Many aspiring designers have the ambition to stand out from the crowd by producing fancy mockups that eventually end up among hundreds of similar posts on Medium, Behance or Dribbble. As a result, the Internet is overflowing with designs that all too often place form above content, function and context, and in which one searches in vain for a template of a good, user-friendly interface.
Good design, however, is invisible and dateless. It does not have to prove anything to anyone. It is like a Buddhist monk who, dressed in traditional robes, does one thing at a time and looks for an outlet for his creativity. Perhaps it is worth rising above the Western chaos to look at the seven principles of Zen aesthetics and search for universal, timeless values that can be transferred to software engineering.
Seijaku (静寂)
calmness, stillness, silence
We have all become so accustomed to the ubiquitous hype that hardly anyone notices its harmfulness. Self-playing videos, incessant adverts, omnipresent alerts that the user is blocking ads, overzealous chat rooms with useless assistants, ceaseless attempts to recruit subscribers, unending requests to turn on notifications, abundant animations and forms asking for a shoe number.
On a case-by-case basis, the call for attention may seem tempting, but on a broader scale it adds cognitive weight, increases stress and reduces the chance that a user will order a garden pool with a giraffe-shaped slide right from the shop. On the business side, more distractions add more elements that need to be planned, designed and executed, as well as maintained.
Bear in mind that by producing peaceful programming, you create a relaxed audience who cannot help but fall in love with your creation.
Datsuzoku (脱俗)
unbounded by convention, free, break from routine, escape from the ordinary
On the Internet, next to products that you forget a minute after closing the bookmark, you will find some that you are happy to share on Slack since they stand out because of the very idea, graphics, witty messages or the level of content. A pinch of subtle humour in a message about completing an order for a diamond necklace will not relegate an exclusive jewellery shop to the status of a market stall, but will reduce the distance between the business and the recipient.
While you probably have limited influence on very specialised aspects of the system, your voice is very often important in discussions about information architecture, design, animation, content sound, sound selection, right down to the little surprises contained in the source code. Just remember not to leave your sensitive data anywhere.
Shizen (自然)
naturalness, natural, without pretense
Just as the world has its ordered, mathematical dimension, good design does not happen by chance. A good product is the result of understanding and taming nature and giving it a form in accordance with the intention and purpose. While software as a set of files has little connection with nature, the effect of the code has a chance to correspond with your environment.
You have probably noticed that operating any device comes much easier to you if something similar has fallen into your hands before, or if the device mimics a natural situation. Then, if the user has to fill out a form without the help of a multi-page manual, think about arranging and signing the fields in a way that people might be used to. Take inspiration from both forms used in different institutions, similar questionnaires found on the web, and documents from everyday situations.
Sometimes you just need to imagine how users would achieve a given goal in the analogue world and translate those actions into a simple app interface to win their hearts.
Fukinsei (不均斉)
asymmetry, irregularity
No one is perfectly symmetrical. Apart from the distribution of the internal organs, each half of the human body has a slightly different size, shape and function. And no one always behaves in the same way — not least a Buddhist monk.
On the visual level, asymmetry allows for effective use of space on the screen, introduces tension, dynamism to the composition, helps stimulate the user’s curiosity and excitement, and shows them the hierarchy of elements, the sequence of steps needed to perform a task. Imperfection also gives a sense of a familiar, personal relationship with the object — overly sophisticated ideas can intimidate users.
Furthermore, the use of the application should not follow a uniform, monotonous rhythm. The user should know when everything is going smoothly and when something that requires their reaction comes up or when they are on the verge of doing something stupid. And when the system has a problem that is beyond the user’s competence, let them know that it’s break time.
Total symmetry does not exist in nature. Otherwise, the world would not only be boring, but above all dangerous. As a creator, your role is to accept these inequalities and communicate them in an effective way.
Yūgen (幽玄)
mysterious sense of beauty in the world, subtly profound grace, not obvious
Sometimes, it seems that the simplest solution would be to tell everything at once: all the content, all the functions, options and animations. But how long can you hold the other person’s interest if you just serve everything up on a plate?
