AN ARTICLE
Attention is a design choice.
A few thoughts on creating things that respect the people using them.
Sample writing — placeholder content to make your own.
Every interface asks for a little attention. A button, a notification, a paragraph, a choice: each has a cost, even when that cost feels small.
When I look at something I’ve made, I’m trying to ask a better question than “Does this look finished?” I want to ask, “What does this ask of someone?”
Give each page a purpose
A page that tries to do everything leaves the reader to decide what matters. That’s work we can often do for them.
Start with the main reason someone arrives. Put that reason near the top. Make the next step understandable. Let everything else take a quieter role.
Leave a little space
Space isn’t the absence of design. It helps people separate one idea from the next. A short introduction, a clear heading, and a readable line length can do more than a new interaction.
A useful editing question
Before adding something, ask what happens if you leave it out. If the experience still works, perhaps it belongs somewhere else — or perhaps it doesn’t need to exist at all.