Every element on screen competes for mental processing. Cognitive load is the total effort required to use your product.
Strategies
- Chunk information — Group related items, use progressive disclosure
- Reduce choices — Hick's Law: more options = slower decisions
- Use familiar patterns — Don't reinvent navigation or form layouts
- Offload memory — Show recent items, auto-save, visible state
The Squint Test
Squint at your design. Can you still identify the primary action and main content areas? If not, simplify.