Redefining Invisible design

In the digital world, I would classify invisible design as useful features running in the background that only become visible when you activate them.

‍

To put it in more concrete terms, invisible design is when two things happen concurrently but your default view is only on one. The invisible part then becomes visible when you decide to look at it [2].

‍

For example, the design tool Webflow creates code for you in the background as you design a webpage with its Graphic User Interface. You don’t see the code of what you designed until you decide to look at it. Thereby producing two products at once — design and code.

‍

In episode 383 of the Design Details podcast, Marshall Bock defines Invisible Design as “An experience that goes unnoticed if present but immediately becomes noticed if absent.” This basically classifies invisible design as a new product feature that makes your life easier but once that feature disappears you notice it immediately. For Example, taking out your AirPods and the music automatically pauses vs you manually pausing the music with wired earphones. If you had to switch from using AirPods to wired earphones, you would notice this difference immediately.

‍

The issue is, I think Bock’s definition is a more accurate depiction of what I call the Kano Bar. The Kano Bar is derived from the Kano model which roughly states there are basic needs a user expects from a product and over time the bar of what is expected is raised as more features are added.

To that end, simply automating manual tasks is not the same as invisible design (though they are closely related), it is just raising the Kano Bar [3].

‍

However, I understand where Marshall Bock is coming from. If you search the web for invisible design, you’ll come across definitions like the use of white space, simplification, minimalism, etc. It mostly states that invisible design is design that gets out of the user’s way so they can do what they need to do. But I think due to some of the advances in technology, it’s time to redefine it. At least with respect to the digital world.

‍

If invisible design is useful features running in the background that only become visible when you activate them, then the tenets are:

1. They become visible when you activate them;
2. They are products that are actually useful to you, not just information displays (like a dashboard);
3. They run concurrently with a default view.

Examples of these are:

• Spotify creating playlists for you based on your liked songs
• Uber automatically sends you an email receipt whenever you complete a trip. Note: the app notification you get for completing your ride is not the receipt.
• Webflow (or no-code tools) creating code for you as you design
• A podcasting app that automatically creates a transcript for you. Even better in multiple languages
• Google creating a word document for you based on text you highlighted in the Play Books app
• Bikes that charge batteries especially if the intention was to exercise
• Instagram saving your stories so you can repost at a later date

‍