086 Mapping

A correspondence in layout and movement between controls and the things they control.

• Good mapping occurs when there is a strong correspondence in layout and movement between controls and the things they control. Good mapping makes things intuitive to use.

• Bad mapping occurs when there is a weak correspondence in layout and movement between controls and the things they control. Bad mapping makes things counterintuitive to use.

• For example, pushing a switch up to move a car window up is good mapping. Pushing a switch up to move a car window down is bad mapping.

• Ensure good mapping in your designs to minimize errors and make things easy to use.

See Also Affordance • Constraint • Nudge • Proximity Similarity • Visibility

Which stove control turns on which burner? Bad mapping (top) makes it unclear. Good mapping (bottom) makes it intuitive.