Understandable

#8 - Jun.2021

One of Dieter Rams' timeless principles of good design is:

Good design makes a product understandable

"It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product talk. At best, it is self-explanatory."

From physical to software-based products, this principle is a great reminder of our goal anytime we design a new experience. One practical way of applying this mental model is knowing how affordances work.

What is your expectation when you see a light switch button on a wall? It either turns something on or off, right? It's just obvious.

Affordances are embedded properties within an object that simply show the user the actions they can take. When you leverage common affordances on your design users just know what to do - no instructions needed.

But when your design fails to the promise of common affordances you get frustration and irritation. Users feel like they failed.

Make it predictable. Make it understandable.