Making something simple is hard, and it takes discipline.
It shouldnt be about keeping peoples attention.
Or, allowing people to do something faster, to feel more carefree, or to be more independent.
Giving people less work and worry, and more joy and convenience is what makes your product memorable.
And, making a memorable experience is what feeds us as designers.
Here are seven principles I work by to ensure design feels simple and helps people meet their goals.
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Its critical to develop empathy for our customers, and to be familiar with their mindset and motivations.
Lets take transportation for example.
Talking to a variety of people about these kinds of questions will put you in their shoes.
How can we make something simple when there are so many problems to solve?
You dont need to solve every problem for everyone.
Find an area where you’re free to specialize and have a significant impact.
Basically, 80% of the time your customers are only doing 20% of what you offer.
Thats why you design for the 80% scenario, which is only a handful of use cases.
reset the path for near-zero friction.
But dont let the low-likelihood what-if?
compromise your chance to offer the best possible experience most of the time.
Reduce noise with system-based design
A strong system is the foundation for consistent, simple design.
Consistency is a hallmark of good design because it reduces complexity and builds trust.
You dont need to invent a new way of interacting to be innovative and memorable.
If you are creating a way of interacting thats new (heck, we do that sometimes!
Enter context a designers best friend.
Are they a repeat user or is this their first time?
Where are they in their larger journey?
Did they finish what they were doing the last time they came?
Will they do that again?
What time of day is it?
Are they late for something?
Whats the weather like?
I like to offer three things theyll likely want to do, rather than 20.
Remember that youd rather have your product do a handful of thingsreallywell, than a so-so job at many.
Put time on your side
Youre focused on the most critical use cases.
Youve got a strong system.
Youre paying attention to your customers context and usage patterns.
Leveraging the temporal is like the atomic level of context-sensitive design.
Think of auto-complete search suggestions that appear and disappear at the stroke of each letter.
Or hint text in a form field.
By layering the options and suggestions in time, the design feels simple and intuitive.
Remember that your customer uses that screen in a big and messy world.
Theyre with people and usually doing other things while theyre using your product.
For that reason, also ensure you design inclusively and followa11y best practices.
Think of yourself as the conductor and your products surfaces as the orchestra.
How can haptics in your app create subtle feedback to support your design system?
How can audio help your customers read an environment or know when a transition is happening?
Sometimes design doesnt need words at all.
But, when it does, it requires an investment in UX writing.
At best, they scan.
They might say open or start apps.
Do people enable things?
Chances are they simply turn them on.
As designers, we live in a world with its own language thats often pretty jargon-filled.
So stay in touch with how everyday people speak and match your language.
To help with scanning, messages also need to be presented in the appropriate hierarchy.
That new freedom is for riders to use as they just.
And I use these seven principles to do it.
