Viet Tran presents
DON’T MAKE ME THINK
Key ideas from Steve Krug’s classic on usability
Make it self-evident
A good page answers “what is this, and what can I do here?” at a glance. Every question a visitor has to stop and ask costs a little attention — and a little trust.
People scan, they don’t read
Visitors skim for words that match what they came for. Design pages like billboards: clear headings, short chunks and links that look like links.
The first reasonable option wins
People rarely compare every choice; they click the first thing that looks like it might work. Make the right path the most obvious one.
People muddle through
Most users never learn how a product really works — they find something that works well enough and stick with it. Don’t count on them reading instructions.
Conventions are your friend
Logo top-left, a magnifier for search, a cart for shopping. Familiar patterns cost no thought; break them only when the new way is clearly better.
Show what matters with hierarchy
Make important things more prominent, group things that belong together and keep related items close. Then a page is understood before it is read.
Cut the words
Drop the welcome speeches, the instructions nobody reads and the filler. Fewer words make the useful ones easier to find.
Navigation is a set of signposts
Visitors should always know where they are, what is here and where they can go next. Clear page names and a visible “you are here” do most of the work.
Count effort, not clicks
Three easy, obvious clicks beat one click that makes people hesitate. What wears users out is doubt, not distance.
Test early, with a few real people
Watch three people try your product every month. In one afternoon you will find the problems that matter most — long before launch.
“Clarity is a form of respect.”
LET’S CREATE TOGETHER
Have a product, a brand or a big idea? I’d love to hear about it.
Brain model: “Brain Model” by Nevit Dilmen, NIH 3D, CC BY-SA — sampled into points.