When I use an application I don’t want it brought to my attention that there is a complex system of backend code making it work for me, and as long as things work smoothly I don’t ever have to give the backend code any thought. Increasingly, my feelings on frontend design are converging more with my feelings about backend code. I don’t really want to be aware that there is a design, and if the user interface has been engineered well, if it is natural and intuitive then that is the case.
If a user interface is designed well then the distinction between user and interface begins to dissolve.
When you get in a well engineered car, like a BMW, or on a nice bike, like a Gary Fisher, the vehicle feels like an extension of your body. There isn’t a sense of awkwardness in the connection. It feels natural, and thus good. The same thing can be accomplished with application user interfaces. That should be the goal. The end-user should feel like they snap right into the interface, like the interface is a natural extension of their person.
A natural interface doesn’t accost the user. It isn’t aesthetically aggressive. It is passive, even hidden or concealed. It isn’t demanding, but rather inviting. It doesn’t push the user, but gently guides them.
If a user interface is designed well then the distinction between user and interface begins to dissolve. There is a sense of union. The user breathes and the interface breathes with them. The user thinks “do this”, and it happens without the user thinking about how to do it. They just do it, because it is natural.
This is a deeper approach to beauty. Instead of making your website or application “fancier”, and thus more monstrous, in an attempt to impress the end-user, streamline it and impress the user with how well it functions. Impress the user with the attention you have given to the fine details. Your website shouldn’t need cosmetics or a hip hairdo. When in doubt, simplify. Pay attention to flow. The user experience should be seamless. This is natural design.
“or on a nice bike, like a Gary Fisher”
surely, you must be joking.