UX for Beginners

Chapter 50. How Experience Changes Experience

New users and experienced users will see your design differently.

Power Users Are the Minority

Statistically-speaking, it is impossible for advanced or power users to be “most” of the people using your design; although it can be very tempting to believe that.

Unless your product/service is highly technical, the vast majority of your users will be normal people with other stuff to do. Not super-focused, tech-savvy people like you and your colleagues.

Hard Truth

If you want millions of happy users, design for the distracted idiots, not the obsessed geniuses.

Hidden versus Visible: The Paradox of Choice

In most projects, there will be situations where you have to decide how “clean” you want your layout to be. Designers will usually choose to hide everything because it looks better. Non-designers will want all of their favorite features to be visible all of the time, which will be a different set of features for each person.

So, how do you choose?

Visible features will always be used more and discovered more than hidden features. We are reminded that they exist every time we see them. However, the “Paradox of Choice” says the more options you see, the less likely you are to choose any of them. So, if you overload normal users with too many choices, they will freak out and run away screaming.

Make sure beginners can find the core features easily. Ideally, without clicking anything. And try to give power users easy access to advanced features, even ...