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Design·Jan 2026·5 min

Interfaces that explain themselves

The best interface is one nobody has to be taught. Microcopy does a lot of the quiet work.

George HeavensonGeorge Heavenson
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The best interface is one nobody has to be taught. Every tooltip explaining a confusing control is a small admission that the control could have been clearer.

We lean on familiar patterns, honest labels and visible state, so users can predict what will happen before they act.

Good microcopy does a lot of quiet work here — a well-written empty state or error message often teaches more than any onboarding tour.

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