UX minute: Show, don't tell

2025/01/20 #uiux

There are a number of design principles in the field of UI/UX that have engrained themselves so deep into my mind I can't help but notice when a design violates them.

One of those principles is "Show, don't tell". To me this principle means that a good user interface should know when it is necessary to tell the user something explicitly. The flip side of this is that it should also know when to trust the user to come to the right conclusion from the contextual information presented to them.

The following screenshot shows a section of a website I recently came across that violates the second part of this principle in the most hilarious way possible.

Yes, this website decided to tell the user explicitly that it is possible to swipe left and right to see more of the company's "Strategic Partners". Why do they not just show scroll indicators (for example the standard grey dots), navigation arrows or the edge of the other logos on the right and left side of the screen instead? No idea.