Author: Susan Weinschenk

You are, unfortunately, working late at night again. You have a report due in the morning but it isn’t quite done, so you’re sitting in your home office trying to finish it. You decide to take a short break from the report and read one of the blogs you try and keep up with. You…

If you’ve ever had to name a button on a website, app, or landing page, then you’ve probably had the moment where you’re going back and forth between options. “Sign up” or “Register”? “Order” or “Shopping cart”? Is there a way to word these requests, actions, or buttons that encourages people to take action? Gregory…

For years, I—and most other designers I know—have believed, and written, and taught that if you want whatever you’re designing to be easy to understand and use, then you have to make it easy to read. You have to use a font size that’s large enough, a font type that’s plain and not too decorative,…

If you’ve ever deleted some information and then realized that you didn’t want to delete it and tried to undo the action you will realize how important feedback is to humans. The computer doesn’t need to tell you that it in fact reversed the action and your files are still there. But the human needs…

People don’t like being bored. It’s boring to be bored. People prefer taking action because it provides a sense of control and reduces uncertainty. One of the reasons that modern apps and social media are so popular is that they are easy to use in situations where you are waiting and would normally be bored,…