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PrincipleExpert heuristicFoundational

Feedback

Every action needs a perceivable response that says it was received and what it did.

Definition

One of Don Norman's core design principles. Feedback is the immediate, informative return of information about the result of an action. It must be immediate, informative, and proportionate to the significance of the action.

Expert heuristic. A review criterion developed by practitioners. Useful and widely taught, but evaluated by judgement rather than measurement.

On this page
  1. Definition
  2. Feedback has layers
  3. In practice
  4. Sources
  5. Continue from here

Feedback has layers

  1. 1.Input acknowledgement: the control shows it received the press, within about 100ms. Usually a state change on the element itself.
  2. 2.Process indication: something shows work is happening, if it takes long enough to notice.
  3. 3.Outcome: the result is visible, and the interface reflects the new state.
  4. 4.Consequence: any secondary effects are legible, such as a counter updating or an item appearing in a list.

Do

  • Give every interactive element visible hover, active, focus and disabled states.
  • Change the thing that changed, so the outcome is visible in place.
  • Match feedback intensity to consequence: subtle for routine, prominent for significant.
  • Announce non-visual feedback to assistive technology.

Do not

  • Rely on a toast alone for an important outcome.
  • Give the same feedback for success and failure.
  • Animate feedback so slowly that it becomes the wait.
  • Use sound or haptics as the only channel.

In practice

Drag and drop target highlighting

File and board interfaces

Highlighting the valid drop zone as the drag begins is feedforward. Animating the item into place is feedback. Without the first, users drop into the wrong place and rely on undo.

Live order totals

Checkout

Updating the total as shipping options change removes a surprise at the final step, which is where surprises are most expensive.

Sources

Where a source establishes something narrower than the popular reading of it, the note says so.

  • The Design of Everyday Things

    D. A. Norman, Basic Books, 1988, revised 2013

Continue from here

Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.

Applied through

Where this shows up as a concrete interface decision.

Practical example

A worked decision where this was the deciding factor.

Short definition

The one-paragraph version, for when that is all you need.

Related concept

Connected closely enough to change how you apply this.