Designing for Complex Technology — How Simplicity is Key

11 min readJul 25, 2023

In an age of ever-increasing complexity, it’s easy to forget the importance of simplicity in digital products. We often take for granted the simple yet powerful experiences we have with Google search, iPhones, and WhatsApp.

But what makes these products so effective? It’s not just design — it’s design simplicity. Design simplicity is about creating clear and intuitive user interfaces that deliver a specific user experience quickly and efficiently. But how do you recognize this type of product design and tap into its power?

In this post, we’ll explore the concept of design simplicity and put it in action. So let’s jump right in!

What does “Design Simplicity” mean when designing?

Designing with simplicity is daunting, especially when designing for complex technology. But it’s an essential part of creating a user experience that’s both efficient and meaningful.

At its core, design simplicity is all about considering the user’s technical or abstract objectives. It provides the clearest path to achieving those goals with minimal steps and maximum clarity.

Design aesthetics play an essential role in keeping users engaged. But it should never come at the expense of the user experience. Skillful use of visuals, video elements, and UI micro-interactions can bring a clean and sleek look while ensuring the interface is easy to navigate. But truly masterful design simplifies technology by considering all these pieces as interconnected parts of a larger puzzle.

The result? A beautiful yet intuitive experience that helps people get what they need quickly and easily — even with complex technologies.

Designers spend much time considering if their choices benefit the end user. For example, it’s easy to be drawn into intricate animations that look impressive, but they often take away from the user experience.

It’s important to know when to simplify design elements. A great example is video games; if the challenge is too difficult, people will quickly lose interest. The designers must create controls that allow players to complete tasks without making them overly complex and frustrating.

Simplifying technology can be tricky, but having a creative design team on board makes it much easier. Simplifying your design can lead to higher conversion rates, improved user experiences, lower costs, and increased SEO results!

Why to choose design simplicity?

Complex technology can be daunting, especially if it’s the first time you’re using it. In addition, its UI/UX design may appear complicated, with many features that make it difficult to understand. But developing, maintaining, and designing for complex technology requires an even more sophisticated approach — one that is streamlined, easy to use, and to the point.

Take internet technologies, — the most popular ones are designed simply and elegantly with just enough features to make them effective. Research shows users prefer these products over those with more convoluted designs, which tend to alienate people.

Suppose your technology has too many ‘bells & whistles’ or looks intimidating at first glance. In that case, it’s time for you to go back to the drawing board and strip out all those non-essential elements while retaining those vital to the technology’s functionality. This will help make the product easier to learn and use — something that’s beneficial for your customers and makes life simpler for you in terms of upkeep!

When the web started to take off, developers wanted to cram every page with loads of features and flashy designs. It seemed like the way to impress people, but as technology progressed, it quickly became apparent that this approach wasn’t working.

It turns out that making a website or app simple is the best way for people to interact with your company’s story. By focusing on your content and building up technology in the background, users can easily access what they need without worrying about being sidetracked by complex interfaces.

Simpler designs make life easier for users and benefit you as a developer. For example, less time is spent building complicated structures that could crash at any moment, leaving you stuck in maintenance mode instead of creating something new.

Less time spent doesn’t just mean saving money either; — it also means freeing up energy to create something unique and engaging that will captivate users worldwide!

Why focus in design simplicity?

1. Easily navigable

Picture a website filled with all sorts of intricate information and technology. It’s potentially overwhelming, and the navigation can be difficult to impossible. So a user, desperate to find something, stumbles around in circles, never able to reach their desired destination.

This is why having a simple design on your website is so essential; it guides visitors quickly and efficiently to where they need to go. With an uncomplicated approach, you can ensure visitors don’t get lost or confused trying to navigate your site. Here are some great strategies for simplifying your design:

– Highlight crucial buttons — these should be more prominent than anything else on the page.

– Declutter the sidebar — too many choices can paralyze someone’s progress.

– Make content easily scanned — use headings and bullet points to emphasize key ideas.

