consistency: a logical coherence that keeps to a style or pattern
I just realized today that I have this idea so ingrained in my head that it seems alien to me for consistency not be be used or even understood when designing (or doing anything for that matter!). When you are designing an interface, there needs to be consistency- it's one of the basic guiding principles. Text should not change color for no reason. Buttons should behave similarly. Margins and alignments should be maintained. There are many others.
These things are documented, but it also pertains to other facets of life and work. For instance, if you are writing a paper, titles and fonts should be consistent. You shouldn't change from a number outline system to a roman numeral outline system for no reason at some random point in the document.
I realized that I employ these pattern-maintaining behaviors in almost everything I do or think about. Today, in my office, I overheard somebody explaining to another person that they should keep some sections in a poster consistent to each other regarding formatting, style, and alignment. The person on the other end seemed to take it in as good instruction but seemed to not understand what the big deal was. The person didn't get it. It made me realize that something like that would have been so obvious to me that it wouldn't have even been a issue...I have been brainwashed.
It also made me wonder, how is the behavior to maintain consistency in your work and in your daily life different from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Is there a line that can be drawn? Perhaps everyone has OCD to a degree, which is why pattern consistency is a desired trait (besides the fact that it is easier on the perceptual and cognitive systems). Perhaps being consistent with things in your environment is adaptive up to a certain extent? Maybe it's just that individuals who are diagnosed with OCD manifest these patterns beyond the extreme to the point that they lose their semantic value, and that they interrupt their daily behaviors.
I can't tell you how many people I know (including myself) who has at one point explained, "I'm OCD," when they describe a reason for some action or opinion. I suspect that all of these people aren't really clinically diagnosed...
If I showed you a picture of a kitchen with all of the cupboard doors closed except one, would it bother you? And if it wouldn't, would you still agree that it would seem cleaner and nicer if that one cupboard door were to be closed along with its siblings?
I just realized today that I have this idea so ingrained in my head that it seems alien to me for consistency not be be used or even understood when designing (or doing anything for that matter!). When you are designing an interface, there needs to be consistency- it's one of the basic guiding principles. Text should not change color for no reason. Buttons should behave similarly. Margins and alignments should be maintained. There are many others.
These things are documented, but it also pertains to other facets of life and work. For instance, if you are writing a paper, titles and fonts should be consistent. You shouldn't change from a number outline system to a roman numeral outline system for no reason at some random point in the document.
I realized that I employ these pattern-maintaining behaviors in almost everything I do or think about. Today, in my office, I overheard somebody explaining to another person that they should keep some sections in a poster consistent to each other regarding formatting, style, and alignment. The person on the other end seemed to take it in as good instruction but seemed to not understand what the big deal was. The person didn't get it. It made me realize that something like that would have been so obvious to me that it wouldn't have even been a issue...I have been brainwashed.
It also made me wonder, how is the behavior to maintain consistency in your work and in your daily life different from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Is there a line that can be drawn? Perhaps everyone has OCD to a degree, which is why pattern consistency is a desired trait (besides the fact that it is easier on the perceptual and cognitive systems). Perhaps being consistent with things in your environment is adaptive up to a certain extent? Maybe it's just that individuals who are diagnosed with OCD manifest these patterns beyond the extreme to the point that they lose their semantic value, and that they interrupt their daily behaviors.
I can't tell you how many people I know (including myself) who has at one point explained, "I'm OCD," when they describe a reason for some action or opinion. I suspect that all of these people aren't really clinically diagnosed...
If I showed you a picture of a kitchen with all of the cupboard doors closed except one, would it bother you? And if it wouldn't, would you still agree that it would seem cleaner and nicer if that one cupboard door were to be closed along with its siblings?
