Imagine you need to cut a good steak. You have two options: a Swiss Army knife with a 5 cm blade or a real, sharp kitchen knife. Which would you choose? Without hesitation, the latter.
The Swiss Army knife is versatile, but it doesn't excel at any one task. Its main appeal: compactness and versatility, at the expense of performance.
Well, it's the same in experience design: trying to do everything often leads to a product that's confusing, ineffective, and frustrating for the user.
In this article, we'll look at why simplifying your design is essential to improving the user experience, with concrete examples of failures and successes.
When complexity kills user experience
Google Wave: The tool that wanted to do too much
In 2009, Google launched Google Wave, an ambitious tool meant to revolutionize online communication. Its concept? Merge email, chat, collaborative wiki, and document management into a single product. A visionary idea... But in hindsight, it looks strangely similar to the tools we use today, like Google Drive, Google Workspace, and Microsoft Teams.
But then why did Google Wave fail?
A tool too ahead of its time?
In 2009, these concepts were still too new and poorly understood by users. The tool was interesting, but its complex interface and abundance of features made it difficult to grasp. The result: a tedious learning curve that discouraged many users.
A failure… but not a total disappearance.
Faced with these challenges, Google shut down Wave in 2010. However, rather than abandoning the project entirely, the company learned from it. Rather than trying to consolidate everything into a single tool, it integrated some of Wave's most useful features into Google Docs, Gmail, and other Google services. This gradual evolution resulted in the much more fluid and accessible Google Workspace environment we know today.
Ultimately, Google Wave was a brilliant idea, but overly ambitious and poorly executed. It nonetheless left an important legacy in modern collaboration tools.
Instagram: From complexity to simplicity
Instagram, in its early days, wasn't as streamlined as it is today. The app was originally known as Burbn, and it was much more complex, with a multitude of features inspired by elements of geolocation, photo sharing, check-in and other social options, such as the ability to share statuses and interact with other users.
The problem? The interface was confusing, and users felt lost with too many options. The team Burbn quickly realized that simplicity was the key to capturing a wide audience.
Instagram therefore understood that a simpler design focused on the essentials → photo sharing was the key to success.
By ditching unnecessary features and simplifying its interface, the app gained traction. Today, Instagram continues to add features like: Stories et Reels, but always in a consistency that favors the sharing of visual content in a fluid and understandable interface, gradually adapting to new uses without sacrificing its simplicity.
The Swiss Army Knife Effect of Super Apps: A Strength in China, a Weakness in the West
In China, super apps like WeChat, Alipay ou meituan dominate the market. These all-in-one applications combine messaging, payments, e-commerce, and various services into a single platform.
This model is a success thanks to several factors: massive adoption of mobile before desktop, a closed digital ecosystem, regulations favoring these monopolies and a different culture of use.
Consumer habits : In the West, we prefer several specialized apps rather than a single all-in-one app.
In the West, however, this model is struggling to gain traction. Users prefer specialized apps, data privacy is a priority, and antitrust regulations limit the concentration of services on a single platform.
Several Western companies have tried to imitate the model of super apps Chinese:
Meta (Facebook and WhatsApp)
Facebook Messenger et WhatsApp have tried to add features like payment, e-commerce and even mini-apps.
WhatsApp Pay was launched in India and Brazil, but it didn't achieve huge success.
X (former Twitter)
Since his acquisition of Twitter, Elon Musk has wanted to make it a great app WeChat type, with messaging, payments, commerce and various services.
X has launched payment features, but it's still far from being a truly great app.
How to simplify your design effectively?
- Prioritize essential features : use the Pareto law (80% of users use 20% of the features).
- Limit choices to reduce cognitive load : Apply Hick's Law, which states that the more options a user has, the longer it takes to make a decision. A clean design makes navigation easier and speeds up interaction.
- Avoid the “Swiss Army knife” effect : don't overload your product with unnecessary options.
- Test and iterate : observe users and simplify what blocks them.
- Use known patterns : no need to reinvent the wheel if a model already works.
Conclusion
Good UX design doesn't try to do everything. It aims for efficiency, clarity, and simplicity.
This is the famous ✨ less is more .
Rather than a Swiss Army knife, design a product that excels at a specific task. This will ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for your users.
What do you think? Have you ever been frustrated by a product that was too complex?
Anaëlle Staelen, UX/UI designer and Product designer at UX-Republic
