When Less Is More

When Design Becomes Invisible

Jared Spool is one of the leading writers and researchers on usability, UX/UI and software design. Spool has been quoted stating, “Good design when done well, becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done poorly, that we notice it.”
He has an extremely good point. When we think of the most used and popular apps like Instagram or Youtube, I assume many of us are not cognizant about how or why we continue to scroll to the next video or picture, even though we feel somewhat guilty for spending so much time on it. Often, such scrolling feels mindless and mind-numbing.
This mindlessness seems to be the key.
During a user-testing I was a part of recently, one of the users straight up stated, “Don’t make me think. I don’t want to think. When I open an app, I want the interface to feel familiar and comfortable. Apps I download but end up not using are the ones that feel too foreign, and I end up thinking it’s not me.” This comment from my interviewee hit a spot. They are expressing exactly what Jared Spool was talking about — bad design is when it makes you over think. And people do not open apps to think about how they should maneuver it.
Some other designers I personally look up to, such as Robert Sens, also states in his blog that during customer discovery phases, he is reminded that people do not want to think, as the thought of maneuvering an app takes them away from their current experience they are trying to enjoy. As a result, when designing a new product, Robert Sens often follows design principles such as “intuitive” “seamless” and “simple” — principles that connect usability to invisible design.
Though the thought of encouraging mindlessness can seem a bit off, in psychological terms, people are wired to take cognitive shortcuts to save cognitive energy (I have an article that explains this in more detail that talks about Cognitive Load and Hick’s Law). This is why people like routines and habits that allow us to orient ourselves quite well without much thought. Just like learning how to drive or ride a bicycle, though in the beginning our palms get sweaty as we think about every move and turn in our body — and the thought of listening to music or someone speaking seems nearly impossible — with time, we create habits and routines that allow us to enjoy listening to music and having a conversation as we drive. We don’t even have to actively thinking about stepping on the gas or breaks, but our bodies seem to naturally do so. In this way, we are biologically wired to take mental shortcuts to save as much mental energy when it’s not necessarily a priority.

Hints for Invisible Design

I don’t consider myself even close to an expert in the field of product design. However since working as a Product Manager, I’ve picked up some tricks here and there that have made the products I work with much more intuitive and user-centric. When the goal is to make the experience thoughtless, the path to it lies in consistency. To make the user experience seamless, having consistent design is crucial.

Some things to consider when designing usability:

Allow users to expect action buttons to be at a certain area on the page. This allows users to mindlessly click without needing to hunt for buttons.
Allow users to create habits while using your app. If they need to go back, they intuitively know to swipe right at any page, and will always be taken back.