Good Design is Always Invisible

Daily UX #5

The design languages for both Google Material Design and Apple Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) are absolutely gorgeous. We interact with them daily and because both design languages are so meticulously thought-out and crafted, we rarely notice them, because good design is always invisible.

I had the wonderful privilege to be invited into the Two Tall Totems office in Downtown Vancouver yesterday, and was immediately challenged with many design questions - one of which stood out to me.

On the left, I was presented with an iOS screenshot (the below is just an example, they didn’t actually show me this exact screenshot):

On the right, was an Android version of the same screen, similar to this:

The question was, what are the differences, and why are they different?

As most designers know, HIG has always had a bottom-nav, simply because iOS devices do not have physical or on-screen back buttons at the bottom. In addition to that, it’s within the prime real estate for thumb interaction.

After I quickly pointed that out, I explained why Material Design has the nav-bar at the top and not at the bottom - users may mistakenly tap Back when they tap Home. It also becomes a headache for the user to filter through 8 button options (LinkedIn nav-bar options + Android nav options) and manage to have the dexterity to actually select the intended button.

But there was also one ‘invisible’ design interaction that Material Design prides itself on: swiping left-to-right. In the Android screen above, you can also swipe left-to-right to navigate the app from Home, Me, Messages, and vice versa.

The problem? You see those cards in the middle, where you can swipe left to hide, and right to delete your connections’ new job announcements because you’re envious of them? That’s what I didn’t catch. The user has to be so specific as to place their fingers onto the card and swipe to hide/delete them; otherwise, they could be heading into Notifications or Me. LinkedIn does a stellar job here because the touch target of the card is substantial, but I’m sure you can find apps that try and mimic this interaction with no avail.

I realized that there’s no point in this article, other than good design is always invisible, but the bad will always be apparent.

What are some minor interactions that you have encountered, that could be fixed with a little bit of thought?