Which UI is Better? Just Stop

We’ve all seen them. The “Which UI is better?” poll where you’re supposed to know which option is better with zero context. These polls are a clear indicator of someone that’s missing the point of UX/UI design.

Super annoying and these dumb posts should stop, right?

Designers and “Unsolicited feedback”

[an example of what not to do…rewarded with tons of engagement on Linkedin]

The real reason that polls like this are everywhere is that they get tons of engagement. They get engaged because of the elephant in the room: designers can’t help but give their opinion.

These posts get tons of engagement because designers love putting in their two cents…even if it’s to say that the post shouldn’t exist in the first place. I can’t help but think that the people posting these polls are the more clever ones.

Giving “unsolicited feedback” is at the core of the designers’ psychology. Designers hate it when clients give unsolicited feedback, but we do it. Whenever somebody shows you a design with a glaring error, what’s your first impulse?

You go off on what’s wrong instead of asking about the context. Is that so different than a UI poll?

How to Stop UI Polls

I don’t claim to know how to make them stop completely, but I do have one trick that has worked for me: make fun of them.

Of course, it also gets lots of engagement, but it harnesses the power of UI polls rather than short-circuiting the “unsolicited feedback” mentality.

I hope you can do the same with similar results.

TL;DR: subvert the system so that it no longer works ;)

Here’s the file so you can post on your own social media: