UX And Behavioral Economics

You don’t need better UX. You need fewer decisions 🚀 Founders love to say their product needs “better UX.” So they bring in designers to polish onboarding, clean up the UI, or add clever microcopy. But the core problem remains the same: using the product still feels like work. If you look at most products today, they feel like decision trees (especially SaaS tools). They’re packed with small choices: → Which plan should I pick? → Do I need this setting? → What happens if I click that? And while each little decision seems harmless on its own, they add up and the product starts feeling more like a quiz than a tool. One of my biggest hacks as a designer was to learn that you need to design for the laziest, most impatient user possible. If it works for them, it’ll work for anyone. The old playbook said: “Make decisions easier.” The new one says: Only present decisions when they matter. Default the rest. Automate what you can. The goal isn’t to eliminate choice but reduce the ones that don’t add value. Give users control when it matters, not when they’re just trying to get something done. Good UX isn’t about more clarity. It’s about less cognitive load. The moment you start realizing that, everything changes. That’s also how we try to design at Lovable. When users build with our AI, we try to handle as much as possible in the background. While most tools expect you to set up everything manually, we flip the model. You describe what you want & we handle the rest for you. Based on pure intend. → Want a dashboard? Say it. → Need Google login + Supabase? Say it. → Ready to publish? Just say it. You chat & Lovable builds. And it’s not just UI, we handle logic, backend, and integrations too. Think about products that feel effortless in your day to day. They constantly make smart choices for you: → Apple Pay defaults to your most-used card → Notion AI suggests starting points → Linear pre-fills fields based on context That’s not just “good UX.” It's context-aware UX. OpenAI’s new agent is another perfect example. You don’t click through menus or tweak settings. You just say: “Book me a flight to Berlin next Thursday.” And it’s done. People don’t want more options. They want faster outcomes. They want control without the effort. So here's my take: Great UX means reducing decisions. Hiding complexity and making the product feel like it already knows what the user wants. Because the less someone has to think, the faster they can move. And the best products in the world don't just pretend to look smart, but act smart. If your product still feels like work, it’s not a UX problem. It’s a decision problem. So design for fewer choices and smarter defaults. Super excited to hear your take. Comment below!

🧠 How To Reduce Cognitive Load In UX. How people make choice, how to make products less demanding — and dismantling some UX myths ↓ 🤔 People go through a huge number of choices every day. ✅ We’re very efficient in scanning, skimming and skipping. ✅ Users often rely on small “islands” of sections to use daily. ✅ Experts often prefer to see all options or features at once. ✅ People are happier by choosing from a small set of choices. 🤔 The biggest challenge isn’t managing too many options. ✅ The problem is how poorly organized these options are. ✅ It’s also having too many *similar* options to choose from. 🤔 Similar options → users get confused, frustrated, paralyzed. 🚫 Number of clicks/taps are poor indicators of good/bad UX. 🚫 Don’t enforce users to keep information in working memory. ✅ Avoid sliding panels/overlays: show content in split screens. ✅ Run card sorting on features, filters, attributes, menu items. ✅ Break down complex decisions in a set of smaller decisions. ✅ Flows with more pages might work better than 1 single page. UX is filled with confusing misconceptions and myths. Beware of the “3-clicks-rule” as users typically don’t mind an extra click if it’s clear and predictable — and as long as it’s not repetitive or slows down their daily workflow. Also, don’t rely on “7±2 rule” for navigation: it’s not about the number of navigation items, but how many of those we have to keep in our working memory. People don’t always use your product the way you imagined they would. In fact, it's common to see people using only small portions of a complex product frequently — almost identifying small islands of clarity that help them in their daily work, while avoiding obscure or daunting parts of the product because they haven’t managed to learn how to use them yet. But once they do learn how to use them, their efficiency grows, and so do their expectations of how customizable, flexible and sophisticated the feature should be. There, it's not about the number of features or clicks or taps or how many items they can keep in their working memory. It's about a highly accurate mapping of how people think and how the interface works. And: expert software must be complex as it must match the complexity of the real world. It requires a vast number of attributes, settings, views, panels, data points. However, complex products don’t have to be complicated in use if they make sense to end users, and they can be proficient with them. There, the worst thing we can do as designers is to oversimplify. We shouldn’t assume that people always struggle with complexity. They struggle with products they don’t understand. They also learn products and navigational paths over time, making tremendous progress in just a few days. Help users avoid confusion and make fewer mistakes, and they will use even complex products effortlessly over time. [Sources and resources in the comments below ↓]

