The first time I used Instagram’s Instants, I was not excited. I was confused.

A floating pile of photos appeared in my inbox. I tapped it, moved through the experience, and suddenly the camera opened.

The feature seemed simple, but I found myself asking too many basic questions:

What is this?
Who will see it?
Will this send immediately?
Can I check the photo before it goes out?

For a feature built around quick sharing, that hesitation matters.

Recently, Instagram introduced Instants as a new way to share photos “in the moment.” The idea is simple: take a real-time photo, share it with Close Friends or mutual followers, and let it disappear after it has been viewed or after 24 hours. Instagram positions the feature around spontaneous, unfiltered sharing — no gallery uploads, limited editing, and quick access from the inbox or the standalone Instants app.

On paper, this makes sense.

Social products have been moving toward more casual, low-pressure sharing for years. Not every moment needs to become a polished post, a curated Story, or a permanent memory. Sometimes people just want to share something quickly and move on.

But even spontaneous sharing needs clarity.

The issue is not the idea of disappearing photos. That mental model already exists through Stories, disappearing messages, and products like Snapchat. The issue is how Instants appear, behave, and ask users to trust it.

For a feature built around speed, the experience still needs one thing above everything else:

Confidence.

And that is where the UX starts to feel unclear.

1. A Feature Can Be Visible and Still Be Unclear

Instagram places Instants as a mini pile of photos at the bottom-right corner of the Instagram inbox. Users can tap it to capture an Instant, or use the standalone Instants app, which opens directly to the Instants camera.

That makes the feature highly visible.

But visibility alone does not create understanding.

When I first saw it, I did not immediately understand what it was.

Was it a new message format?
Was it a shortcut?
Was it a Story-like update?
Was it a camera entry point?
Was it a prompt from Instagram?

The feature was present, but its meaning was not obvious.

This is an important distinction in UX: discoverability is not the same as clarity.

A user can notice something and still not know what it does. In fact, unclear visibility can sometimes feel more distracting than hidden functionality because it keeps asking for attention without explaining its purpose.

Heuristic principle:
👉 Visibility of system status

UX issue:
The interface shows the feature, but does not clearly communicate what state the user is in or what will happen next.

Better UX direction:
A first-time label or tooltip could help, such as:

“Instants: view-once photos from friends”

or

“Send a real-time photo”

This would make the entry point easier to understand without requiring trial and error.

2. Floating UI Needs a Strong Reason to Exist

The placement of Instants feels distracting because it floats over the message experience.

The inbox already has a clear job: helping users read, respond, and manage conversations. When a new feature sits on top of that space, it competes with the primary task. Floating UI can work well when the action is urgent, frequently used, or universally understood.

But when the feature itself is new and unclear, floating placement can feel intrusive rather than helpful.

In this case, Instants does not feel naturally integrated into the inbox. It feels like something placed above the experience instead of inside it.

Heuristic principle:
👉 Aesthetic and minimalist design

UX issue:
The feature adds visual noise to an already active communication space.

Better UX direction:
Instagram could place Instants inside existing message actions, such as:

• The camera icon
• The attachment menu
• A dedicated inbox section
• A clearly labeled entry point near Stories or DMs

This would keep the feature accessible without making it constantly compete for attention.

3. The Mental Model Is Familiar, but the Interaction Feels Risky

Instagram says Instants are meant for real-time sharing. Users cannot upload from their phone’s gallery and can only add a caption, not make further edits. This supports the product goal of authenticity and spontaneity.

But there is a difference between designing for spontaneity and removing reassurance.

In real life, taking a photo and sharing a photo are two separate decisions.

First, I capture.
Then, I look at it.
Then, I decide whether to send it.

Even when I want to share something casually, I still expect a moment to verify what I am sending.

Is the photo clear?
Is it accidental?
Is the right person going to see it?
Do I still want to share it?

If the interaction makes capture feel too close to posting, the user loses confidence.

A camera click should mean:

“I captured this.”

It should not automatically feel like:

“I agreed to share this.”

Heuristic principle:
👉 Match between the system and the real world

UX issue:
The product goal is spontaneous sharing, but the interaction may not fully match how users mentally separate capture from consent.

Better UX direction:
Keep the experience fast, but separate the decisions:

1. Capture photo
2. Preview photo
3. Confirm audience
4. Send

This adds a small pause, but it protects user confidence.

