Chapter 11 -- Good User Interfaces Are Invisible

Chapter 11

During the ultimate user interface experience, the user is totally focused, in a groove, on a roll, and very productive. He is so focused on his work that he is in a kind of dreamlike state—completely absorbed by the task at hand but oblivious to the program being used to accomplish the task. As we know, however, this state is a fragile one, and it can be easily broken by a silly dialog box like this:

This chapter summarizes the most common ways this state of focus is broken.

While its title makes this chapter seem to contradict the previous chapter, there is actually no contradiction because the two chapters address entirely different subjects. Although I could have named the last chapter "Good User Interfaces Are Easy to Learn" and this chapter "Good User Interfaces Don't Draw Attention to Themselves," I think the apparent contradiction in the titles I've chosen helps these concepts counterbalance each other in an interesting way. A user interface that is too visible draws attention to itself and by doing so breaks the user's flow.

TIP

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A user interface that is too visible draws attention to itself and breaks the user's focus.