– Group related pages together — this will help users navigate from one related topic quickly.

2. Simple designs run faster

Sometimes, less is more. In the digital world of applications, this concept is especially true regarding design. Simple designs are often the best and can run faster than their complex counterparts.

The simple truth is that no one wants to wait for an application to launch — especially if it takes longer than a few seconds! Excess animations, videos, and photos can all add to download times and ultimately drive users away from your app. To prevent this from happening, it makes sense to keep your design simple so as not to slow downloading speeds unnecessarily.

One way to increase speed is by removing large picture files and videos altogether. They take up significant storage space and suck up valuable load time. A simpler design should always be the goal at the end of the day, as it ensures your application runs with maximum efficiency while still providing an excellent experience for users.

3. Simplicity take less time to create and is excellent for accessibility

Not only does design with a simple layout save time and energy, but it also ensures that your website is accessible to everyone — no matter their tech savvy.

Designing with minimal elements and fuss can feel like walking on a tightrope as you attempt to decide what to priortize. But the effort will pay off in the end.

In this world of ever-increasing online visitors, your site needs to have features that are easy for all types of people — from tech gurus to those just learning how to use the Internet — to access. A simple design eliminates all of the flashy and confusing elements from your interface, which can occasionally cause confusion, or, worse yet, turn people off from visiting again.

By removing all these extra components, you can create a fast-loading, user-friendly experience that everyone will enjoy visiting repeatedly!

4. Debugging simple code is convenient

Debugging and managing web code can be a complicated process that takes up time and energy. Through design simplicity, this whole process becomes easier and faster.

Less coding is required to create a clean front-end design, ensuring all of your essential content stands out instead of being overrun by unnecessary decorative elements. On the back end, you get faster construction times and simpler debugging when bringing your website to life. With fewer files needed to be handled, load and response times are drastically increased — even helping improve search engine rankings in the process!

A simple website layout may appear less impressive than its more complicated counterparts, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. So don’t get follish; simplicity is often the best way to go when it comes to web design!

5. Smaller file sizes use less server space

Not only does a simple website design make for a more user-friendly experience, but it also has benefits on the server side. Since your download size is much smaller with a basic web layout, you can save on server resources and bandwidth needed to run it.

The savings may not seem much if you have a small site or low traffic numbers. But if your popularity starts to skyrocket or you’re hosting content pages — then the cost savings can be massive! While intricate sites might reach up to 1 MB in file size, some basic homepages with no extra graphics can be under 300kb — which means 10 times as many visitors can access your site without costing you any extra money!

So when it comes time to pick out your website design, remember that sometimes less really is more. Simple designs may seem dull at first glance, but they efficiently conserve server space while providing an enjoyable user experience.

How to Simplify a new Design?

Designing a complex product or system can seem daunting, and, likely, no one has ever encountered anything like it. So how do you break down this difficult task into more manageable pieces?

Here is a look into it.

1. Research before design

Before a new technology is even introduced, education must be at the helm. User interviews offer an excellent collection of feedback points to build off of if technology is consumer-centric. The main objectives are understanding how a complex technology will be accepted and which features will be in demand. Easy usage and application are actual results of rigorous study.

To take this a step forward, you should understand the type of knowledge individuals would require to comprehend a technology. According to recent research, one-third of consumers would withdraw from a purchase if they can’t access the needed data.

Half of the online users trying to purchase a new product will leave a website because the content is confusing or there is no clear message.

Any uncertainty about what a content provider or customer may need will be helped by having a well-thought-out implementation strategy backed by adequate user data.

2. Define and design for your users’ primary objectives

Creating a user interface that is simple and straightforward is key to ensuring its success. When crafting the design, it’s essential to consider the primary objectives of its users. Before diving into more complicated features, imagine how the user will visually understand your product or system at first glance. It’s crucial to provide immediate clarity on their purpose without cluttering the page with unnecessary details.