4. Undo Is Helpful, but Prevention Builds More Trust

Instagram includes an Undo option for accidentally sent Instants. Users can also delete an Instant from their archive to unsend it for friends who have not opened it yet.

This is useful.

But from a UX perspective, Undo is still a recovery mechanism. It helps after the risky action has already happened.

For sensitive actions like sharing personal photos, prevention is more important than recovery. A user should not have to rely on quick reflexes to fix an accidental send.

This is especially important because Instants disappear after being viewed. Once someone has seen it, the emotional consequence has already happened.

Heuristic principle:
👉 Error prevention

UX issue:
The design gives users a way to recover, but a better experience would reduce the chance of accidental sharing in the first place.

Better UX direction:
For first-time use, Instagram could add a confirmation step:

“This Instant will be sent to Close Friends. Send now?”

Once users understand the feature, this confirmation could become lighter or optional.

5. User Control Matters More in Social Products

Social UX is different from productivity UX.

If I accidentally click the wrong filter in a dashboard, I can reset it. If I accidentally share a photo, the impact is personal. The mistake is not just functional; it can feel embarrassing, invasive, or socially uncomfortable.

That is why user control matters so much here.

Instagram says users can choose to share Instants with Close Friends or mutual followers. It also says recipients cannot screenshot or record Instants, and Instagram’s existing safety controls like Block, Mute, and Restrict apply.

These are meaningful privacy protections. But privacy is not only about what happens after content is sent. It is also about how confident users feel before they send it.

If I am unsure whether something has already been posted, who will see it, or whether I can review it first, trust weakens.

Heuristic principle:
👉 User control and freedom

UX issue:
The feature may prioritize speed over the user’s need to review, cancel, retake, or confirm.

Better UX direction:
A preview screen with clear actions would give users control:

• Send
• Retake
• Cancel
• Change audience

The user should always feel that sharing is intentional.

6. Recognition Should Replace Guesswork

Users should not have to experiment to understand a feature that involves sharing personal media.

With Instants, the entry point may be discoverable, but its purpose is not immediately self-explanatory. If users need to tap it, test it, or ask others what it does, the design is relying too much on exploration.

Exploration is fine for low-risk features. It is not ideal for features where one tap can lead to sharing a photo.

Heuristic principle:
👉 Recognition rather than recall

UX issue:
The UI does not provide enough visible cues for users to understand the feature before interacting.

Better UX direction:
Use clearer microcopy during early exposure:

“View and send Instants”

or

“Real-time photos from friends”

This helps users recognize the feature’s purpose instead of guessing.

7. Consistency Reduces Anxiety

Instagram already has many sharing patterns: Stories, DMs, disappearing photos, Close Friends, Reels, and camera-based sharing.

That means users bring expectations.

If Instants feels similar to existing ephemeral formats but behaves differently, the product needs to explain that difference clearly. Otherwise, users may assume the wrong outcome.

Consistency does not mean every feature must behave exactly the same. But when a new feature breaks an expected pattern, it should do so intentionally and visibly.

Heuristic principle:
👉 Consistency and standards

UX issue:
Instants feels familiar enough to invite assumptions, but different enough to create uncertainty.

Better UX direction:
Reuse familiar Instagram patterns:

• Open camera
• Capture
• Preview
• Choose audience
• Send

This would reduce learning effort and make the feature feel safer.

8. Snooze Solves Attention, but Not Understanding

Instagram includes a Snooze gesture: users can hold down the pile of Instants in the inbox and swipe right to temporarily stop receiving them.

This is a useful control for reducing interruptions.

But it also reveals something interesting: if a feature needs a snooze option, it is already competing for attention.

Snooze helps users manage visibility, but it does not solve the deeper issue of initial clarity. If users do not understand why something is floating in their inbox, giving them a way to hide it is helpful but not enough.

Heuristic principle:
👉 User control and freedom

UX issue:
The user can reduce the feature’s presence, but may still not understand its purpose or behavior.

Better UX direction:
Pair Snooze with clearer onboarding. Let users know what Instants are before expecting them to manage the feature.

9. Consent-First Design: The Core Lesson

The biggest UX lesson from Instants is simple:

Do not merge capture and consent.

Capturing content is an action.
Sharing content is a decision.

A product can be fast and still respectful. It can encourage spontaneity without making users feel rushed. It can reduce editing without removing confirmation.

