Design / FIELDNOTES
The quiet value of useful defaults.
Good starting choices help people move forward with fewer decisions.
Start with a dependable foundation
A default is the first experience someone has with a tool. Readable text, clear actions and sensible spacing make that first experience feel considered. They also give customisation a reliable starting point.
Choose defaults by watching ordinary tasks. A beautiful setting that makes a common action harder is a poor starting choice.
Offer choices when they matter
Configuration is most useful when the person understands what it changes. Group related options, explain their effects, and show the result close to the control.
Keep an easy route back to the starting design. Experimentation feels safer when returning to a dependable state is straightforward.
Keep the whole experience connected
A change to the palette should carry through the interface. A change to spacing should preserve the relationships between its parts. Shared decisions make a product feel coherent.
Review the exceptions carefully. Local choices are useful when they express a real difference in purpose, rather than a missing shared rule.
Give the important things a clear place, and enough room to be understood.