Sometimes the very best design answer is no design answer at all. Have you ever worked with a writer on a project and, when you were done, felt that the project had too much text? That’s because writers tend to solve problems with words.

Designers are inclined to do the same. They tend to solve problems by over–designing features. It takes a selfless, critical eye to avoid over-designing your product. Just let it be what it wants to be.

Obviously, you shouldn’t settle for bad typography or poor design. But if you are designing a screen that offers the user three choices and then expects them to click a Submit button, you needn’t create a completely new design for this common activity. Start by designing what is already familiar to the user (a picture of that scenario probably popped into your mind as I described it), and before you try any other design solution, see if the standard solution will work for your product. In other words, un-design the experience before you design it.

Always remember that the cleverness should be in the product’s concept, not in its execution.

Randy J Hunt.