All this new technology prevents us from deep thinking, don’t you think? Constant interface changes, updates, new platforms, new programs. It never stops.

This is not my original thought, it is something I’m borrowing from all the deep thinkers over on Substack, where the real writers are having conversations with one another.

I’d love to join them, leave notes, and you know, participate, but I’m having trouble getting my image headers on my Substack to behave the way I’m instructing. Literally, I’m resizing images according to Substack’s guidelines and I’m getting over-ridden, seeing nothing but repetitive error messaging. It is enough to make my blood boil. It makes me want to take up smoking again.

I’ve always made comparisons of bad web page design to bad acid trips, it was a common refrain when I worked in User Experience Design Research. The participant we’d be observing or interviewing would completely miss the feature the client would want them to engage in, and the marketer behind the mirror, (in the observation room,) would suggest that we make it bigger, bolder, maybe even flashing red. (!) Designers would (thankfully) cringe. But I’d mediate, as the researcher, making a joke. We can’t make this user’s experience akin to a bad acid trip. We, as a team, need to simplify. Prioritize.

Easier Said Than Done

most things in life, especially simplicity

Simplicity is hard, especially when someone has you on a deadline, clock ticking. I’m not saying Substack isn’t well designed. All the writers are raging about how easy it is. But I’ve been brought up on WordPress, and the differences are hard to process. It’s my attitude, I know. Software “glitches” as my shrink describes them, really send me into a downward spiral. No deep thinking there.

Thanks for the colorful spiral photo by Reid Zura on Unsplash