Hick’s Law: Simplifying Choices for Better UX

It’s Friday night🌃, you and your friends decide to watch a movie together. You open your group chat, and suddenly everyone is throwing out 20 different movie suggestions: action, rom-com, indie, horror, animated😵. You’re now stuck in a vortex of indecision, with endless back-and-forth texts like,

 “I’m fine with anything,” “Wait, I hate horror,” and “Has anyone watched this yet🤔?”

After what feels like hours⌛, no one has picked a movie, and you’re still sitting there, popcorn ready but no movie on screen. 

Too many options have stalled the entire decision-making process.

Now, imagine someone in the group suggests just two or three movies. The decision-making becomes quicker, people agree faster, and bam, you’re watching something within minutes😊.

That’s Hick’s Law in action. Fewer choices streamline decision-making.

Why do we use Hick’s Law in design?

This is when the users want speed and clarity, not an endless menu of options🤯. Whether it’s choosing between products, filling out a form, or navigating an app, simplifying the choices helps users move faster and feel less overwhelmed🤗. 

Hick’s Law isn’t about limiting freedom; it’s about creating a more intuitive experience by guiding users to their decisions effortlessly😎.

In short: Fewer options = Faster decisions = Happier users🥰.

How to Apply Hick’s Law in Your Own Designs

Limit Choices on Each Screen: Instead of overwhelming users🤯 with too many options, group related actions into categories and only show the most essential items on each screen✅. 

For example, Spotify uses sections like “Daily Mixes,” “Made for You,” and “Recently Played” and Duolingo’s choose path section limiting the cognitive load of the users. 😵 

Use Progressive Disclosure: Break down complex tasks or multiple steps into smaller😊, manageable chunks. This way, users only see a few choices at a time⌛, making it easier for them to process and decide without feeling overwhelmed.

For example, when you create or update your LinkedIn profile, you aren’t bombarded with all the profile fields at once🤯 (such as work experience, skills, education, recommendations, etc.). Instead, LinkedIn guides you step-by-step through the profile-building process😉.

Prioritize Key Actions: Hick’s Law is especially effective when you highlight and prioritize key actions over secondary ones✨. By doing this, you direct users toward their primary goal without distracting them with unnecessary options😉.

Canva’s “Design” Button on Canva’s home screen, the “Create a Design” button is large, colorful🥰, and at the top, while other options like browsing templates or learning tutorials are smaller and less prominent😎. 

Use Categories and Filters: When faced with a large number of options😵, users can become overwhelmed. Applying Hick’s Law by organizing options into logical categories or using filters helps users narrow down their choices more quickly and efficiently✅.

A lot many applications use this filter option widely.

Applying Hick’s Law, whether it’s limiting choices on each screen🤔, using progressive disclosure to reveal information step-by-step, prioritizing key actions, or offering smart filters ensures users don’t feel bogged down or confused😵. Instead, they glide through their tasks with ease😊.

So next time you’re designing a page or an app, ask yourself: Are there too many choices here🤔? Is the key action obvious🧐? If you follow Hick’s Law, you’ll create experiences that not only engage users but leave them thinking, “Wow, that was easy!🥰”

Want to dive deeper into UX laws? Check this out! – Laws of UX✨