Remove fixed-size, unmovable objects from your GUI.

They’re in the way and thus make your product hard to use.

Logos, header bars, footer bars, side bars, mood images: if they take up a fixed space and cannot be dismissed, they make it hard for users to complete their work, and thus add to frustration.

No, your logo is not that important. What is important, is that the user of your program can see what they’re doing and finish their activity.

No, that footer bar with the copyright and disclaimer are not all that important. What is important, is the form that the user must fill out, but now is reduced to a single visible input because of all the bars fixed to the screen. Or worse: some forms don’t even get the space to show the field that is being typed in.

Please stop.

Instead, let users dismiss those objects, let them scroll away, or just don’t show them at all. Stop thinking about screen real estate as if it were paper. Screens come in all shapes and sizes. For most computer users, a mobile phone is their only compute device.

Don’t make their life harder.