By revealing just a hint of the mystery, you build up a tension comparable to one the reader has when turning the pages of a fascinating book. You allow curiosity to be aroused, initial hopes to be built up for the next step (or hidden part), which will then be confronted with actual impressions. This is your chance to exceed those expectations with the quality of the content, the efficiency of the operation, the solution to the user’s problem — the attention to detail that will trigger a moment of enlightenment. Or at least the satisfaction of time well spent. You can also, for example, invite the user to enter their own content, which will later be used in the system. In this way, you will put them in the role of a co-author and deepen their relation to the product.
It is sometimes worthwhile to apply a similar procedure with the client at the stage of specification, deliberately leaving a few doors open, barely sketched ideas which draw the client into a joint discussion. Such a client is more likely to abandon the “I pay, therefore I demand” mentality, actively creating a product as a member of the project team, not just the giver of the vision to which they are often emotionally attached.
Kansō (簡素)
simplicity, elimination of clutter
Kansō can be seen as a complement to the concept of silence, i.e. an invitation to remove all extraneous factors and obstacles scattered along the path of the user and to reduce the elements to a minimum, where nothing more can be subtracted. It is also worth swapping decorative means of artistic expression for ordering according to a few simple rules in order to convey the message efficiently and in a no-frills manner.
Human sight tends to group objects that are similar to one another. The greater the similarity, the more coherent the image forms in the user’s mind. This way, you only need to change one property of a single object to emphasise its uniqueness. For our brain to read a set of elements as a single entity, it is enough if they lie close to one another. You can also place them in a common space, such as a frame, a row of tables, or a plane hovering over the view, to highlight the connectivity between these parts. Giving individual characteristics (e.g. colours, icons) to elements in subgroups will help the user to categorise and identify them. If elements in a subgroup are scattered across the screen, the user will still interpret them as related. Even if the elements are incomplete, our brain will make up for the lack.
Applying these rules takes a bit of practice, but you’ll quickly learn that sometimes all you need to do to make the interface clear is to take care of the margins.
Kōko (考古)
basic, weathered, austerity
Good design does not need to be exaggerated, grandiose or extravagant. It also does not try to offend or ridicule if the product offering does not meet the user’s needs. It does not try to pretend to be something it is not if it does not support a positive user experience. A map shows a plan of a selected area, a search engine searches a particular collection for a given keyword, and a news service presents the latest news in a specific field. Nothing more, nothing less, and all in a manner familiar to the user from the popular template.
Leaving aside websites or applications that are art for art’s sake, what is more important from the user’s point of view: the content or its packaging? The fact that they can quickly and conveniently order a garden pool with a slide in the shape of a giraffe, or the fact that the controls on the order form were fancier than in a beverage dispenser shop? It is likely that the user will only notice these innovations when they are difficult to use, which can be particularly noticeable in cases of people with disabilities.
Therefore, at every stage of product or service creation it is worth referring to commonly available solutions as those that have been battle-tested. And when deciding on a single pattern, style, colour palette, tone of messages — implement them consistently throughout the service to provide the user with a consistent image throughout the entire experience.
Now take a deep breath…
Software development is an individual group sport, and the result of the team’s work is the sum of the experience of the client, the group representing the users, but most of all — the members of the project team. Regardless of your role in the process, by shaping the elements of the system, you take responsibility for everything that goes with it.
…and exhale.
You can blindly add more interface elements, or you can stop for a moment and take a deep breath to make a positive change with a calm mind and a steady hand. How you unleash your creative potential is entirely up to you.
Use it well!
Do not meditate too much alone.
Let’s talk!
Head of UX who loves making sense of noise, searching for trends and inspirations, and exploring the humane face of technology. Justyna shares her passion not only within Makimo but also as a lecturer at UEHS, Warsaw, and a co-host of the Let the Tech Out podcast. She writes her own story not only using words and pixels but also brush strokes, seams, knitting stitches, yoga asanas and running miles.
