7. Avoiding distraction

Keep things short - a short, sharp, concise statement is better than a sprawling flowery sentence.

Methods of only showing limited information

• Use menus that only show a few choices at any one time, if more needs to be offered then use an expanding / collapsing menu system
• Reduce clutter. Allow users to switch off or hide un-required toolbars or side menus
• Use tabs or windows to split up the information into manageable chunks.

Common mistakes that cause distraction

• Using constant background sound tracks - it can be very distracting so allow users to switch it off if they want to.
• Too much animation and flashing objects - use sparingly.
• Jarring colour combinations.
• Poor contrasting colour combinations makes it hard to read text
• Too much scrolling needed : split up the interface into a number of screens rather than one humongous page
• Inconsistent design. e.g. placement of navigation buttons, keep it consistent. It is a poor interface that has the 'Next' button on the top right on one page and on the bottom left of another page.