Minimalism vs. Complexity: What Oxford Research Says About UX

The trend in the last decade has been aggressive minimalism. Apple, Google, and Airbnb stripped away shadows, gradients, and borders. But is this always optimal?

Cognitive Load Theory

Research from Oxford University and Nielsen Norman Group points to Cognitive Load as the key metric.

Intrinsic Load: The difficulty associated with a specific topic.
Extraneous Load: The way information is presented.

Minimalism reduces extraneous load, but if you hide critical functions behind a "hamburger menu" or vague icons, you increase the cognitive load because the user has to remember where things are.

Tesler's Law (The Law of Conservation of Complexity)

Larry Tesler, a computer scientist at Xerox PARC, argued that for any system, there is a certain amount of complexity that cannot be reduced. It can only be moved.

Example: If you make a "simple" flight booking app with only one input field, the complexity moves to the backend (AI guessing) or the user (having to type a perfect sentence).

When Complexity is Good

Data-dense interfaces (like Bloomberg Terminals or IDEs) need density. A developer using a JSON Formatter doesn't want whitespace; they want to see as much code as possible.

The Verdict

Don't aim for minimalism. Aim for clarity.

Group Related Items: Use the Law of Proximity.
Progressive Disclosure: Show advanced options only when needed.
Standardization: Don't reinvent the wheel. A trash can icon should always mean delete.