something that does not apply to designing.

But then again, there is an unsaid rule that comes with it – i.e. consistency in  UX design. Many designers would agree that consistency is something that should not be anywhere in the realms of designing. However, anyone with some exposure to User Experience design would tell you about how amazing designs feel amazing only because of smooth and seamless functioning, which is a result of consistency.

Before understanding why consistency is important, let us first wrap our minds around what consistency really is.

A brief about design consistency philosophy  

Consistency, as some would call it, is the very base of designing. More like its DNA. Simply put, usability and the adaptability to learn, when certain elements have a similar look and function similarly, is what consistency is all about. If your  UX design has consistency, it is evident.

Using this consistency, people can transfer their knowledge about something and explore something new in the newer contexts they’d find themselves to be in. The user learns to navigate sites without any hassle. This would help the user navigate the site better and get the most out of it, rather than wasting time trying to figure out how it works in the first place.

Why is consistency important?

As mentioned earlier, consistency helps users to learn your design faster than usual. Let’s put it is this way that a certain consistent element in your  UX design is a specific letter. You assign a certain function to this letter. Now, wherever the user is on your site, s/he sees the letter and remembers that specific function it performs, let’s assume it takes the user back to the homepage.

Consistency also helps terminate confusion, for good, obviously. A website could get pretty confusing at times and have consistent elements around which makes them feel more in the driver’s seat. They know that they are the one driving the website and not the other way around.

Now, these benefits are from the user’s perspective. What’s in it for the developers? Building a website with consistent elements cuts down a lot of time and efforts from the developer’s point of view, thereby saving a lot of money. Stakeholders and designers don’t end up being at loggerheads about the novelty of the design and that in turn saves a lot of time which can be productively used otherwise.

Creating consistent visual elements that uniformly pans across your website is vital. You have to ensure that all the elements you use also have the same function throughout. The content you use, the tone your content has, the UI and all the elements that come with it, the backgrounds you use ancolorsolours they don, the font you use, it all has to go along together in a symphonic harmony.

Only that way, you can make your website a memorable one. And making memorable websites is a known way of increasing your reach and maintaining a steady inflow of traffic, hallmarks of a thriving and successful business.