Simplicity is bliss. That’s a quote I’ve internalized in my life and would be easy to see in how I move every day. Beyond just everyday life, and more so into my work, I’ve always been a true advocate of simplicity and minimalism. Even when minimalism in web design first came out a little over 10 years ago, it was an everlasting design inspiration at first sight. I loved it!
For usability, in particular, it always pushes me to cater my user flows to solve problems as straightforward as possible. No more steps than what is actually needed! With that being said, let’s take a look at how I apply my life philosophy to my approach to usability.
Less Steps, More Success
To me, this point is the core of what a successful user experience means. Any UX you build is defined by how quick and easy you can get your end-user to accomplishing the designated goal. The best way to do that is simply to only have the bare minimum amount of steps and make it look nice and smooth.
Clear Direction Without Words
Words take time to understand and lead to misinterpretation. In design and UX, the golden rule is if you have to explain an action in words then it probably was poorly built. Articulating in this arena is more suited through proper color schemes, icons, and other design elements.
Easily Discoverable Goal
The most disappointing thing I see in a lot of applications is when I get confused just by looking at it. How do I do this? How do I see this? How do I get to this? All these questions, and no clear answer, this is horrible state for any application to be in.
Process and user flows need to be streamlined cleanly and clear, not just minimal.
In Closing
It would be bad if I made an article about building things easy and simple, and this article would be overly wordy. So always keep in mind, the easy way is the best way and always wins your user base.