User interfaces (UIs) are the means through which humans interact with digital products, and as such, they must be designed to cater to human input. However, the current state of UIs is far from ideal, and it's only getting worse with the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). In this post, we'll explore some of the issues plaguing UIs and how they can be improved.
The Problem with UI Design
The problem with UI design is that it's often done by experts who don't bother to ask users what they want. As a result, we get UIs that are difficult to use, buried in menus and lacking in accessibility. Furthermore, the current trend towards minimalism has only made things worse, with excessive negative space and a love of circular design elements.
Take Facebook, for example. The social media giant has iteratively "simplified" its interface, resulting in buried options and an overly simplified newsfeed. Moreover, the font size is so large that it's reminiscent of a kindergarten classroom, and everything is bubbly and rounded to avoid sharp edges. Instagram, on the other hand, is stuck in the 90s tables logic, with tiny pictures and no zoom function.
The Problem with Front-end Development
Front-end development has expanded in recent years, but it hasn't solved any problems. Instead, it has added more skills to the required learning stack. While HTML/CSS and front-end frameworks have steadily advanced over the years, UIs have not kept up. Instead of building UIs that are better, more accessible, and more usable, we get "lowest common denominator" UIs that aim for simplicity but achieve only frustration.
The Problem with Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are another problem area, with numerous clicks required to do even the simplest of tasks. This is a consequence of bad design and lazy development. Many mobile apps are simply repackaged web interfaces, resulting in poor performance and frustrated users.
The Need for Human Input
AI can only guess what users want, but UIs are designed for humans, and therefore must be tested on humans. We need to move away from the current trend of expert-driven UI design and towards a more user-centered approach. UI designers must be willing to ask users what they want and then design UIs that cater to those desires.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the current state of UIs is a sorry one. UIs are buried in menus, lacking in accessibility, and frustrating to use. Front-end development hasn't solved any problems, and mobile apps are often poorly designed and frustrating for users. We need to move away from the current trend of expert-driven UI design and towards a more user-centered approach. Only then can we hope to build UIs that are better, more accessible, and more usable.
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