The Human Interface

Most people talk about “UI” as if pixels and buttons are the whole story. But the real frontier isn’t the surface layer, it’s the human interface: the invisible structure that governs how people think, feel, and act when they interact with a system.

Designing great "human interfaces" (back to the surface layer now) starts with empathy. It’s built on a deep understanding of user intent, context, and constraints, often before the user can articulate them. It’s less about making things look "good" and more about making them feel obvious, inevitable, and almost invisible in use.

This means going beyond the aesthetic to design for cognitive alignment:

1. Manage cognitive load. Every extra decision, microsecond of hesitation, or unnecessary choice is friction. Take away as much of it as possible.
   
   

2. Close the feedback loop. The system should tell users exactly what’s happening, what it means, and what’s next, without requiring translation.
   
   

3. Match mental models. Align with the way people already understand the world, so learning curves flatten and trust builds quickly.

The human interface is where technology stops feeling like “a tool” and starts feeling like an extension of our thinking. When done well, it fades into the background, leaving only the feeling that the work just happens.