

Ask HN: UI Designers, How do you keep things looking SIMPLE? - delany


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nickler
Here are some tricks I use.

First, turn away from your monitor, the visuals will distract you from your
prime goal, which is to isolate the necessary CTA's on your page.

Create a hierarchy of CTA's. Then go through and challenge your assumptions
there. Once complete, look at any of those CTA's that aren't required to be
readily accessed, or make better sense somewhere else.

Always look to remove options, add clarity, and refine your CTA's to a simple
message.

Building a workflow diagram can be helpful, but it's critical when pursuing
simplicity to try and adhere to a 'form follows function' approach. That is,
when you create an object, is it a CTA, does it inform, or does it create more
options?

Many sites need to inform, so treat it like the elevator pitch, and you have 8
seconds to get a conversion (click). Any other information that doesn't send
them to a conversion is noise, remove it. You can sell once you have their
attention, so get it first, then direct them to a CTA.

The end result is always a matter of individual style, but the principles of
design across all discipline is unified by the form following function mantra.

The famous quote applies. 'The artist knows when he is finished because there
is nothing left to add. The designer is finished when there is nothing left to
take away'.

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delany
With a complicated app or site, are there any good methods for boiling it down
to the essence?

