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The Zero Interface Using Zero-based Thinking to Maintain Simplicity Stephen Hay Future of Web Design, London 2014

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It’s often said that simplicity is a matter of removing the unnecessary. Another approach might be not to add the unnecessary in the first place.

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a b

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Rube Goldberg (adjective)

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image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine

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accomplishing by complex means what seemingly could be done simply. image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rube_Goldberg_machine

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a b

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a b

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Between A & B (among other things):

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Between A & B (among other things): Processes (both concept and interaction)

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Between A & B (among other things): Processes (both concept and interaction) The UI itself

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Between A & B (among other things): Processes (both concept and interaction) The UI itself Technical implementation

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Between A & B (among other things): Processes (both concept and interaction) The UI itself Technical implementation These are all the result of design decisions.

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process

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source: http://badusability.com/3-simple-steps-to-qr-code-joy/

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source: http://badusability.com/3-simple-steps-to-qr-code-joy/

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source: http://wtfmobileweb.com/

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This can be simpler…

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UI

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tech

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Not being able to do something in a particular browser is not a browser problem. It’s a design problem.

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Transfer lots of money

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Transfer lots of money A button.

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Transfer lots of money A button. But it’s not.

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Transfer lots of money A button. But it’s not. It’s a link.

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Transfer lots of money A button. But it’s not. It’s a link. Made to look like a button.

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Transfer lots of money A button. But it’s not. It’s a link. Made to look like a button. But it links to nowhere.

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Transfer lots of money A button. But it’s not. It’s a link. Made to look like a button. But it links to nowhere. It’s JavaScript (and click) dependent.

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Transfer lots of money A button. But it’s not. It’s a link. Made to look like a button. But it links to nowhere. It’s JavaScript (and click) dependent. It’s insane.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively. 1. Make a link.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively. 1. Make a link. 2. Style it to look like a button.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively. 1. Make a link. 2. Style it to look like a button. 3. Add JavaScript to make it act like a button.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively. 1. Make a link. 2. Style it to look like a button. 3. Add JavaScript to make it act like a button. 4. Reduce complexity by not testing.

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Look at how they could have done it.

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Look at how they could have done it. 1. Make a button, with the element. 2. Style it.

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A breakpoint. article { width: 60%; float: left; } aside { width: 40%; float: right; } @media screen and (max-width: 900px) { article, aside { width: 100%; float: none; } }

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A breakpoint. article { width: 60%; float: left; } aside { width: 40%; float: right; } @media screen and (max-width: 900px) { article, aside { width: 100%; float: none; } } You’ve got to be kidding.

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A breakpoint. article { width: 60%; float: left; } aside { width: 40%; float: right; } @media screen and (max-width: 900px) { article, aside { width: 100%; float: none; } } You’ve got to be kidding.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively. 1. Style article and aside as columns.

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Look at how they managed to complicate things so effectively. 1. Style article and aside as columns. 2. Use media query to undo what we just did.

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Look at how they could have done it. @media screen and (min-width: 900px) { article { width: 60%; float: left; } aside { width: 40%; float: right; } }

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Look at how they could have done it. @media screen and (min-width: 900px) { article { width: 60%; float: left; } aside { width: 40%; float: right; } } article { width: 60 float: le } aside { width: 40 float: ri } @media screen article, aside { width float } }

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Again: Processes (both concept and interaction) The UI itself Technical implementation

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There’s a difference between simple and simple-looking.

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source: http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/11660/why-do-people-clear-the-screen-multiple-times-when-using-a-calculator

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source: http://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/11660/why-do-people-clear-the-screen-multiple-times-when-using-a-calculator

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source: http://exisweb.net/menu-eats-hamburger

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Simple doesn’t mean stupid. (And complex doesn’t mean smart.)

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Simple doesn’t mean stupid. (And complex doesn’t mean smart.) We don’t need to Fisher-Price our designs.

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Simple doesn’t mean stupid. (And complex doesn’t mean smart.) We don’t need to Fisher-Price our designs. We also don’t need to make less of a product.

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How does complexity happen?

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How does complexity happen? Sometimes, by adding to something simple. Most often, by starting with too much.

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The simplest way to achieve simplicity is through thoughtful reduction. — John Maeda, The Laws of Simplicity (Law 1)

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but… If you don’t add it, you don’t have to remove it.

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The other simplest way to achieve simplicity is by not complicating things in the first place. — Not John Maeda

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The first website still works because nothing was added that can break it.

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The first website still works because nothing was added that can break it. source: http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html

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Zero-based budgeting

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Zero-based budgeting source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-based_budgeting

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Zero-based budgeting requires the budget request be re-evaluated thoroughly, starting from the zero-base. Budget history is ignored. source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-based_budgeting

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Zero Interface

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Zero Interface requires the user experience be designed starting from the zero-base. Design baggage is ignored.

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So, what’s design baggage?

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So, what’s design baggage? The stuff clients, designers, and developers add to the project without careful evaluation against the goal of A to B.

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Examples of client baggage

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Examples of client baggage Refusal to understand or accept sunk costs

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Examples of client baggage Refusal to understand or accept sunk costs Competitor patterns

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Examples of client baggage Refusal to understand or accept sunk costs Competitor patterns Carousels

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Examples of designer/developer baggage

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Examples of designer/developer baggage Trends

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Examples of designer/developer baggage Trends Pattern libraries

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Examples of designer/developer baggage Trends Pattern libraries Frameworks

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Examples of designer/developer baggage Trends Pattern libraries Frameworks Conventional wisdom

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The problem with baggage is that all of it is focused on existing solutions.

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Stop focusing on existing solutions and start focusing on the problem at hand.

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How can we achieve simplicity?

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1. Start with nothing.

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2. Put each thing you add through Hell Week. Every step you add is one too many by default.

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3. Stop. Refine if necessary.

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Zero Interface Think, done. A to B.

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Beware of too easy. Put on the brakes for users when needed.

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Oh, wait… Going directly from A to B is great, but give people a chance to avoid mistakes.

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By focusing on the Simplicity of the target behavior you increase Ability. — BJ Fogg, behaviormodel.org

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Hey, this all sounds like progressive enhancement. It is.

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Thank you! @stephenhay zerointerface.nl the-haystack.com responsivedesignworkflow.com