The Mental Model is a complex concept that’s tough to wrap your brain around. 🤠
Let's see if we can simulate one...
Take a deep breath and close your eyes. If you read that with your eyes closed, that's odd.
Okay, your phone rings and you’re feeling nostalgic, so you answer it like it’s 1997.
On the line is an old friend, and the chit chat picks up steam fast.
Her sister is divorced...again. No, you hadn't heard that Ricky Smith got fat since the last reunion. You had forgotten how shrill Sally's voice got when she got excited. Now you're in the world of the conversation.
Can you see the room you're chatting in now?
Sure, here's that old leather couch in the corner. Sally's sitting Indian style on top of it. She cradles the phone in one hand and scratches her pug's left ear with the other...
That's a mental model.
Your brain fills in the unseen details, based on previous experiences of a similar sort.
It's an idiosyncratic experience, unique to each user.
The ultimate goal of a UX writer is to help the design speak to each user's mental model.
#mentalmodel #uxwriter #contentdesigner #timhowellux
An example of a Mental Model.