Millers Law for UX Design
Here’s a brief overview of one important law of UX
Summary
Miller’s Law states that the an average person can only keep 7 ± 2 items of information in their working memory at a time.
It tells us that humans are able to store 7 (plus or minus 2) chunks of information in their short term memory. It has been referred to as the Magical Number Seven.
Background
In 1956, cognitive psychologist George A. Miller published a paper in a journal Psychological Review. The title is quite self-explanatory — The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information. In this study, Miller proved that, on average, humans could keep up to 7±2 pieces of information in their minds when performing a task. Known as Miller’s Law, after its creator, this phenomenon stirred up discussion in the UX industry.
Points to remember
Divide content into smaller chunks to make it easier for users to process, comprehend, and remember content. By making the information scannable, users can easily access the information they need.
It is recommended that you break up content into chunks of 5–9 so that users don’t have too much information to learn at one time.
Do not justify design limitations with the “magical number seven.”
It is worth keeping in mind that short-term memory capacity differs between individuals, depending on prior knowledge and context.
Avoid the use of elements that are not useful.
Keep the navigation simple by avoiding a lot of components.
Learn more about UX copywriting, Wireframing, Color Theory, Color Terminologies, Typography, UX Research Techniques, Dark Mode UI, Hick’s Law, Fitt’s Law and Usability Principles.
