Apr 13
Complexity and Simplicity are Perceptions
User interfaces should present the information needed to accomplish the task at hand. Nothing more, nothing less. Complexity and simplicity are our ways of perceiving how difficult or strenuous a task is going to be.
Compare this IRS form, to a similar TurboTax form:
It’s very difficult to make an IRS form feel inviting. That’s why TurboTax has considerable market share.
About Josh Walsh
Josh Walsh is a Managing Partner at Designing Interactive. He's also an award winning designer, author and speaker on the topics of User Experience Design, User Interface Design and Usability Research. You can follow him on twitter at: @joshwalsh
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Nate Klaiber
I wish that companies would employ the assistance of a User Experience professional before they start creating paper forms. The IRS is just one example of so many bad forms.
As TurboTax shows, when you put forth the effort at making it easier for the user, the process becomes much easier.
Even if the form is around something complex – why can’t it be made simple?
April 14, 2010
Josh Walsh
Nate – I have a friend who works on IRS forms. They are quite aware of their daunting forms. The response he gave me, when I asked a similar question was:
“We know the form is scary. Sending a form to at least every American is expensive. Paper is expensive, whitespace is expensive.”
Makes sense.
TurboTax has the medium of the web to their advantage. 12 pages are no more expensive than 1. While the IRS doesn’t have much choice in the medium they use, most other companies do now.
Thanks for the comment.
April 14, 2010
Nate Klaiber
That’s an interesting point. I say the IRS should make the process easier, or have to pay more to send the paper. ha.
April 14, 2010
panorama
That’s an interesting point.
May 21, 2010