Building Character: Creating unique, consistent experiences with Design Principles

Whether we’re interacting with other people, apps, our bank, our doctor, our government, anyone—we form expectations of what someone or something will do from our previous experiences with them and their past behaviors. When something happens that doesn’t align with those expectations–that seems out of character–we’re caught off guard. What do we do next? What should we expect now?

Conversations about consistency in design often focus on topics like content and interface design. We talk about ensuring that we use the same labels, controls, patterns throughout our creations. But what if we thought about consistency in the relationship between users and our products or services? What if, in the stories we tell about the experiences we’re designing for, we approached our solutions not as a setting or prop, but as another character? What defines that character? What drives and informs the way it interacts and behaves towards the people it serves?

In life, principles act as rules that guide how we think and act. Formed by our motivations, values, and beliefs, we use them as “lenses” through which we examine information and make decisions on what to do. Because of their persistent influence on our behavior, they also influence others' views and expectations of us. In our work, we can expand our notion of “design principles” in a similar fashion and use them throughout our processes to create unique content, valuable interactions, and consistent behaviors that set and live up to expectations of our audiences.