I liked this blow-by-blow about how to explain the different ways to enter a date and time in Backpack.
It may look like a long and laborious process. Expensive even. Sure, it is when you writing it out in full like this. But it doesn’t have to be if it is just part of how you think. If everything has some thought behind it and a reason for being, then it is just part of the design process. You notice when the words look too loud and noisy on the page. And as this example shows, so often there’s a real balance between clarity and brevity. Cracking it and judging it are the key.
And my theory is when all those elements are well thought-out and just right, the interface sings. Users glide through their task. You hit the illusive “intuitive”. It feel just right in your hand.
