Pattern recognition is an essential human mental process for acquiring and sharing knowledge. While unconscious for most people, conscious use of pattern recognition can help UX designers develop more effective user experiences efficiently. The presentation discusses how pattern recognition works in both bottom-up and top-down ways. It provides advice on applying pattern recognition to make sense of new subjects, group UI elements, and help users navigate interfaces. The key messages are that pattern recognition is context dependent and some patterns are difficult to recognize, so the process requires balancing bottom-up exploration with top-down expectations.

1. PATTERN RECOGNITION
IN USER EXPERIENCE
Kai Weber
@techwriterkai
UX camp CPH, 13 April 2013

2. ABSTRACT
Pattern recognition is an essential mental strategy for acquiring
and disseminating knowledge, though most of us are not aware
of it. When applied consciously, UX designers can employ
pattern recognition processes to develop effective user
experiences more efficiently and help users orient themselves.
The presentation is a fun whirlwind tour through human
perception and shows how you can apply pattern recognition to:
- Make sense of unknown subject matter before you design
- Overcome "designer’s block" and start designing
- Group UI elements
- Help users to navigate and understand

3. PROGRAM
1. Who am I and what do I know?
2. What is pattern recognition?
3. Why should UX people care?
4. The pattern recognition experience
5. Pattern recognition in UX

4. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

5. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

6. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

7. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

8. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

9. WHO AM I AND WHAT DO I KNOW?

10. WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?

11. http://livinglifewithchemobrain.blogspot.com/2011/03/apparitions-on-toast.html
WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?

12. WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?
http://livinglifewithchemobrain.blogspot.com/2011/03/apparitions-on-toast.html
Search the web for
“apparitions on toast”
for more examples…

13. WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?
Part of human perception:
1. Receive sensation and organize it.

14. WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?
Part of human perception:
1. Receive sensation and organize it.
2. Recognize patterns.

15. WHAT IS PATTERN RECOGNITION?
Part of human perception:
1. Receive sensation and organize it.
2. Recognize patterns.
3. Formalize patterns as rules to interpret and decide.

16. HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?

17. HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?
Aardvark, J.R. (1980). Ants, and how to eat them.
Journal of Orycteropodidae Studies, 80, 11-17.
Barker, R. (1982). Rum babas, and what to do if you’ve got them.
Reading: Goodnight From Him.
Haley, W. (1955). Rock Around The Clock. New York: Decca.
Izzard, E. (1998). Cake or Death? Gateaunomics, 10, 195-196.
Lemur, R.-T. (2010). Strepsirrhinoplasty. Antananarivo: Raft Press.
Leonard, E. (1996). Out of Sight. New York: Harper.
Shorty, G. (in press). Okay, so they got me. Los Angeles: Cadillac.

18. HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?
Aardvark, J.R. (1980). Ants, and how to eat them.
Journal of Orycteropodidae Studies, 80, 11-17.
Barker, R. (1982). Rum babas, and what to do if you’ve got them.
Reading: Goodnight From Him. …
Rule set
1. Last name, initial(s). (Year of publication).
2. If it’s an article: Title, journal title, volume, pages.
3. If it’s a book: Title. City: Publisher.

19. HOW ABOUT AN EXAMPLE?
Aardvark, J.R. (1980). Ants, and how to eat them.
Journal of Orycteropodidae Studies, 80, 11-17.
Barker, R. (1982). Rum babas, and what to do if you’ve got them.
Reading: Goodnight From Him. …
Rule set
1. Last name, initial(s). (Year of publication).
2. If it’s an article: Title, journal title, volume, pages.
3. If it’s a book: Title. City: Publisher.
We learn patterns by examples – or by rules.

20. WHY SHOULD UX PEOPLE CARE?

21. WHY SHOULD UX PEOPLE CARE?
We do it anyway…

22. WHY SHOULD UX PEOPLE CARE?
We do it anyway…
1. When we gather information
 Reading specs and designs
 Interviewing subject-matter experts

23. WHY SHOULD UX PEOPLE CARE?
We do it anyway…
1. When we gather information
 Reading specs and designs
 Interviewing subject-matter experts
2. When we design and order UI elements
 Create icons
 Design color schemes and shapes

24. WHY SHOULD UX PEOPLE CARE?
We do it anyway, so we might as well do it smartly!

25. WHY SHOULD UX PEOPLE CARE?
We do it anyway, so we might as well do it smartly!
 If we make sense of our subject more efficiently…
 If we structure UI elements better…
 … we can provide better user experiences!

26. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE

27. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
Photo by Santiago Masquelet Photo by Jure Šućur
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1001312 http://www.sxc.hu/photo/784032

28. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
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29. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
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30. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
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31. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
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32. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
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33. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN SPACE
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34. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN TIME

35. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN TIME
Photo by Richard Cop
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/326144

36. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN TIME
* * * * !

37. THE PATTERN RECOGNITION EXPERIENCE IN TIME
* * * * * * !

38. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
Bottom-up processing
1. Experience and organize
2. Match similarities
3. Segment into groups
… building up a representation from elements.

39. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
What is this? How do you know?

40. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
What is this? How do you know?

41. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
Top-down processing
1. Know general concept and rules
2. Contextualize them
3. Apply them
… searching for confirmation by “template matching”.

42. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
Bottom-up Top-down
 No prior knowledge  Uses prior knowledge
 Elements  concepts  Concepts  elements
 Emphasizes relations  Emphasizes context
 Slow, but usually correct  Quick, but sometimes wrong

43. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
What is this? How do you know?
Martin Boyce:
Untitled, 2002.
http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/
werkdetailseite/?werk=2002%2F112

44. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
What is this? It’s part…
Martin Boyce:
Untitled, 2002.
http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/
werkdetailseite/?werk=2002%2F112

45. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
What is this? It’s part of a chair!
Martin Boyce:
Untitled, 2002.
http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/
werkdetailseite/?werk=2002%2F112

46. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
Martin Boyce: Arne Jacobsen:
Untitled, 2002. Chair 3107, c.1952.
http://www.mmk-frankfurt.de/de/sammlung/ http://www.moma.org/explore/collection/index
werkdetailseite/?werk=2002%2F112

47. HOW DOES PATTERN RECOGNITION WORK?
Bottom-up Top-down
 No prior knowledge  Uses prior knowledge
 Elements  concepts  Concepts  elements
 Emphasizes relations  Emphasizes context
 Slow, but usually correct  Quick, but sometimes wrong

48. PATTERN RECOGNITION IN UX

49. PATTERN RECOGNITION IN UX
 To make sense of unknown subject matter
 To group UI elements
 To help your users navigate and understand

50. FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE AND WARNING

51. FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE AND WARNING
 Patternicity: Humans are addicted to meaning.

52. FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE AND WARNING
 Patternicity: Humans are addicted to meaning.
 Some patterns refuse to be recognized.

53. FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE AND WARNING
 Patternicity: Humans are addicted to meaning.
 Some patterns refuse to be recognized.
 Pattern recognition occurs in contexts.

54. FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE AND WARNING
 Patternicity: Humans are addicted to meaning.
 Some patterns refuse to be recognized
 Pattern recognition occurs in contexts
 Creating UX is often a bottom-up process …
 ... but using it is often top-down exploration!

55. QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

56. THANK YOU! KEEP IN TOUCH!
@techwriterkai
kaiweber.wordpress.com