Member-only story
When to Question Your Intuition
Our brains don’t like to think. When should we make them?
Sometimes the role of design is to be invisible. Not literally, but in the sense that everything should be so easy to process that instinct alone can guide us. When design is clear and obvious, thinking isn’t required.
It feels good to get by on intuition. You push the door, and it swings open; you find your keys right where you left them; you go to pay and have just the right amount of cash. All is well with the world.
When things go wrong, your mind is knocked off its rhythm. Suddenly, you have to think, and mental effort isn’t the most pleasant of experiences. Our expressions generally reflect our emotional state. Think of the face you make when you’re under a heavy cognitive burden.
You’re more likely to have fond memories of an environment that lets your mind glide through it effortlessly. As Steve Krug writes in Don’t Make Me Think, “It doesn’t matter how many times I have to click, as long as each click is a mindless, unambiguous choice.”
But this balance between instinct and cognition goes beyond pleasure. It also affects your perception of the truth.
