No. 018
UX Design
Cognitive Load
Cognitive load is the amount of mental effort required to use an interface or complete a task.
Why it matters
Our working memory is limited. When a screen demands too much thinking at once, people make errors, feel stressed, or abandon the task.
In depth
Designers reduce cognitive load by chunking information, using recognition over recall, removing clutter, and providing sensible defaults. The goal is to let people focus their limited attention on their actual goal rather than on figuring out the interface.
Real-world example
A form that asks for one piece of information per step feels lighter than a single page crammed with thirty fields.
Field Notes
The shape of attention
Size, weight, and space guide the eye from most to least important — without a single instruction.
Related terms