I am forever moving towards organization. This might be hard to tell as an outsider, because you would see stacks and piles, overflowing seemingly at random. But what you didn’t see is those same stacks, bigger and looser the week before. It’s a process.
Last week, I was cleaning up my pantry. I purchased some canvas buckets so the snacks could have a home separate from the bread and bread-like products. In theory, this means there won’t be four open bags of pretzels at a time.
As I was sorting this, I realized that I couldn’t see the lower levels. My pantry has wire shelving. My canvas buckets are opaque. I mentioned this as my son passed by, and he remarked, “Well you could always crouch.”
HUMANS NEVER CROUCH
The path of resistance is never taken. I know I won’t crouch to see if there’s an open bag of pretzels any more than he’d get a stool to check the top of the fridge for open dog treats. If I can see through to the lower level, I’ll glance for that telltale flash of gold, but I learned how to search from Zelda games. if my line of sight is blocked, I assume there’s nothing there.
It’s not just me! People avoid friction wherever possible. For best results, when you encounter friction in your design, if you find yourself saying “well they can just crouch” (or they can just consult the chart on page 19, or one if it’s many other “just” heads), take a step back and redesign.
Resistance is the opposite of flow. Flow is speed, flow is elegance. The less you have to think, to stop, to change (consult, crouch, re-route), the smoother the process feels.
Maybe the buckets should go down a shelf.