Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Reducing the Cost of Context Switching Across Apps
Why moving between apps and tasks carries a hidden cognitive cost, and how software can reduce the friction of switching for the people who use it.
Topic
ux
25 articles on ux.
Mykhailo Boichuk6 min read
Search UX in Small, Focused Apps
How search should behave in a small app, where scope is narrow and the right design is forgiving, fast, and matched to the data.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Settings: Progressive Disclosure
How to organize settings so common options are easy to find and advanced ones stay available, using progressive disclosure to manage complexity.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Telemetry Consent UX Done Right
How to ask for telemetry consent in a way that is honest and clear, so the user’s choice is genuinely informed rather than coerced.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Progressive Onboarding for Complex Tools
Powerful tools overwhelm if they reveal everything at once. Progressive onboarding teaches capability in layers, as the user is ready for each one.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Animation with Restraint: Motion That Communicates
How to use motion to clarify rather than decorate, so animation guides attention and explains change instead of demanding it.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Measuring Readability and Information Scent
Readability is more than reading level, and information scent decides whether people follow a path. How to assess both so content guides rather than stalls.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing for Memory and Recall, Not Only Attention
Interfaces compete for attention but rarely support memory. Recognition over recall, durable cues, and respecting working-memory limits make tools easier to return to.
Maksym Bardakh7 min read
Designing for Neurodivergent Users Beyond ADHD
How to design software for a range of neurodivergent needs, from autism to dyslexia, by offering flexibility rather than one fixed experience.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing for Cognitive Accessibility
Cognitive accessibility is often overlooked. Plain language, predictable structure, and reduced load make products usable for a far wider range of people.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Trust into Checkout and Payments
Checkout is where doubt is most expensive. Clarity about price, security cues that are real, and recoverable errors decide whether people complete a purchase.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Measuring Perceived Performance, Not Just Metrics
Why how fast software feels matters as much as how fast it is, and how to design for perceived performance alongside raw numbers.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Dark Mode Without Doubling the Work
Dark mode is not an inverted light theme. Semantic color tokens and a few principles let one system serve both modes without maintaining two designs.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Keyboard Shortcuts That Stick
Shortcuts only help if people remember them. Consistency, mnemonic mappings, and discoverability turn shortcuts from a hidden feature into a learned habit.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Cognitive Load and Interface Density: An Evidence-Based Approach
How interface density affects cognitive load, and how to decide how much to show on screen based on the kind of mental effort a task demands.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Onboarding Paths from Empty State to First Value
The empty state is where users decide to stay or leave. How to design the shortest honest path from a blank screen to the product’s first real value.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Empty States and Error States Well
Why empty and error states deserve as much care as the happy path, and how to turn these moments into guidance instead of dead ends.
Mykhailo Boichuk6 min read
Keyboard-First Design for Power Users
How to design software that rewards keyboard fluency with shortcuts, command interfaces, and full navigability, without abandoning newcomers.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing for First-Run Versus Returning Users
The same screen serves a confused newcomer and a fluent regular. How to design so first-run guidance does not become permanent clutter for returning users.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Haptics in Calm Interfaces: When Touch Should Speak
How to use haptic feedback sparingly and meaningfully, so that touch confirms and guides without adding to the noise of an interface.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Writing Error Messages That Help
An error message is a moment of friction that can either rescue or abandon the user. What separates a message that helps from one that blames or confuses.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Accessible Forms
Forms are where many users succeed or give up. Labels, error handling, focus order, and clear instructions decide whether a form is usable by everyone.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
Designing Onboarding That Respects Attention
Why most onboarding overspends a new user’s attention, and how to design a first run that teaches through use rather than upfront instruction.
Mykhailo Boichuk6 min read
Designing a Settings Search That Genuinely Helps
Settings grow faster than navigation can organize them. A good search indexes labels and synonyms, returns the control itself, and tolerates vague queries.
Maksym Bardakh6 min read
A Calm Color System for Long Working Sessions
Color that works for a glance can fatigue over hours. How to build a restrained, low-strain palette that stays comfortable through a long working session.