In social products, hesitation is not always friction. Sometimes hesitation is protection.

UX principle:
👉 Consent-first design

UX issue:
The experience may make sharing feel too immediate for something as personal as a photo.

Better UX direction:
Design a clear moment where the user knows:

• What they captured
• Who will see it
• Whether it will disappear
• What happens after sending
• How to cancel before sharing

This is not unnecessary friction. It is trust-building.

Suggested Redesign Flow

A better Instants flow could still be quick:

1. User sees a clear entry point:
   “Send Instant Photo”
2. User taps it.
3. Camera opens with short context:
   “Instants disappear after they’re viewed.”
4. User captures a photo.
5. The preview screen appears.
6. User chooses:

• Send
• Retake
• Cancel
• Audience

1. User sees a clear entry point:
   “Send Instant Photo”
2. After sending, the inbox shows a clear status:
   “Instant sent · View once.”

This adds one moment of confirmation, but changes the emotional experience from risky to intentional.

Design Lessons from Instagram Instants

1. Speed should not replace control.
   Fast sharing only works when users feel safe.
2. Capture and consent should be separate.
   Taking a photo is not the same as agreeing to share it.
3. Floating UI needs a strong justification.
   If something constantly occupies attention, its purpose must be immediately clear.
4. Undo is not a substitute for prevention.
   Recovery helps, but prevention builds deeper trust.
5. Social UX must design for hesitation.
   Hesitation is not always friction. Sometimes it is protection.

Closing Thought

Instagram Instants is trying to make sharing feel more spontaneous. That is a valid product direction.

But spontaneity should not come at the cost of certainty.

In social products, the best UX is not always the fastest path. Sometimes, the best experience is the one that gives users one extra second to feel sure.

AI tools are making design faster than ever, but speed isn’t the same as understanding.

I’ve seen AI generate entire app designs in seconds. Clean layouts.
Perfect spacing. Flows that look… almost real.

For a moment, it feels like:

Maybe design is just prompting now.

But then something strange happens. You look at the output a little longer… And you feel it.

Something is Off.

Not broken.
Not ugly.
Just… not right. And that small discomfort says more about design than any perfect screen ever could.

The First Time AI Actually Helped Me

I was stuck on a design problem.

Not a big one just one of those moments where everything looks fine, but nothing feels right.

Spacing, Hierarchy, Copy.

Something was off. So I tried AI. I described the problem, added context, and waited. Within seconds, I had:

• Multiple layout ideas
• Different structures
• Variations I hadn’t considered

It felt like having a second brain. Not perfect but incredibly useful.

It didn’t replace my thinking. It expanded it.

The Fear Everyone Is Talking About

Lately, I’ve been hearing this everywhere:

“AI will replace designers.”

And honestly — I get it.

Today, you can:

• Give a prompt
• Generate full UI screens
• Even get complete app flows

It’s fast. It’s impressive. And yes — it’s a little unsettling.

But the real question is:

Are those designs enough?

What I’ve Started Noticing

AI-generated designs are:

• Visually good
• Structurally sound
• Great starting points

But they’re rarely final. They don’t:

• Capture edge cases
• Reflect real user behaviour
• Adapt to messy constraints
• Or understand emotional context

They solve the prompt. Not always the problem.

A Shift I Didn’t Expect

Something interesting has changed.

AI-generated designs are becoming a shared language. Clients and project managers can now:

• Show what they mean
• Explore ideas faster
• Communicate expectations clearly

Instead of saying:

“Something like this…”

They can now show it.

AI is becoming a bridge between ideas and clarity.

A Very Real Moment

A lot of my friends have asked me:

Are you worried about your job as a designer?”

And to be honest, sometimes, I am. Because the tools are getting really good. But then something keeps happening. They come back with AI-generated designs and say:

“It looks good… but something feels off.”
“It’s not what I expected.”

And every time I hear that, I feel a little reassured.

Because that “off” feeling?

That’s where design actually lives.

AI Is Great at Answering. Design Is About Questions.

AI can generate:

• Screens
• Flows
• Ideas

But it doesn’t:

• Sit with confused users
• Understand hesitation
• Question assumptions
• Feel when something doesn’t click

It responds to prompts. Design responds to people.

What AI Is Actually Changing

AI isn’t replacing designers.

But it is changing how we work.

From creating → curating

We’re no longer starting from blank screens.

From execution → direction

The value is shifting to deciding what should be built.

