Why Do I Prefer Simplicity?

Comparison between cluttered design vs simple design.

I am neither a web designer nor UX expert. This is a simple post to share my preferences/principles in UI design (for both web and mobile), and the reasons. Hopefully, it is able to help people realize the benefits of simplicity as well.

Which layout is preferred?

#A

#B

*Click on the layout of your choice to view the response.

#Say NO to cluttered layout. Why?

• Too many elements to compete for user’s attention.
• Confusing — it increases the time required to complete an action.
• User will not be able to focus on the important information.
• User would usually end up using the search feature to look for the specific information he/she is interested in. Sounds familiar? :)

#Limit to max 3 main colours, and perhaps 1/2 supporting colours. Why?

• Don’t allow too many colours to compete for user’s attention.
• Again, too confusing — user will not be able to figure out the basic meaning/message of each colour, which is usually intuitive. E.g. red — error, green — success etc.
• User would not know where to focus on.