When someone lands on your site, every extra word, button, or menu is a cognitive tax. Take this landing page comparison: Attio - keeps the load light • One navigation bar • 12 words in total for the header + sub-header • 9 clickable exits above the fold • Lots of whitespace • Sneak peak at product imagery The result = focus 🧘♀️ HubSpot - seems to have many cooks in the kitchen • Two navigation bars at the top • 50% more words (24 words in the header + subheader) • 13 clickable exits above the fold • Bigger chat widgets • Lifestyle imagery instead of whitespace The result = distraction 🐿️ With busier pages comes higher cognitive load, the paradox of choice, and decision paralysis 🧠 In real terms: if someone pauses even a split second more and doesn’t act, they’re more likely to bounce. And this isn’t just true for landing pages - it applies to pricing pages, homepages, dashboards… anywhere with competing priorities 👩🍳 👩🍳 👩🍳 It’s easy to add, hard to cut. ✂️ Good design isn’t what you add, it’s what you remove (or don't add in the first place). So ask yourself: What's the 30% you can remove from your page? 🗑️

We design for the average. The average doesn’t exist. April is Autism Acceptance Month. Designing for autism is about building products that work for everyone. Cognitive overload affects everyone. Your brain has limits, and more noise can affect how you perceive things. For some autistic users, this is constant and amplified. Many rely on digital products to navigate daily life. Yet most interfaces ignore them. So what happens? We design experiences that overwhelm the people who need them most. And if your product overwhelms autistic users, it’s exhausting everyone else. Here are 5 principles to get you started: 1. Consistent Structure Keep navigation, layout, and UI patterns identical across your entire product. Why: Sudden changes cause anxiety and disorientation. Example: Shopping cart stays in the top-right corner across every page. 2. Literal Communication Use plain, direct language. Skip idioms and metaphors. Why: Vague language requires guessing and creates confusion Example: "Your payment was declined. Check your card number and try again." 3. Sensory Calm Use muted, natural colours. Avoid pure black/white and bright contrasts. Why: Extreme contrast and bright colours cause sensory overload Example: Dashboard with soft beige background, dark grey text, and 3-4 clearly separated sections 4. User Control Default to sound off. Allow people to pause, stop, or disable animations. Why: Sensory needs vary greatly, and customization prevents overload. Example: Toggles for reduced motion, dark mode, font size, and autoplay off by default. 5. Predictable Interactions Provide clear feedback and progress indicators so users always know where they are. Why: Unexpected interruptions trigger anxiety and break focus. Example: Multi-step form shows "Step 2 of 4" with a progress bar, confirms "Your information was saved" after each step. Better design starts with understanding. 👇🏽What would you add to this list? 🔖 Save this for reference ♻️ Share it with your team ---- ✉️ Subscribe for more accessibility and design insights: https://lnkd.in/gZpAzWSu ---- Accessibility note: This infographic, titled Designing for Autism has the same content as the post. It also includes alt text.

Imagine this: you’re filling out a survey and come across a question instructing you to answer 1 for Yes and 0 for No. As if that wasn't bad enough, the instructions are at the top of the page, and when you scroll to answer some of the questions, you’ve lost sight of what 1 and 0 means. Why is this an accessibility fail? Memory Burden: Not everyone can remember instructions after scrolling, especially those with cognitive disabilities or short-term memory challenges. Screen Readers: For people using assistive technologies, the separation between the instructions and the input field creates confusion. By the time they navigate to the input, the context might be lost. Universal Design: It’s frustrating and time-consuming to repeatedly scroll up and down to confirm what the numbers mean. You can improve this type of survey by: 1. Placing clear labels next to each input (e.g., "1 = Yes, 0 = No"). 2. Better yet, use intuitive design and replace numbers with a combo box or radio buttons labeled "Yes" and "No." 3. Group the questions by topic. 4. Use headers and field groups to break them up for screen reader users. 5. Only display five or six at a time so people don't get overwhelmed and bail out. 6. Ensure instructions remain visible or are repeated near the question for easy reference. Accessibility isn’t just a "nice to have." It’s critical to ensure everyone can participate. Don’t let bad design create barriers and invalidate your survey results. Alt: A screen shot of a survey containing numerous questions with an instructing you to answer 1 for Yes and 0 for No. The instruction is written at the top and it gets lost when you scroll down to answer other questions. #AccessibilityFailFriday #AccessibilityMatters #InclusiveDesign #UXBestPractices #DigitalAccessibility

