ARTICLE SUMMARY: In this fast paced world not everyone has ADHD, some people just want to see it all, and now. The amount of information available to everyone has given rise to “doomscrolling.” People now scan, swipe, and scroll like their thumbs are training for the Olympics.
“We’re living in the ‘Attention Deficit Era.’ Every app, ad, and inbox ping is screaming, “LOOK AT ME!” Pretty design just doesn’t cut it any more, you need something that will keep people around long enough to click on your call to action.
In Ryan A;meida’s “How to design for short attention spans” he looks at this growing design challenge and helps designers meet that challenge head on. Some of his suggestions include:
- First, embrace the scroll culture
- Visual hierarchy: the secret sauce
- One job per screen
- “Don’t make me think”
When it comes to mobile devices, designers are competing for consumers whose attention spans have been absolutely fried by Facebook, TikTok, Slack, and the latest Netflix series. That’s a tough nut to crack.
This is a “too much information is no good” situation. Interactions need to be instant and obvious, scrollers want instant feedback. They want to know what they did worked and not slowing them down in the process. Every action needs to be consistent and predictable if you’re going to reach out and hold your target audience.
It’s tough designing for people scrolling like banshees and not taking the time to really look at what you have to offer. This is a great article that will help you deal with this issue and achieve your goal.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
