Web Design Jujutsu

[Jujutsu] represents manipulating the opponent’s force against themselves rather than confronting it with one’s own force.
– Jujutsu - Wikipedia

It can be very tempting to design your web site/app in a way that fights your user’s pre-existing understanding. Instead of trying to force our understanding onto the user, we should be looking at how to utilize the user’s existing understanding to bring them to our own.

Simplicity does not always mean “less”. Show only as much as is needed, but no less. It is very easy to pack a page with too much information. Upon realizing this, it is also very easy to fall into the trap of removing too much.

For every feature or piece of your app, don’t focus on how to remove it or whether it’s redundant. Focus on what value it brings to your user as well as the cost of adding Just One More Thing™ to your page. Both of these things are often very subjective and squishy. This is also the same cost-benefit analysis done throughout business.