At HackerAgency, we engineer and design with the goal of invisibility. Our aim is for all the decisions we make in font, tone, structure, function and form to fall away from the user’s experience. For the intent, function and UI to be so good that users take action, perform the desired task and move along the user pathway without even noticing how easy it was. For HackerAgency, invisible design is that place where the look falls away from the product, engineering a user experience with an almost unconscious feeling of comfort, ease and accomplishment.

1. INVISIBLE DESIGN
THE UX NIRVANA OF RESPONSIVE DESIGN AND
PROGRESSIVE ENHANCEMENT
HAL2L.COM • SEATTLE • MUNICH • PRAGUE • SHANGHAI

2. Dieter Rams didn’t invent good design, but he
described it. Well. So well that 30-odd years later, his
“10 Principles Of Good Design” continue to ring true
(with no signs of decay).
This is not an exegesis on Rams or his principles.
That said, they offer a resoundingly good entree to our
perspective on invisible design in the context of UX—
especially as the technologies and functions available
to designers allow for more and more control over the
user’s experience from screen to screen, mobile to
desktop to wearable—and from Leads to Loyalty.
IS YOUR DESIGN GOOD DESIGN?
At the heart of good design is invisibility. Good design transcends aesthetics while living deep within how a
product works and operates, manifesting itself in the look, functionality, feel and interface of the product—in
how the user experiences the product. For our purposes, we’re not describing the realm of product or industrial
design, but the well-traveled waters of email and site design. These properties are the most basic of digital
structures; they are the products agencies spend much of their time designing and building for clients. And
they are the properties most users spend the majority of their time interacting with.
At HackerAgency, we engineer and design with the goal of invisibility. Our aim is for all the decisions we make
in font, tone, structure, function and form to fall away from the user’s experience. For the intent, function and
UI to be so good that users take action, perform the desired task and move along the user pathway without
even noticing how easy it was. For HackerAgency, invisible design is that place where the look falls away
from the product, engineering a user experience with an almost unconscious feeling of comfort, ease
and accomplishment.
DESIGN SHOULD DISAPPEAR

3. GET RESPONSIVE. DO IT NOW.
Responsive design, for sites as well as email, is about more than optimized viewing across devices and screen
sizes. It’s about media queries adapting the content and function to the conditions of the device. And server-side
components allowing faster loads over cellular networks. Plus, it’s about buttons replacing text links. :)
Put simply, it’s about creating a the best user experience possible, regardless of screen.
And when we talk about a Mobile-First approach—and progressive enhancement—it’s boils down to idea of
pleasant accessibility. It’s about the user interacting with your site or email in an appropriate and useful way—and
allowing the best functionality for whatever tech they’re employing at that moment.
It’s not about having them stop and notice how well you designed the site or email. Users don’t open sites and
spastically resize the browser up and down to gauge and judge how well the content reconfigures or what
adaptation occurs at which break points. We do that. Users don’t.
Bottom line: right now, responsive design is the best way to design a user experience that feels good and works
well, no matter the device it’s experienced upon.
THE REALITY OF INVISIBLE DESIGN
Users just want things to feel right, function well
and make it easy for them to do what they want to
do. They usually only notice design when it fails
to deliver one or more of these things.

4. FUNCTION INFORMS FUNCTIONALITY
progressive disclosure horizontal scroll persistent nav/button
Digital properties are about function. What
is your intent in presenting your site or
email to users? Is it a transaction? An
enroll? An immersive experience? Before
you begin designing, you must be clear
about what specific tasks or goals you
want the user to accomplish. And why.
This is where you’ll have to make some
vital decisions. It’s also where progressive
enhancement can (and should) help guide
your decisions.
Progressive enhancement stresses accessibility,
essentially offering functionality to your email or site
from the ground up. What level of functionality is
appropriate for the browser, screen size and/or
device? How can you effectively layer additional
functionality as the power of the user’s tech
advances? And again, at the heart of your decisions:
what will make it easiest for the user to accomplish
the desired task?
With all the functionality CSS offers us (even in the
body of an email), designers at HackerAgency ask
not what they are capable of doing, but what is right
to do for the user’s experience? The functional intent
of the email or site leads us to good design—with
progressive enhancement guiding what levels of
functionality we layer on (and when).
What functionality is appropriate to
help your user accomplish the task
with minimal friction?

5. FOR THE FEELING OF
IT’S THERE
COMFORT
FOR THE EASE OF
ACCOMPLISHMENT
FOR OPTIMIZED EXPERIENCE
ON EVERY SCREEN
FOR DESIGN TO BE
SO GOODIT FALLS AWAY AND USERS
DON’T EVEN NOTICE
WHY STRIVE FOR INVISIBILITY?

6. YOUR NEXT STEP
At HackerAgency, we are obsessed with results. We’re a global direct
marketing agency with expertise across all media channels and a focus on
the metrics that matter to the executive suite. Our success generating client
ROI makes HackerAgency the leader in driving CRM programs and
campaigns. From Leads to Loyalty, no agency on earth develops and
deploys data-driven strategies and creative that engages and compels
customers to take action the way HackerAgency does. We don’t just move
the needle—we bury it.
If you’d like assistance in planning and executing your CRM
acquisitions and/or retention marketing, contact Kristin Flor at
206.805.1500 or kflor@HAL2L.com.