“Show vs. Tell in UX Design”
We’ve all heard these “laws” of design: “People don’t read on the web.” “If you have to explain how to use your product, you’ve failed.” “A picture is worth a thousand words.” It seems like our job as designers is to make things as intuitive as possible, using as few words as possible so that the meaning is self-evident through our visual design. But does this always produce the best user experience? Is showing always better than telling? We’ll look at several examples of design from the real world, the web, and apps that use showing, telling, or both as a method for producing the best UX. Rather than just assuming one is always better than the other, learn how to choose the right approach for your particular design problem and users.
