I Went to Times Square and All I Got Was This Overloaded Website Design.

What is Cognitive Load and Why Does it Matter in UI/UX?

There are few greater experiences than your first time in Times Square. The lights, the people, the smells, the sounds, the vendors, the dancers. It’s really incredible to see how they all coexist.

But it is wildly overwhelming.

What do you do? How do you act? Don’t get pickpocketed. Find the best deal on the classic I ❤️ NY t-shirt. Make sure you have dinner reservations. Show up on time for your Broadway show. Oh shoot, did you check into your flight?!

If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re screwed.

Interestingly enough, your website is the same way. Let me explain.

If your website is giving someone fifteen main navigation links, a scrolling banner, auto-updated content, a hero video, CTA carousel, 6 button styles, 18 colors, and a pop-up module all at once… it is as overwhelming as Times Square. And as distracting from your main KPIs as you can imagine.

This feeling of overwhelm has a name: Cognitive Overload. 

Acceptance, Courage, and UI/UX Designers that Know the Difference

In UI/UX design, we have a lot to consider about how people process information, and lots of it. In fact, many UI/UX designers, architects, and strategists reference the Cognitive Load Theory to help explain why we make the decisions that we do.

The Cognitive Load Theory basically says that people understand and process information through their working memory and that a person’s capacity for working memory is finite.

Memory has three main parts: sensory, working, and long-term.

Sensory Memory is basically filtering out the information that isn’t relevant to the goal we’re trying to solve.

Working memory is the active part that filters information into useful or not, helping us to determine what actions we need to take to reach our goal.

Long-term memory is the storage of repeated patterns or information that we need for recall to streamline the process of our working memory.

So when we talk about cognitive load, we are really referencing all the hundreds or thousands of things that impact how your audience will receive your information. And frankly, this is a huge reason a lot of people hire an outside organization — *wink, wink* — having the perspective of someone that isn’t constantly navigating your website’s information can help you to better understand how others are likely to perceive that information.

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the UI/UX Designer that knows the difference.

A lot of things impact cognitive load. In fact, there are three types: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane. 

Intrinsic load is how inherently complicated the information or concept is to understand. It’s important to know your audience’s level of understanding as they come to you so you can ensure you’re giving them the right level of information for their understanding or at least a path to get to the level of information they need.

Extraneous load is all about how the information or concept is presented; this is really what UI/UX can impact. Think text hierarchy, navigation, design functionality patterns, interactive feedback… Extraneous load also considers how difficult it is for a person to process information from a very individual level. Again, as UI/UX people, we can help here with accessibility practices and straight up empathy.

Germane load is the amount of effort needed to convert working memory to long term memory. In UI/UX this is often the awareness and choice to use web conventions and design systems. We can reduce the cognitive load of a user by using patterns they are already familiar with (like having the navigation at the top of the page) and by creating repeatable systems so the user doesn’t have to keep learning new things to be able to access the information they came to your site for.

In short, the goal is to limit the overwhelm and streamline those decision making moments so the user can access the information they need (and that you want them to find) with as little effort as possible. Which makes them happy. Or at least doesn’t piss them off.

Choose Your Own Adventure

At the end of the day, you can determine your user’s experience of your site.

A Whirlwind Visit to Times Square

an overly complex, feature-rich website where users are bombarded with options, leading to high cognitive load

You go for the experience of the lights and people, but honestly, you don’t really know what you’ll get out of it. And if you’re looking for something specific, chances are you’ll get a better deal outside of Times Square. Or totally forget with all the distractions. Hopefully you get some good photos though, without some rando flipping you off in the background.

Seeing a Feature Hit at the Movie Theater

highly focused, single-purpose landing page, which minimizes cognitive load but may limit exploration

You’ve seen the previews, and you know the leading actor, so you bought the ticket for that box-office hit. But you know you gotta get there early to get your popcorn and find your seat so you don’t miss the start. And right as the plot starts to get reallllly good, you definitely have to stop drinking your soda or risk missing the payoff. Once the lights come up, the magic of the movies is gone as you see three missed texts from the babysitter.

A Friday Night Binge Session at Home

a well-balanced, user-friendly website design that provides both curation and control, resulting in a comfortable level of cognitive load

And you’ll binge watch The Office or maybe check out what’s been recommended for you. Eh, nope — back to The Office. You don’t fear having to pause to raid the fridge or for a bio break. Your remote doesn’t have any icons printed on it anymore, they’ve rubbed off by now, but no worries — you know what you’re doing. And for all of this, you don’t even have to wear pants.

Is your site giving Times Square levels of chaos?

Don’t worry, we are well versed in navigating NYC levels of chaos without losing the charm. Shoot us a message.