Discussing Invisible Design

Discussing Invisible Design
Great Ndidi

Introduction
What does it mean for design to be invisible?
Discussing Invisible Design - Great Ndidi

“Good design is invisible,
bad design is [insert bad thing here]”
- Dieter Rams (allegedly)

Quotes like this have popped up in many forms over the
past few years.
There are many articles and books written about how to
make your design more invisible, and all of them seem to
spring from the Don’t Make Me Think school, where
usability and efficiency are the highest values we can
achieve in design.

What makes design invisible?

Design becomes invisible when the user no longer
notices what they are doing when using your product
and it becomes second nature to them because it’s so
easy to do.
In your opinion is this always an intentional attribute or
an occasional side effect of a product?

“Suppose, the font used on the road signs all over the state are
replaced with this (show in the next slide).
No one would be able to read the directions at fast moving speed.
They would get confused and probably lost, and would complain
about the awful design these road signs have. But, to this very date,
no one praises the designers of these road signs who gave us an
intuitive design, no one.”
- Cygnis Media

Readiness-at-hand vs. Presence-at-hand.
Martin Heidegger

When you’re using a tool to accomplish
something and you’re not aware of it, that’s
readiness-at-hand — for example, using the
magic mouse.

But when you’re aware of the mouse as a tool, as an
object in itself, that’s presence-at-hand. For
example, imagine the battery running out. You
become cognisant of it as an object in your hand.
You consider its form and colour, which were there
all along.

As a general interaction design principle, striving for
readiness-at-hand is usually a good thing. When the
tool is present-at-hand, it’s usually because something
has gone wrong.

Here’s the tricky part, though: over time and through
repeated use, even some of the most cumbersome
designs can become ready-at-hand.

Readiness-at-hand, à la “invisibility”, while being a
good thing in itself, is not necessarily the mark of good
design. We adapt to clunky, user-unfriendly design all
the time, often without even realising it.

What then is the mark of good design?
Striking a balance

A good place to start would be when a product’s
presence-at-hand (its form and appearance, especially
when idle) doesn’t interfere with its readiness-at-hand,
but also improves or enhances it.

Invisible design is about the decisions we make on
what goes into a product, what stays out, and how to
get users through the experience as efficiently as
possible. If these decisions are made well, and users
can just do what they need to do without scratching
their heads about where to go next — that’s when you
get invisible design that works well.
But there’s also a striking visual layer to design that, in
many cases, shouldn’t be invisible because invisible
can be boring and soulless.

Many minimalists like the concept of invisible design
because they believe that design should be just what’s
necessary and nothing more.
Less is more. Because more would get in the user’s
way.
This is not a bad thing, but is this always true?

Car brands for example build their reputations on
presence-at-hand.
Every car can get you from place to place, but a Ferrari
will cost you more than a Kia. You’ll have readiness-at-
hand driving either of them, but the experience (which
I would argue is a combination of readiness-at-hand
and presence-at-hand) will be quite different (and, not
inconsequentially, different by millions of Naira).

But design difference is not limited to luxury items.
Something as simple as food processor can
accomplish the successful marriage of appearance
and function. A good product can transform for the
better the experience of doing a task. And isn’t that
what experience design is all about?

Sometimes, making things invisible is downright
harmful. Hiding information and controls — even when
infrequently used — can be very disruptive. Not only
are visible designs potentially more valuable, they are
potentially more usable as well.
By reducing presence-at-hand, we sometimes reduce
some readiness-at-hand. This is true of all voice and
some gestural systems, as well as “chat” UIs. Some
friction, some visibility, can be good for usability. If you
can’t figure out how to use a product, its invisibility is
pointless.

The same is true for digital design as well.
Not all interface design scales, and when you go very
minimal, interfaces can lose any sense of tactility and
make it hard to focus.
It’s always a good idea to give you brand or your
interface some warmth, if actual humans are going to
be using it.

Look at brands like MailChimp for example. There’s a
very strong visual aspect to their designs, full of
humanity and emotion.
But there is still an invisible side too — the functionality
to create newsletters needs to be as invisible as
possible — but it’s not an either/or situation. Invisible
and visible design go hand in hand to create an
appropriate product experience.

There are three great themes in design: making
something easier, making something look good, and
making something possible.

“Designs that makes technology completely
seamless to the user often deserve admiration. But
can we balance our desire for intuitiveness with a
wider recognition that some tasks are complex,
some interactions must be learned, and sometimes
the goal isn’t invisible technology but appropriate
visibility?”
- Karen McGrane

Friction, but in a good way
Some examples of “visible” design

“When the product itself is so pleasurable to use
that it makes the activity more pleasurable,
that’s good design.”
- Dan Saffer

Credits
• Dan Saﬀer, The Myth of Invisible Design - https://bit.ly/2Kd12HB

• Elezea, Is Good Design Invisible or Not- https://bit.ly/2YSWNoE

• Cygnis Media, Good Design is Invisible Bad design is everywhere-
https://bit.ly/2ptghif

• Absurd Illustrations - https://bit.ly/30UhdzD

• Zambezi, Stance & Star Wars - https://bit.ly/2YXTdtG

• Daren, Yeti Login Interaction- https://bit.ly/2PrGD4P

Discussing Invisible Design

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