Simple products feel more confident

talk
1

I keep noticing that simple products usually feel more confident, even when they do less. Once a UI starts stacking extra controls everywhere, I start wondering what the main thing actually is.

Maybe that is just me being picky, but I trust a product less when it seems afraid to leave anything out. Where do you all draw the line between useful depth and just clutter?

2

yeah, the moment a UI starts showing me every knob at once, i assume it doesn’t trust itself.

for me the line is pretty simple: the extra stuff should stay out of the way until i actually need it. a good example is something like Notion — it looks plain at first, but the depth is there when you go looking for it. a toolbar full of tiny toggles, on the other hand, just feels nervous.