·1 min read
Building UIs That Do Not Annoy People
ui-uxdesign
Most web interfaces are hostile. Not intentionally. They just were not designed with the user's actual behavior in mind.
Consider the modal that opens on page load. Or the notification bell that badges everything. Or the cookie consent that takes up half the screen. These are all decisions made by someone who was not thinking about the person trying to get something done.
Good UI is invisible. It does not call attention to itself. It does not ask for permissions it does not need. It does not interrupt flow with popups asking if you want to subscribe.
The best interface I ever built had no tooltips, no onboarding tours, and no empty states that said No data yet. It just had the thing you came to do, right there, every time.
Complexity is easy. Simplicity requires courage. You have to be willing to cut features that your team spent months building because they are in the way.
Consider the modal that opens on page load. Or the notification bell that badges everything. Or the cookie consent that takes up half the screen. These are all decisions made by someone who was not thinking about the person trying to get something done.
Good UI is invisible. It does not call attention to itself. It does not ask for permissions it does not need. It does not interrupt flow with popups asking if you want to subscribe.
The best interface I ever built had no tooltips, no onboarding tours, and no empty states that said No data yet. It just had the thing you came to do, right there, every time.
Complexity is easy. Simplicity requires courage. You have to be willing to cut features that your team spent months building because they are in the way.