From speed → clarity

Because faster output without clarity is just better-looking noise.

Where I Use AI (And Where I Don’t)

I use AI:

• When I’m stuck
• When I need variations
• When I want to explore quickly

But I try not to:

• Skip thinking
• Replace user understanding
• Accept outputs just because they look good

Because the real risk isn’t bad design.

It’s:

Design that looks right — but feels wrong.

The Real Shift

AI didn’t make design easier.

It made it clearer.

“Tools can generate solutions. But only humans can understand problems.”

Final Thought

AI is powerful.
Unpredictable.
And sometimes wrong in very convincing ways.

But maybe that’s the point.

It’s not here to replace designers. It’s here to reveal what only designers can do. And that moment when:

“Something feels off…”

That’s not a flaw. That’s the job.

I didn’t cancel my subscription because I hated the product.
I cancelled it because I no longer needed it. And yet, by the time I was done, I felt guilty, manipulated, and oddly exhausted.

“Not because the product failed. But because it worked exactly as designed.”

Most people won’t remember what features a product offers.
But they always remember how it made them feel when they tried to leave.

This is a story about cancelling a subscription. And about recognising dark patterns in real time, not from a design article, but from my own discomfort.

It was a quiet weekday night.

I was reviewing my monthly expenses, nothing dramatic, just adult housekeeping. That’s when I noticed an active subscription I hadn’t opened in weeks.

I didn’t feel annoyed.
I didn’t feel cheated.

I just thought:

I don’t need this anymore.

I opened the app, expecting a clean, boring cancellation.

What I didn’t expect was how personal it would feel.

Minute 1: When the Exit Is Intentionally Hard to Find

I went to Settings.
Then Profile.
Then Billing.

No cancellation. That’s when it clicked.

This wasn’t poor information architecture. This was a deliberate dark pattern: a hidden exit.

The product wasn’t trying to help me leave. It was hoping I’d give up. And for a moment, I almost did.

Minute 3: Emotional Copy Disguised as Friendliness

When I finally found Cancel Subscription, the tone changed instantly.

“We’ll miss you 😔”
“You’re one of our valued users”
“Most people stay longer”

As a user, it felt uncomfortable. As a designer, it felt familiar.

This was Confirmshaming: framing my decision as something I should feel bad about.

The product wasn’t explaining the consequences. It was questioning my judgment.

Minute 5: Choice Overload That Isn’t Really Choice

Next came the alternatives:

• Pause instead of cancel
• Switch to a cheaper plan
• Get a limited-time discount

On the surface, this looked helpful. But standing there, I realised it was misdirection.

My intent was clear: cancel. Everything else existed to slow me down to create doubt, friction, and fatigue.

That’s when I felt it:

This product knows exactly what I want and is intentionally pretending not to.

Minute 7: Loss Framing at the Final Step

The last screen said:

“If you cancel now, you’ll lose access immediately.”

Technically true. Emotionally loaded.

This was loss aversion, framing a neutral action as a painful loss.

And it worked. I hesitated.

Not because I wanted the product.
But because the product made leaving feel like a mistake.

The Moment It Became Personal

I eventually cancelled.

But I didn’t feel relief.
I felt… played. And that’s when it hit me:

Dark patterns don’t always trap users. Sometimes they just leave scars.

As someone transitioning from UI/UX into product design, this experience reshaped how I think about “good” retention.

What This Experience Taught Me About Dark Patterns

1. Dark patterns don’t feel dark at first
They feel like small discomforts, easy to ignore, hard to forget.

2. They optimise metrics, not relationships
They may reduce churn this quarter, but quietly erode trust long-term.

3. Users may not name them , but they remember the feeling
And feelings drive future decisions more than features ever will.

What I’d Do Differently as a Product Designer

If I were designing this flow, I’d choose ethical friction over manipulation.

• Make cancellation visible (no hidden exits)
• Remove emotional guilt (no confirmshaming)
• Respect clear intent (no misdirection)
• Present outcomes neutrally (no loss framing)

Because when users leave feeling respected, they’re far more likely to return.

Final Thought

Onboarding tells users how much a product wants them.

Cancellation tells users how much a product respects them.

And dark patterns?
They show up most clearly when a product thinks no one is watching.

As a product designer, I hope I always design as if they are.

In Bangalore, autos aren’t just a mode of transport.
They’re a language.

