Don't make me think!

Mon 15 February 2016 by Thejaswi Puthraya

Steve Krug is renowned user experience professional and is the author of several popular books in this area. "Don't make me think!" is his most widely read book. I was recommended this book by a designer in response to my query on designing better online experiences.

I picked up the 2nd edition of the book and though it is dated, quite a few problems outlined are still prevalent. Steve Krug's first law states that the "Raison d'ĂȘtre" of every designer should be to not make their users think. The cognitive load of using a website should be low and the design should lead the user into solving their own problems.

Quite a few design patterns and best practices are discussed in the book with the help of examples but some of these are not recommended any more.

It's a very good book to get you started into asking the right questions for building good user experiences. Hopefully, I will get a chance to apply what I have learnt soon.