Many Mobile Apps Aren't Aging Gracefully
Apps should prioritize designing inclusive and user-friendly identity verification systems to enhance accessibility and improve overall user experience.
This personal experience reassured me of the critical nature of user interface and user experience. I started investigating how we can improve our customers' journeys during the identity verification process.
Mobile applications now allow users to check in for a flight, access a bank account, apply for a visa, and much more. The user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) determine the smoothness of these processes.
What can be done right now
Everything, from UI's logic and usability to the speed of response, as well as the choice of fonts and colors, significantly impacts the user's perception and their willingness to continue using the solution.
As an IDV vendor, we've tried different approaches to creating an inclusive interface. Over time, as we got feedback from our customers and started to understand use cases better, we've come to pinpoint key principles that we adhere to in our solutions:
Stick to minimal clutter. Keep the interface clean and straightforward, and refrain from adding too many elements, long instructions, tiny icons, etc. Nothing should overwhelm or confuse users.
Consider color perception. People see colors differently, and some can't differentiate them at all. So, it's vital to ensure that essential cues are not color-dependent alone. Use geometric shapes or other indicators alongside colors to convey information.
Rely on other sense organs, too. Activate tactile feedback, such as vibrations, or auditory signals, like jingles, to confirm user actions. This is crucial for providing reassurance and guiding users through the process.
Don't prioritize text over visuals and vice versa. There are always those who prefer text instructions and those who prefer images. The split is around 50-50, as we got it from our experience. Therefore, it is important to incorporate both text and visual support.
Make the interface adapt to user settings. Always. For example, if a person has increased the font size in their phone settings, the IDV application should automatically display the text in the same larger size.
