Ever advancing technology leads to products with ever more features, yet this wealth of features can transfer focus away from a product that is actually useful and usable. Typical household products such as microwaves often have a bewildering array of dials, codes and buttons, so users end up trying to remember the precise action sequence required to achieve one desirable function, and simply ignoring the rest.

The foundation of a successful design is a focus on simplicity, together with an understanding of what users actually want from the product. Philips (2004) found that only 23% of Americans use the full range of features on most new technology products. 65% of Americans say “they have lost interest in purchasing a technology product because it seemed too complex to setup or operate”. The fact that some products can be set-up and operated easily has raised the bar for what’s possible. Ease of use is so important to the public (76%) that it is now equal in importance to the dimension of “high quality”.