Decluttering Design: Tips For a Clear & Effective UI/UX
Today’s digital landscape can be a lot to process for our brains – plenty of information, design elements, colors, and other stimuli can often leave us drained and affect our user experience. This is where UI/UX plays a major role: it can support users in navigating a website easily and learning their way around in no time, or it can complicate their interaction and drive them away. To create a UI/UX that resonates with users and guides them seamlessly through their journey, it is essential to declutter the design.
by
enovatika
•
9 min read
Cognitive load – respecting our brain’s processing capacity
Before going into details about decluttering methods, it is important to understand why we need to do it. The term cognitive load was first coined in psychology, and it refers to the mental effort required to learn new information and the amount of working memory used. If the amount of information that needs to be processed exceeds the user’s ability, the overall performance suffers, and the cognitive load is too high.
Steve Krug, in his influential book “Don’t Make Me Think”, was the first to apply cognitive load theory in design. There are many great tips in the book on how to reduce cognitive load for users, such as:
- Keep it simple: the primary principle of the book is that good UI should be self-explanatory and easy to understand at a glance. Avoid unnecessary complexity and make sure the interface's purpose is clear from the outset;
- Create a clear visual hierarchy: use visual cues like size, color, and placement to establish a clear information hierarchy. Users should be able to identify the most important elements and their relationships quickly;
- Minimize choices: limit the number of options presented to the user at any time. Too many choices can overwhelm users and make decision-making difficult;
- Use conventions and consistency: stick to established design conventions and patterns. Consistency throughout the interface reduces cognitive load as users don't have to learn new ways of doing things;
- Eliminate unnecessary clutter: remove elements that do not serve a clear purpose or add value to the user experience. Clutter distracts users and increases cognitive load.
Today we will focus on the last point: how we can eliminate unnecessary clutter so that users can navigate a website or app without getting overwhelmed by the experience.
What does a cluttered design look like?
To understand how to simplify the user experience and interface, we need to recognize the tell-tale signs of a cluttered design. A cluttered UI/UX design overwhelms users with excessive elements, making it difficult for them to find what they need or understand how to interact with the interface. It may include the following issues:
- Too many elements: an interface filled with an abundance of buttons, icons, images, and text that lack hierarchy can create visual clutter and confusion;
- Chaotic layout: poor organization and lack of grouping for related elements can lead to a jumbled appearance;
- Complex navigation: overly complicated navigation structures, multiple menus, and confusing links can make it challenging for users to find their way around the application or website;
- Unnecessary animation: excessive animations or micro-interactions can distract users from their tasks;
- Inconsistent design: frequent changes in design elements, such as color, typography, and icon styles, can create a messy user experience;
- Information overload: too much information on a single page without proper organization and sufficient spacing can overwhelm users and hinder their ability to absorb essential content;
- No white space: a UI that lacks adequate white space between elements can appear cramped and disorganized.
Less is more … more or less.
It’s easy to get carried away during the design process, especially if too many elements must be integrated into the interface or user experience. Here are some things to keep in mind to keep your design simple and easy to understand while still having space for playfulness and experimentation:
Understand your users
User-centricity is the main principle behind UX design. It all begins with the user and their needs, so before you start decluttering, make sure you understand your target audience. Analyze their needs, preferences, and pain points to learn the most critical elements of the design. Conduct a UI/UX audit to identify unnecessary and confusing elements. Once you know the areas needing improvement, the decluttering work will flow more easily.
Prioritize
Not all elements share the same importance. Now that you understand what users want and need from your design identify the essential content and features that align with your users' goals. Ensure that these elements are prominently displayed and easily accessible, and build a clear visual hierarchy to help you organize and decide what goes where.
Apply progressive disclosure techniques.
Once you prioritize the design elements, you can manage non-essential ones through progressive disclosure techniques. Progressive disclosure is an interaction design pattern that makes applications easier to learn and less error-prone by deferring advanced or rarely-used features to a secondary screen. Don’t be afraid to hide less important information behind a click – users can focus more easily, while the interface will look simpler and cleaner.
Embrace white space
White space, or negative space, is the breathing room between elements in a design. Embracing white space makes the UI appear more elegant, organized, and less overwhelming. It also helps users focus on the content that matters most. Resist the urge to fill every inch of the screen and strategically use white space to enhance the overall user experience.
Keep it simple
Visual decorations and embellishments only work if they don’t over-complicate or overwhelm the design. When adding extra elements, try to identify if they add value or more weight to the overall aesthetics.
Stick to a limited color palette that reflects your brand’s identity. Use clear and consistent typography, choosing a few easy-to-read complementary fonts to maintain consistency and avoid visual noise. Use minimalist icons with clear meanings and purpose and clear, descriptive labels for menu items and buttons, ensuring users understand where each link will lead them.
When in doubt, try stripping the design back as much as possible. Does it still make sense? Is the main information shining through? If so, you have found the recipe for a good, uncluttered design.
Decluttering design is not about trends or aesthetics but prioritizing users’ needs and comfort while offering them an intuitive and pleasant user experience.
Here at enovatika, we love to keep things simple and bold, so if you need a serious declutter for your website or app but don’t know where to start, let’s talk!
Share this article
enovatika is a UI/UX design & development agency in Timisoara, Romania. We partner with Startups, SMBs, and SMEs to deliver impactful web and mobile applications worldwide.
Learn more
