Title: “90% of your users are idiots”
Context: It’s not really that 90% of your users are idiots, it’s that’s just how they prefer to be treated.
Synopsis: We make decisions all the time based on how we think our end users will behave. We try to put ourselves in their shoes and forget everything that we know about the thing we are designing and think – in good conscious – “what would I do now?” But is that the right question we should be asking? Would we be better off asking “what the hell is this button for?” Or, “why are there 4 choices here on this options pane?” Even, “why did I have pancakes for breakfast? Now my fingers are all sticky from the syrup.” The truth is that being treated like an idiot is not always a bad thing. Limit the choices. Make the workflow foolproof. Take away superfluous UI elements. Or – as it is known in politically correct UX circles – simplify, simplify, simplify…
Best Bit: “And, in good conscience, don’t you want to be an idiot when you’re on the other side of the screen? I do! I want to be an idiot!”
via jitbit.com
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