Re:Minimalist Affordances: Making the Right Tradeoffs
by two_handfuls on Thursday November 09, 2023 @08:48AM
(#38204914)
> Usability and aesthetics usually go hand in hand.
Hold on right there. In my experience, the two are in tension. Here is a number of “prettifications” that made UI harder to use:
- removing the underline in menu items: prettier, but now we don’t know which key to press to open the menu.
- removing the frame around windows: prettier, but now I don’t know if I’ll be resizing the window or pressing the “hang up” button that goes right to the edge.
- window title bars that no longer change color when in focus: prettier, but now I don’t know which window has focus.
- buttons without a 3D effect or even a border at all: prettier but now we don’t know what is a button or not.
Hold on right there. In my experience, the two are in tension. Here is a number of “prettifications” that made UI harder to use:
- removing the underline in menu items: prettier, but now we don’t know which key to press to open the menu.
- removing the frame around windows: prettier, but now I don’t know if I’ll be resizing the window or pressing the “hang up” button that goes right to the edge.
- window title bars that no longer change color when in focus: prettier, but now I don’t know which window has focus.
- buttons without a 3D effect or even a border at all: prettier but now we don’t know what is a button or not.