A raised hand is a signal.
A glance to judge intent.
A nod, a refusal, a familiar “meter mele hogalla.”

When I moved to Bangalore last year, I thought ride-booking apps would abstract all of this away. And technically, they did. But over a year of daily usage in traffic, rain, low battery, tight deadlines, and worse moods, something unexpected happened.

I didn’t just commute differently.
I started experiencing product design differently.

As a UI/UX and Product designer, living inside these apps every day stripped design down to its essentials. No demos. No ideal users. Just real behaviour.

This isn’t a comparison of apps or a feature review.
It’s a reflection on what these products taught me about designing for humans, not flows.

1. When the Interface Is Calm, but the Experience Isn’t

Most ride-booking apps look composed: clean layouts, minimal UI, confident colours. But the experience often isn’t.

A driver accepts, then cancels.
The ETA jumps from 3 minutes to 12.
The price changes after you’ve already decided to leave.

What stood out was the mismatch:

The UI stays calm even when the system is chaotic.

Visually, this feels reassuring. Emotionally, it feels dishonest.

I wasn’t looking for delight or animations. I wanted an acknowledgement, a signal that the product understood uncertainty instead of smoothing it over.

Design lesson:
👉 Clarity builds more trust than calm.

2. “Driver Cancelled” Is Not a Story

Few messages trained my behaviour more than this one:

“Driver cancelled.”

No context. No explanation. No empathy. Over time, I stopped trusting early confirmations. I delayed getting ready. I added mental buffers.

When products don’t provide meaning, users invent it and those stories are rarely generous.

Design lesson:
👉 Microcopy isn’t decoration. It’s narrative.

3. Pricing Is a Feeling, Not a Formula

I understand surge pricing. Logically, it makes sense. But repeatedly opening an app just to “check prices” became emotionally expensive. Sometimes I wouldn’t even book; I’d close the app and rethink my plan.

What mattered wasn’t always the amount. It was the moment it changed.

Seeing a reasonable fare, deciding to go, and then watching it increase seconds later feels like betrayal even when it’s fair by system rules.

Design lesson:
👉 Perceived fairness matters more than mathematical fairness.

4. Why I Keep Choosing Namma Yatri (Even When It Costs More)

Over time, I noticed myself opening Namma Yatri more often even when the price was slightly higher.

That surprised me.

The reason wasn’t polish or speed. It was familiarity.

The app uses real-world cues people already understand:

• Yellow-green auto visuals
• Black number plates
• The unmistakable meter-down sound after booking
• A horn sound when the auto arrives

These aren’t clever UI tricks. They’re cultural shortcuts.

The app doesn’t ask users to learn a new mental model; it borrows an existing one. I don’t interpret these cues. I recognise them.

Design lesson:
👉 Recognition beats instruction.

5. Sound as UX, Not Decoration

One detail I didn’t expect to value so much: sound.

Like many people, I often try booking rides on multiple apps at once, switching between them, waiting, and checking. It’s fragmented and stressful.

Namma Yatri’s sound notifications quietly solve this.

I don’t need to keep staring at my phone.
I don’t need to juggle apps.
The sound tells me when the job is done.

In a noisy city, sound becomes a status indicator, not an embellishment.

Design lesson:
👉 Good UX respects attention, not just visuals.

6. Pickup Points: Where Maps Meet Reality

If there’s one place ride-booking apps struggle consistently in Bangalore, it’s pickup points.

Gated apartments.
Service roads.
Flyovers.
Tech parks with multiple entrances.

The map is confident. Reality is not.

I’ve been “at the pickup location” and still unreachable five meters away, but on the wrong side of a divider. A perfectly placed pin that’s unusable in real life.

What this taught me is simple:

Location accuracy does not equal pickup success.

Apps that allow flexible pickup adjustments, landmarks, or nearby alternatives reduce coordination friction. Apps that treat the PIN as absolute push the problem onto users and drivers.

Design lesson:
👉 Maps show locations. Products must be designed for arrival.

7. Drop Points Are Not the End of the Journey

Drop location design is often treated as a formality reach destination, trip ends.

But in Bangalore, where you’re dropped off matters deeply.

Wrong side of the road.
No safe crossing.
No nearby U-turn.

Being dropped “accurately” can still be inconvenient or unsafe.

Apps that allow drop flexibility, respect street-level judgment, or support mid-ride adjustments reduce post-ride friction significantly.

