Hey, we’re Harry and Charlotte, a husband and wife team from the UK. We build apps out of a love for creativity, design and simplicity. We hope you enjoy them.
Design principles
Simplicity
Simplicity is a process. By continuously removing everything that isn’t essential, you end up with a product that is innovative, versatile and lovable.
Constraints
Everything must be designed with constraints; it triggers the process of simplicity. For example, if you limit the number of functions of a product to three, you must then determine which three functions are the most essential.
Consistency
Being consistent throughout the design of a product reduces confusion and builds trust. It benefits the designer and the user. Consistency can massively help the process of simplicity.
Mental models
People have preconceptions when using a product for the first time. It’s important to make sure that their mental model (how they expect your product to work) is correct before they start using it. For example, this could be achieved by displaying a simple flow diagram.
Progressive disclosure
Not overwhelming users with lots of features makes learning a new product much easier. By displaying features (or information) gradually across several screens, a smoother experience can be achieved. This is vital when designing for mobile devices, where screen space is limited.
Visibility
Making features more visible increases the likelihood that users will use that feature. It’s important to get the balance between making features visible and not cluttering the interface (which makes them harder to see).
Empathy
Making a product easy to use is driven by empathy. Thinking about the product from the user’s perspective should influence every decision. Being open to feedback and constantly refining the design also leads to a much better product.
Enjoyment
Well-designed products are a pleasure to use and can bring the user a lot of joy. This emergent property is a result of achieving all of the other design principles.