Is over-simplified UX making your product boring?

“Simple, clean, and effortless” — it’s long been a mantra of UX design. And for good reason. Simplicity makes digital products easier to use, faster to load, and more intuitive. But somewhere along the way, simplicity began to get confused with sameness.

Imagine an 8-year-old. They’re at an age where they’re becoming more independent, such as learning how to tie their shoes and brush their teeth. If the 8-year-olds’ parents continue to tie their shoes and brush their teeth for them, they won’t develop the skills needed for increased autonomy.

The same rule applies to UX.

If the designer hand-holds their user with overly simplified interfaces, the user won’t know what to do when facing a challenge.

Of course, there are reasons why simplicity is a core principle of UX design. It makes complex processes efficient and enhances the intuitiveness of dashboards. No one wants to do something too challenging or time-consuming. Think of the rise of AI. It makes our lives easier by automating tasks we don’t want to do. But it also prevents us from continuing to build our critical thinking skills. As AI is integrated into more product experiences, we risk diminishing the product’s emotional engagement and user meaning.

However, there is a balance between excessively simple UX, which can be boring and monotonous, and UX that is cluttered and intricate. We’ll explore how to find that balance between simplicity and complexity to create engaging and intuitive interfaces. First, let’s review why simplicity is the UX standard and where simple UX design fails. And then, we’ll see how you can balance ease with substance in your UX designs.

Why simplicity is the UX standard

UX design is known for simplifying complex processes into easy and intuitive experiences. Designers are advised to “simplify, simplify, simplify,” which involves reducing steps, user clicks, and overall clutter in the interface.

But how does UX adopt this simplicity mindset, and why is it so coveted?

Let’s look at a few reasons below.

• Minimalism and mobile-first — As mobile phones grew in popularity, it became critical to prioritize only the essential content to fit within the small screen sizes, promoting minimalism in UI design. Brands like Apple and Google also revived the “less is more” mindset by linking simplicity with a modern aesthetic in their interface designs
• Speed optimization — Users expect webpages to load fast. A webpage should load in less than 3 seconds. If it doesn’t, a user’s short attention span will cause them to leave. Less cluttered and simpler designs help improve performance and load times for interfaces, especially on mobile devices
• User behaviors — Designers are aware of the user’s cognitive load when designing an interface. Too many choices or distractions on a webpage increase the user’s mental strain. It was discovered that simplifying interfaces can reduce the user’s cognitive load, thereby increasing their efficiency and satisfaction

Where simple UX designs fails

Although simple UX allows for a mobile-first approach and optimizes performance, there are instances when it negatively impacts usability and user engagement. To better understand the pitfalls, let’s examine the hidden cognitive costs and emotional consequences of oversimplified UX. I’ll also review some real-world examples.

Hidden cognitive costs

Some may challenge the notion that simple UX can be too simple — it doesn’t seem like easy-to-understand interfaces and “do-it-for-you” features are truly so troublesome. These UIs and features expedite and enhance the user’s ability to complete more tasks. But there is a price to pay for building cognitive skills.

The concept of the cognitive cost of convenience examines the idea that users struggle to establish their mental models in overly simplified interfaces. When users are handed tasks or navigate an application, they can only build short-term memory — creating a superficial understanding. So, once the user needs to stray away from the ideal user flow (or “happy path”), they may not know what to do. They never had the opportunity to learn and become autonomous.

As products introduce more AI assistants and agents, predictive text generation, and LLMs to reduce the effort required of users, they are also stripping users of their ability to think critically and fully comprehend interface designs:

Emotional consequences

Not only does overly simple UX sacrifice the user’s ability to think critically and be autonomous while navigating a product, but it also creates user boredom. This is caused by user interfaces that feel sterile — lacking character and blending into other product experiences. When a user feels a sense of blandness and boredom, they will look elsewhere for a competitor’s product that offers more uniqueness and energy.

Users expect moments of delight and surprise. If they don’t get that, users won’t become engaged in the experience or be able to distinguish it from a different product. When creating a simplistic UX, be cautious of draining the interface of any brand character. Because without it, users won’t emotionally connect with the product.

Examples of simple, but deficient UX

Hidden overflow menus

To help declutter interfaces, navigation and critical actions may be tucked away in overflow menus instead of being placed directly on the UI. Although it simplifies the interface, users may struggle to find what they’re looking for, such as a specific webpage or action.

For example, data tables often include multiple hidden menus to conceal table-related actions, which may hinder the findability of those actions:

Flat UI design

Popularized by Apple and Google, the flat UI design sparked in the 2010s — swapping textures and shadows for solid colors and minimal icons. Although it gave interfaces a modernized aesthetic, it reduced the affordances users need to discern what is interactive from what isn’t.

For example, many products began using simple buttons and icons that blended into the application background — providing fewer visual cues to guide the user.

Auto-advancing forms

In an effort to expedite the form-filling process, a new UX trend has emerged, where the user is automatically advanced after making a selection. So once the user selects a button, they’re automatically navigated to the next question of the form — preventing the user from reviewing their answer or backtracking to the prior step.