Design lesson:
👉 Completion is not success.

8. A UX Lesson I Learned from Auto Drivers

One of the smartest UX decisions I saw this year wasn’t digital at all.

Many auto drivers print and stick their payment QR code on the back of the front seat.

This single action removes multiple friction points:

• No waiting at the end of the ride
• No awkward standing while apps load
• Time to resolve payment issues during the ride

It’s proactive. It anticipates failure. It respects time.

It made me rethink how often we design flows that only work at the end instead of supporting users throughout the journey.

Design lesson:
👉 Great design reduces peak friction, not just total friction.

9. Ratings: Empowerment That Sometimes Exhausts

Ratings are meant to create accountability. In reality, they often create decision fatigue.

Was the ride fine or great?
Is 4 stars bad?
Is skipping worse?

Eventually, I stopped rating not because I didn’t care, but because I was tired of judging.

Design lesson:
👉 Just because feedback is possible doesn’t mean it should always be required.

Closing: Designing for Bad Mornings, Not Perfect Flows

Ride-booking apps aren’t used in ideal conditions. They’re used when people are late, tired, stressed, distracted, or standing by the roadside watching traffic pile up.

After one year in Bangalore, these products taught me this:

Design doesn’t live in screens. It lives in the streets.

And the real question for us as designers isn’t
“Does this flow work?”
but:

“Would I trust this on a bad morning?”

Because in cities like Bangalore, that’s the only test that matters.

As a UI/UX designer, I see the world through a slightly different lens — one attuned to the design details that many might overlook. It’s in these small touches where user experience truly shines, quietly transforming everyday interactions.

Recently, while riding an elevator, a detail caught my eye: tiny raised dots on the buttons. At first, I thought they were purely decorative, but my curiosity led me to investigate further. These dots are actually Braille, a tactile writing system that allows people who are blind or visually impaired to read and navigate by touch.

As I read more, I noticed that this small design choice has already sparked discussions in blogs and articles. I noticed a few other people nearby also questioned its purpose, highlighting how an unobtrusive design choice can spark awareness. These raised dots might seem insignificant to most sighted people, but for someone who relies on touch to interact with their environment, they represent independence, accessibility, and dignity.

This is what UX at its core is about not just making products look good or function fast, but designing with empathy and inclusivity. It’s about removing barriers and ensuring that everyone, including minorities and people with disabilities, can have a seamless experience.

Such thoughtful design decisions embody true accessibility. They demonstrate that products should be crafted keeping all users in mind not only the majority, but also the often-overlooked.

Good design doesn’t always want to be noticed. Sometimes, it quietly empowers people, enabling them to interact with the world more freely. As a UI/UX designer, recognizing these small yet impactful details reminds me why UX matters in every little thing around us.

Myntra is one of India’s leading online fashion and lifestyle e-commerce platforms, offering a diverse range of clothing, accessories, and home decor products. Launched in 2007, Myntra has evolved into a comprehensive fashion destination, featuring renowned Indian and international brands. With a user-friendly interface and innovative features like personalized recommendations, Myntra caters to a broad audience, providing a seamless online shopping experience. The platform often collaborates with fashion influencers and designers, staying at the forefront of the latest trends. Myntra’s commitment to convenience, style, and a vast product selection has made it a go-to destination for fashion enthusiasts in the Indian market.

What is Heuristic Evaluation?

A heuristic evaluation is a usability inspection method for computer software that helps to identify usability problems in the user interface design.

Here are Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics Evaluation Principles for User Interface Design that will be used for this particular evaluation.

Rating Parameters: Worse, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent.

1. Visibility of system status: Excellent.

The design should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within a reasonable amount of time

The progress tracker indicator displays the various stages of the checkout process, such as cart review, address entry, payment details, and order confirmation. It gives visual cues to highlight the current step in the checkout process. Users can easily see which step they are currently on and understand the overall progression toward completing their purchase. Each step of the checkout process is accompanied by clear and strategically placed call-to-action buttons.

2. Match between the system and the real world: Good

The design should speak the users’ language. Use words, phrases, and concepts familiar to the user, rather than internal jargon. Follow real-world conventions, making information appear in a natural and logical order.

The icons used to resemble Profile, Wishlist, Bag, and other icons are relatable. Users can understand them easily. However, the MynCash (MyntraCash) symbol does not resemble it well and is a bit confusing. They could have used some different icon for that.

