Frame 4: Minimise cognitive load

Ask: how much thinking does this require that is not the user's actual task?

Attention spent decoding the interface is unavailable for the work. Reliable reductions:

• Remove styles, information and decisions that carry no meaning.
• Break information into smaller groups, so relationships are visible rather than worked out.
• Use conventional patterns. Familiarity is free comprehension; novelty is charged to the user.
• Stay consistent — things that look alike must behave alike, or each instance is re-learned.
• Make hierarchy visible, so importance is seen rather than inferred.

Use it like this: when something feels heavy but no rule is broken, the load is usually ungrouped information or an unnecessary decision. Split it or remove it. A long form becomes steps; a wide table becomes fewer default columns; six equal options become two recommended and four behind "more".