Once you have identified what needs to be included, think about how all of these elements can be streamlined for a pleasing user experience. For example, ensure that each item is easy to access and visible so users can quickly get to where they need to go. Additionally, simplify onboarding processes by guiding them through setup steps intuitively, and providing concise explanations with visuals or accompanying videos as needed.

Remember that streamlining complex designs doesn’t mean sacrificing functionality. In fact, simplified designs often make products and systems easier to use and more visually attractive. With thoughtful consideration of your audience’s needs and a focus on clear communication, you can create an interface that will help users accomplish their objectives while providing a pleasant experience with every step of the way!

3. Limiting design to the Essentials

Simplifying a design doesn’t have to be complicated — but it does take thought, research, and testing. A good place to start is by ensuring only the UI elements and functionalities that users need to do a job make the cut.

For instance, an online store checkout needs controls that enable customers to complete the transaction quickly — but also offer exit points for those who might change their minds or want to save the cart for later. The goal should be to provide consumers with what they need to get the job done — without creating an overload of unnecessary features.

At its core, simple design requires understanding users’ needs and contexts so that designers can prioritize and condense material as much as possible. Ultimately, focusing on the main components and striking a balance between minimalism and functionality will ensure customers successfully use your product.

4. Visual components

Simplifying a design doesn’t have to mean stripping out the complex content. Instead, it’s about balancing what needs to be there and which elements can be removed or replaced with simpler versions. One way to achieve this is by looking at your website and considering each empty spot the same way as those containing content.

Subtle color gradations can act as separators to add texture without breaking up the interface completely. This helps fill out the space. And, also prevents it from becoming too boring and breaking up big blocks of words or images. Finding this balance between complexity and simplicity will help make a user interface look clean and inviting.

5. Put Automation to use

When creating a new, simpler design, put automation to work for you. Take messenger apps, for example; with their minor variations across mobile UI styles, users can get up and running quickly — a testament to how the current practices and aesthetics help automate the user’s cognitive function when engaging with your software.

The key is to design with automation in mind — simplifying tasks by reducing the cognitive effort required from the user. Seek out common duties, and look for ways to incorporate them into your designs. This way, you can make life easier for all users — giving them an experience explicitly tailored to them.

6. Show how your technology can assist in user objectives

There is a psychological gap between the human and the computer interface, and the visual representations of the actions taken to achieve the goal should, to the greatest extent feasible, reflect the psychological objectives of the user.

When a user examines a system’s user interface, they should be capable of translating their objectives as they assess the system’s multiple functions and limits. Unfortunately, the gap widens as it becomes more difficult for the user to perceive how to carry out their aim through the system. The greater the gap, the more likely people will stop using your product.

Increased complexity results from using several methods to accomplish a small number of system objectives. Successful technologies are created with the user’s key objectives in mind. They consider the human memory capacity and the focus given to each objective.

If you can close the gap, your user is more likely to grasp how to utilize your user interface. Ensure your technology is clear enough for people to comprehend.

7. Do not mistake Simplicity for Naivety

The most common error about simplicity is conflating it with naivety. You’re not making the user out to be a simpleton by making your website/app too basic. In actuality, designing for simplicity adheres to the opposite principles of designing for cluelessness.

You design for a naive audience by listing all options in modest quantities and describing each component. Simplicity provides opportunities without outlining them for the user since it expects they can deduce them from relevant contextual clues.

Users value this. While some individuals may become perplexed if the cues aren’t sufficiently obvious, giving them the freedom to make their own decisions or pose their inquiries gives them a sense of control over the situation. Furthermore, regardless of whether the cues need to be explained, revealing the solutions up front without letting the reader come to their understanding makes them feel foolish, and nobody enjoys feeling foolish.

Conclusion

Handling complex technological issues and fostering relationships require simplicity. Technology leaders must communicate clearly. Leading creative teams require a focus on customer simplicity. They encourage their employees to communicate complex technical ideas in simple language. Simplifying the technology and process elements is the first step on the road to digital transformation.