When was the last time you had a truly seamless online form experience?
Poorly designed forms are more than an inconvenience. At best, they slow us down. At worst, they become full barriers that prevent people from completing essential tasks.
As I have been revisiting my earlier research, I have renewed my focus on form design, the very thread that prompted my 2017 study. I wanted to understand a prerequisite factor other than training that keeps people from performing tasks successfully. Well-designed forms remain one of the most overlooked contributors to capability.
Form expert Caroline Jarrett, along with Gerry Gaffney, captured this beautifully in their 2008 book Forms That Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability. It may sound mundane, but forms often determine access to education, employment, services, and opportunities. When they are poorly designed, equity suffers.
If you do not have time for the book, take 12 minutes and listen to Gerry Gaffney’s interview with Caroline Jarrett on form design. It is a masterclass in why this “small” topic matters so much.
🎧Listen here: No. 6: Forms Design: An Interview with Caroline Jarrett
Dr. Treca Bourne 