3. User control and freedom: Average.

Users often perform actions by mistake. They need a clearly marked “emergency exit” to leave the unwanted action without having to go through an extended process.

The user has been not given the option to select the quantity of the item while adding it to the cart. In case users want to add more than one quantity they have to go to the bag and then while placing the order again select the quantity of an item. Also when the customer is bag top navigations are removed and it is a bit hard to navigate to the previous page. The customer has to start again from the landing page.

4. Consistency and standards: Good

Users should not have to wonder whether different words, situations, or actions mean the same thing. Follow platform and industry conventions.

Most of the time Myntra is consistent with its navigations and categories. But In the above image, you can encounter non-activewear items within the activewear category this incident violation of consistency and standards on the website. When users navigate to a specific category, such as activewear, they have certain expectations regarding the types of products they will find. In this case, encountering items that do not belong to the activewear category can create confusion and disrupt the user’s expectations.

5. Error prevention: Excellent.

Good error messages are important, but the best designs carefully prevent problems from occurring in the first place. Either eliminate error-prone conditions, or check for them and present users with a confirmation option before they commit to the action.

The checkout process typically includes a step where users need to enter their delivery pincode. To prevent errors and ensure the accuracy of the delivery address, Myntra often employs mechanisms to validate the entered PIN code against the delivery serviceability in real time. This helps users avoid potential errors, such as entering an incorrect or non-serviceable pincode. By offering transparent information about the possibility of delivery, Myntra ensures that users are well-informed before finalizing their purchase.

6. Recognition rather than recall: Bad

Minimize the user’s memory load by making elements, actions, and options visible. The user should not have to remember information from one part of the interface to another. Information required to use the design (e.g. field labels or menu items) should be visible or easily retrievable when needed.

Myntra does not show a recent search history. ability to quickly access recently searched items is a convenient feature. It saves time and effort, especially when users are looking for specific products that they have recently viewed or considered purchasing. Displaying recently searched items allows for a more personalized shopping experience. Users are more likely to find products of interest quickly, contributing to a positive user experience and potentially increasing the likelihood of making a purchase.

7. Flexibility and efficiency of use: Good

Shortcuts — hidden from novice users — may speed up the interaction for the expert user so that the design can cater to both inexperienced and experienced users. Allow users to tailor frequent actions.

The top navigation bar provides a clear and organized structure, categorizing content or products into distinct sections. Users can access different sections of the website directly from the top navigation bar, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple pages. This instant access saves time and reduces the effort. Users can explore different categories with a simple glance at the top navigation bar.

8. Aesthetic and minimalist design: Average

Interfaces should not contain information that is irrelevant or rarely needed. Every extra unit of information in an interface competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility.

On the category pages, Myntra achieves a minimalist aesthetic by carefully curating and presenting a focused selection of products within each category. The use of clean layouts, ample white space, and visually pleasing imagery contributes to a streamlined and uncluttered look.

However, the landing page, being the gateway to a diverse array of categories and promotions, may introduce a higher density of information and visual elements.

9. Help users recognize, diagnose, and recover from errors: Good

Error messages should be expressed in plain language (no error codes), precisely indicate the problem, and constructively suggest a solution.

Myntra prominently displays the availability status of items on product pages. Users can easily discern whether a particular size, color, or variant is in stock. Clear and real-time availability information helps users make informed decisions, reducing frustration associated with out-of-stock items. is transparent about its return policies, and this information is readily accessible on the website. They ensure users are well-informed about the delivery process. Estimated delivery times, shipping costs, and tracking options are prominently displayed during the checkout process.

10. Help and documentation: Average.

It’s best if the system doesn’t need any additional explanation. However, it may be necessary to provide documentation to help users understand how to complete their tasks.

The return policy typically allows users to return products easily within a specified timeframe and the overall process of returning items is very easy. However, it is a bit challenging to find the Customer support or FAQ section as it is at the bottom which makes it hard to locate users. They can improve it by In-App Support chat which can be located easily.

Conclusion.

Following a thorough heuristic study, it is evident that Myntra is a dynamic platform that seamlessly integrates design, functionality, and usability features. Numerous of Nielsen’s heuristics have been effectively implemented by Myntra, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing, resilient, and user-friendly interface. It’s fascinating to see how user input, technical developments, and creative design will influence Myntra’s future as it continues to grow.