Design without assuming human familiarity

#branding#UI / UX#design

Last update : 2026.4.27

Posted : 2020.6.18

In our daily lives, it feels like we’re increasingly surrounded by designs that take human “familiarity” for granted. So what would a design look like if it didn’t rely on that familiarity? Let’s explore that idea.

1. Use language that users are already familiar with

“Moments” — Moments are curated collections of tweets that are currently trending. By using Moments, you can easily create your own original story. Creating a Moment requires a title, description, tweets, and a cover image.

If you search within Twitter for phrases such as “Moments hard to use” or “Twitter Topics hard to use,” you will find many comments like: “Despite having features like Moments, Topics, and Bookmarks, they are extremely difficult to use,” “I cannot understand what Twitter is trying to achieve,” and “What is a Topic?”

When you hear terms like Lists, Topics, or Moments, what comes to mind first? Design serves as a “visual signpost.” If nothing comes to mind, if only a question mark appears, or if something entirely different is imagined, then there is a problem with the design.

If users cannot immediately understand and feel convinced enough to try the tool on the spot, then the design ultimately fails to function as design.

2. Anticipate the limits of “usability” in design

In recent years, smartphone screens have continued to grow larger.
In the case of applications, elements such as “before picking it up,” the “content after picking it up,” and the “layout” are of course important. However, we should not overlook the “ease of operation on larger smartphones.”

No matter how excellent the content or layout may be, if the size and placement of buttons are not designed appropriately for that screen, the overall impression is diminished—and ultimately compromised.

Anticipate the limits of usability in design

Source: X (formerly Twitter) https://twitter.com/?lang=en

Designers going forward should take mobile screen sizes into account—allowing users to adjust interface positions based on their dominant hand, implementing rotatable menu bars operable within thumb reach, or enabling category menus to appear through swipes from the left or right edges. In other words, we should aim for “mobile UI design” that is consciously built around how users operate devices in their hands.

Rather than focusing narrowly on content alone, we should broaden our perspective and remain committed to usability, thereby cultivating genuine “fans” of our services and products.

Conclusion

What did you think of “Design Without Assuming Human Familiarity”?

You may have experienced moments of confusion when looking at a design—wondering, “What does this mean?” or “What effect is this supposed to have?”

Since design functions as a “visual signpost,” you may notice that designs relying on assumed human familiarity often fail to properly consider elements of “UI/UX.”

The key question—whether something is immediately understood or felt by the user—is not limited to design; it is a principle that can be applied in everyday life as well. It is something worth keeping in mind.

Source: How to use Lists (Twitter)

Source: How to create a Moment (Twitter)

Source: About Twitter Topics

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