Designing for Progressive Disclosure

Links are one of the most foundational elements of connected digital technology. They long predate the Web and form the backbone of the whole concept of hypermedia.

I used hypermedia systems well before the Web. I got to see the Aspen Movie Map by the early 80s, and used and slightly poked at Hypercard and… I think other tools. But many are lost to the cobwebs of time and I have forgotten a lot.

I’m not the only one. Because the Web took over everyone’s life, and a whole culture of technology futurism meant ignoring the past is a whole sport now.

We’re now so spoiled for choice in even the simplest interactions and interfaces, that the web is becoming bloated, and confusing. I think instead we need to think about what we’re doing, and make conscious decisions. Really, that’s almost always what my columns are about.

This month, I am reviewing the concept of progressive disclosure as an extension of the foundational concept of hypertext/hypermedia, and listing the pros and cons of the most obvious and useful methods to expose more information in your app, website, or other digital touchscreen interface:

  • Popups and Lightboxes

  • Drawers

  • Accordions

  • Tabs

  • New pages

  • Scrolling

  • and Category Carousels

And I cover pragmatic issues like performance, how metrification means we click a lot more than needed because we measure clicks as engagement, and even how touch doesn’t have hover, which comes up a lot more than it should.

Read the whole article Designing for Progressive Disclosure at UXmatters: https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2020/05/designing-for-progressive-disclosure.php

ArticlesSteven Hoober