What is Intuitive Design?
At Kynra Design, we believe that intuitive design is the core of a successful website. But what exactly does it mean to design intuitively? Let’s take a look at a few key principles of intuitive design as well as examples and tips for making sure your website is easy to navigate and enjoyable to use.
In the world of web design and user experience…
intuitive design is about creating experiences that feel natural and effortless.
It's the art of anticipating user needs, providing clear guidance, and minimizing cognitive load for visitors to your site. When a website is intuitively designed, people can navigate it with ease, find what they're looking for quickly, and complete their tasks without any issue or having to put much thought into it.
Let’s look at a few key principles of intuitive design alongside some examples.
Intuitively designed websites are simple.
This means pages are clean, uncluttered, and easy to understand. There isn’t too much information or complex layouts. Think of your local government’s website versus a site like Instagram. One of them is a huge freaking mess with walls of text and complicated navigation, and it’s difficult to find what you’re looking for, while the other is straightforward with just a few core features and pages that are easy to learn about and do. We dread using our local government’s websites, but we spend a lot of time on Instagram!Intuitively designed websites are consistent.
This means having a consistent visual language throughout your website, including fonts, colors, and layout elements. This helps users feel familiar and comfortable as they navigate your site. For example, say all of your CTAs and buttons have the same 2 colors as part of your branding. This lets users know that whenever they see this consistent element, it’s going to take them to another page or the next step in their site journey. If you randomly decided to experiment and change one of the buttons on a page, this might confuse users or even lead them to think that that button has been hacked, and they’ll avoid clicking it.Intuitively designed websites are clear.
This means using clear and concise language to explain your content and guide users towards their desired actions. This also includes avoiding jargon that might confuse users. If you’re using technical terms to try to sound like you know your stuff, no one will know what you’re talking about except your competition. If you can simplify the complex of your business, people will understand you and see you as an authority figure. For example, say you’re an astrologer, and you’ve got a page offering readings and mention that “Venus is the ruler of Taurus and Libra.” Your competition knows what that means, but your clients probably have no idea and aren’t sure what to do with that information. Do they know you’ll be able to give them a reading they can understand?Intuitively designed websites are accessible.
This is often an overlooked feature, but it means ensuring that your website is accessible to users with disabilities by following accessibility guidelines like WCAG. This includes providing alternative text for images, using appropriate heading tags, and making sure there is enough color contrast between fonts and backgrounds. Ensuring accessibility actually helps everyone because it also improves your SEO and ensures clean, clear, and simple design. For example, wherever you have a form, the fields should be labeled. This makes it super clear what the field is for, so people know what to type in. Having this in placeholder text is also okay, but if someone completely backspaces, the placeholder label should return because if not, they’ll wonder “what was that field for again?” Make it super easy and clear what info you need from them in a form.Intuitively designed websites consider their audience.
This means remembering who your users are and how to support them in using your site. For example if your business is primarily seniors who are less familiar with technology, you’ll need a site designed with them in mind that probably has larger text and buttons and a super simple navigation. You can also regularly test your website with real users to identify potential issues and gather their feedback, which is a good habit to get into. This helps refine your design and make it more intuitive.
Intuitive design is simple, consistent, clear, accessible, and considers the audience.
It is essential for creating an enjoyable experience for your site visitors and making it easy for them to turn into clients. In every web design at Kynra Design, we follow these principles and more. With a strong background in user experience and user interface, we intuitively design websites that are not only beautiful and modern but also easy to use and understand, so you can truly reach your ideal clients.
If you’d like to learn more about web design with Kynra Design, you can check out our services here, or feel free to get in touch if you’re ready to get an intuitively designed Squarespace or Webflow website by contacting us here!
