The UI that isn’t UX — A Disturbing New Trend
It sounds like a riddle: “The UI that isn’t UX.” There’s a punchline in there somewhere, right? Sadly, no.
I’ve started seeing a new trend in UI design, and it’s concerning. Minimalist design is great, sometimes. It can clear out the the junk, the “non-data ink,” as Edward Tufte would put it. But sometimes, it’s not only not great, it’s detrimental to user experience.
I’ve started seeing buttons that are plain text with no hover effect on otherwise well-designed websites. Someone somewhere expected me to know that by the content of this line of text that it is a navigational element. I’m a product designer, so I’m more likely to sleuth this out. But we cannot, and should not expect this of users. Ever.
There’s a classic saying that the best design is the design you don’t see, but that doesn’t mean removing clear signals to users about what a link looks like, or other crucial wayfinding elements of an interface.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m all for reinventing things that need reinventing. (Ahem — hamburger menus.) I’m also not in favor of maintaining button design that looks like this:
But, here’s the catch: it’s also no longer 2004. Technological elitism is the opposite of what we want as designers of user experiences. Not everyone is a power user, nor 25 and younger, nor a digital native.
Just like you wouldn’t use slang around an English (or, insert language here) language learner or in a formal context, so too, we should not use design shortcuts or omissions in product spaces that cater to a range of users.
“But, it’s clearly meant as a navigational element,” I hear myself* and others say often. Is it clear to you, or is it clear to everyone?
Interaction design is like body language. Without it, much of our communication as designers is lost. If you want someone to use an element to actively interact with your product, tell them. Change the background or text color, add an underline, change it to a gif of an elephant.
Just don’t leave them wondering, “does this do something? Should I click this?”
If the user is left wondering, then maybe you’re leaving out smthng.
*In the midst of writing this article, one of my coworkers pointed out to me that the headers in our design system looked like links. I’ve since rectified this error.