Balancing ease with substance

Simplicity will always be a core principle of UX design; however, as we saw in the previous section, oversimplification can prevent users from critically thinking and emotionally engaging with a product.

How can designers offer clean, understandable interfaces while also incorporating essence and meaning?

To find this middle ground, let’s examine a few methods for creating clear, layered user experiences that retain brand character without erasing meaning or compromising brand personality:

Clarify without erasing meaning

As we have seen, removing content from an interface to increase its simplicity can also remove context. You might think that less content reduces the cognitive effort required of users, but it can actually hinder usability.

For example, if user actions are hidden under a menu or the interface’s buttons blend into the application because its visual cues (such as color and shadows) have been removed, the user will have to work harder to figure out how to use the interface.

Including too much content can be distracting, making it difficult to discern what is helpful and what isn’t. Conversely, having too little content can be confusing, as it hinders finding the necessary steps to progress to the next level.

To find the right balance in an interface’s content, ask yourself the following questions to determine if the content should remain or be removed:

• Does the content add meaningful context?
• Does the content guide user action or reinforce the brand’s personality?
• If the content was removed, would the user not have the information they need?

Create a layered experience

When a user first enters your product’s experience, they shouldn’t be bombarded with too much information or actions. This is where a good level of simplicity is beneficial — providing the user the primary and essential information they need to get started, then progressively disclosing secondary information when the user is ready to explore more.

A couple of examples of a layered experience include:

• Duolingo — Duolingo, a language-learning platform, provides a clear path for first-time users to begin their first lesson within the application. There is no overwhelming dashboard or clear paths for the user to take. However, after the user has progressed through the lessons, they unlock different paths they can take, such as earning badges, achieving streaks, or accessing recommended lessons
• Airbnb — As an online marketplace for short and long-term rentals, Airbnb provides users with a clear path to follow when planning a stay. They select where they want to go, the days they want to be there, and then indicate how many people will be coming. After this initial search is done, the user can filter the Airbnb options by specific amenities, price, or ratings
• Figma — Figma, a design and prototyping tool, provides a blank canvas for users to start their designs, allowing them to add any shapes, text, or colors. Only after the user has created their designs will they be able to access more advanced features in Figma, such as prototyping or auto-layout

Add intentional moments of brand personality

One issue with many SaaS products is that their dashboards often resemble one another. They use the same muted color palettes, cards with rounded radii, and CTA (call-to-action) language. Though there isn’t a problem with the product’s usability, there is no clear differentiation. So, the user easily blends separate interfaces together and forgets what made your product better.

Here are ways to introduce character into the product:

• Include micro-interactions — Micro-interactions are a subtle but effective way to build an emotional connection with users. After selecting a button or completing a task, reward users with a fun and engaging animation, such as a confetti boom. Not only do micro-interactions provide a meaningful feedback loop, but they also invoke a positive reaction from users
• Add “expressive minimalist” styling — Even if the product is SaaS-related, adding moments of surprise can make an interface more memorable. For example, you can incorporate styling elements found in maximalism and retro-futurism, such as subtle 3D depth and bold typography, into UI design to provide a level of unpredictability
• Preserve the brand’s story — Every product has a brand, but how the product tells the brand’s story makes or breaks its effectiveness. If a tool uses neutral colors, images, and language, it will also feel flat and uninteresting to users. However, if a tool employs warm colors, playful illustrations, and informal language, the user can intuitively grasp the brand’s narrative, naturally enriching the experience

Conclusion

As designers, we shouldn’t treat our users like they’re 8-year-olds who can’t tie their shoes. They need to be able to do it themselves. If we oversimplify our interfaces and hand-hold our users, we’ll hurt both the user experience and the product holistically.

We need to find a middle ground between creating products that are easy to understand and clean, but aren’t boring and stagnant.

Simplification has been a core principle in UX design for many years. As people began using mobile phones to access the internet, it became apparent that traditional methods of displaying content on desktop screens did not translate well to the smaller screens. In response, brands like Apple and Google introduced a minimalist approach to their interfaces, optimizing user experience and performance speeds. As a result, other products followed suit, and simplicity became a fundamental pillar of UX.

Most of the time, simple UX leads to greater usability and user satisfaction. But when excessively done, it can be detrimental to the product’s success. Over-simplified interfaces prevent users from building their own mental models. And that leads to confusion and frustration when they encounter a user flow that deviates from the standard user path. Not only that, but users also struggle to emotionally connect with simple interfaces that are flat and lack character. Without this connection, users won’t stay engaged in the experience (and probably won’t return).

There are ways to balance ease and clarity with character and richness, thereby avoiding user boredom and confusion. You can clarify the interface without losing meaning, layering one experience on top of another, and incorporate moments of brand personality. The user will seamlessly glide from one step to the next without feeling disengaged or fatigued.

Learn what not to do from designs that oversimplify and drive users away. Create usable interfaces that are also rich in character, equipping users to connect with your product experience.