Accessibility isn't always visible. We've gotten better at recognizing physical barriers like ramps, elevators, and automatic doors. But, many of the barriers people navigate every day?! You can't see them. Cognitive overload Sensory sensitivities Anxiety in high-pressure environments Information that is technically available, but impossible to process. These are accessibility barriers too. If we only design for what we can see, we unintentionally exclude people whose needs are less visible, but just as real. Designing for people with invisible disabilities means asking different questions. -Is this information easy to understand? Or is it just available? -Does this space assume everyone processes stimuli the same way? -Are we creating environments that overwhelm, rush, or silence people? Because accessibility isn't just about compliance. It's about experience. When we design for the margins and account for cognitive, sensory, and mental health realities, we don't just support a few people, we make things better for everyone. That's what inclusive design actually looks like. #Accessibility #PwDs #AODA #InclusiveDesign #PeopleWithDisabilities #Neurodiversity #MentalHealthAtWork #UniversalDesign #WorkplaceInclusion #HumAnCenteredDesign #Belonging #DiversityAndInclusion #AllThingsEquitable

🎭 Accessibility isn’t just a checkbox. It’s a catalyst for innovation. Last year, I created the first accessible HTML Playbill. This year, I coordinated the Playbill for Oliver! The Musical. And the curb cut effect showed up in full force. On opening night, the printer broke. The next day, the network went down. No printed programs. No network. But because I had already built an accessible HTML version for this show, we had a fast-loading, mobile-friendly program ready to go. I added a QR code, step-by-step instructions, and URLs for folks unfamiliar with QR tech. It loaded quickly on a finicky network and people could view it in low light during the show when it's too dark to see the printed program. The organization later added a QR code to a PDF version. If I could do it again, I’d direct people to the accessible version. At the top of that version, I'd link to the PDF version. This lets people choose between the faster loading page on mobile devices in a building with a poor connection or the full image program. This is the curb cut effect: a solution designed for accessibility that benefits everyone. And it’s also a reminder ... Hire us. Involve us. Disabled people bring lived experience that leads to creative, practical, and inclusive solutions. We don’t just advocate for accessibility. We design and build it. Accessibility isn’t charity. It’s a strategy. Want resilient systems? Involve disabled problem-solvers. If you're a person with a disability or have worked with disabled collaborators, what unexpected value do disabled people bring to the table? Accessibility isn’t just about compliance. It’s about creativity, resilience, and insight. If you’re ready to build smarter, more inclusive systems, drop a comment or DM. 🔔 Tap profile bell (You may need to do it again. LinkedIn reset it.) 👉 Follow #MerylMots for past posts #UserExperience #Accessibility The image shows what the signs looked like: "Oliver! Playbill" with four steps. A box where the QR code appeared and the URL beneath it.

Controversial take: Most digital products show TOO MUCH information at once.🔥 You can see how we simplified this order details card by removing unnecessary elements. The before version bombarded users with every possible detail - creating cognitive overload and making it harder to find what actually matters. In our redesign, • Prioritized essential information users need most • Removed redundant elements • Created a clear visual hierarchy The result? Users found what they needed 43% faster in usability testing. Sometimes the best UX improvement isn't adding new features—it's thoughtfully removing what doesn't serve the core user need. Before/After

A good example of why “technically accessible” does not always mean “cognitively accessible.” These settings controls appear fully active, focusable and styled as enabled. But attempting to change the temperature setting triggers a message requiring “functional cookies” to be enabled first. The issue is the hidden dependency. Users must understand: 1. Why a temperature preference depends on cookies 2. What “functional cookies” means 3. Where to change that setting 4. How to return and retry the task For many users, especially people with ADHD, dyslexia, autism, cognitive fatigue or low digital confidence this can disrupt the mental model completely. The interface communicates "You can change this." Whilst system behaviour communicates "Not unless you already understood an unrelated technical requirement." That creates friction right there! There is also an emotional accessibility consideration here. The strong red warning colour and alert styling communicates danger, failure and critical error ….but the user has done nothing wrong. At COGAI®, I often talk about the fact that emotional load is part of cognitive load. Colour alone is rarely an efficient or sufficient UI signal, particularly when the colour itself may increase anxiety or imply user failure rather than guidance. A system can satisfy technical WCAG requirements while still creating confusion, hesitation and abandonment through interaction design alone. Accessibility is not only about whether users can interact. It is also about whether interactions remain understandable, predictable, and psychologically safe. --- Alt text: Graphic titled "When WCAG Compliance Isn’t Enough" showing a BBC settings screen where a temperature dropdown appears enabled but displays a red warning message requiring functional cookies to change the setting.