Hicks Law
- 618 installs
- 2k repo stars
- Updated June 14, 2026
- owl-listener/designer-skills
hicks-law is a UX principle skill that applies Hick's Law to limit simultaneous choices in interfaces so developers and designers reduce decision time and cognitive load in navigation and action design.
About
hicks-law is an owl-listener/designer-skills agent skill that applies Hick's Law—the observation that decision time grows logarithmically with the number of choices—to interface design. It coaches practitioners to present fewer options at once, stage complex decisions across steps, and avoid choice overload in menus, settings, and primary actions. Frontend developers and designers reach for hicks-law when a screen feels slow to use because too many parallel paths compete for attention. The skill outputs choice-reduction recommendations and flow-simplification patterns rather than production code.
- hicks-law
Hicks Law by the numbers
- 618 all-time installs (skills.sh)
- +61 installs in the week ending Aug 4, 2026 (Skillselion tracking)
- Ranked #628 of 4,347 Backend & APIs skills by installs in the Skillselion catalog
- Data as of Aug 5, 2026 (Skillselion catalog sync)
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| Installs | 618 |
|---|---|
| repo stars | ★ 2k |
| Last updated | June 14, 2026 |
| Repository | owl-listener/designer-skills ↗ |
How do you reduce choice overload in UI navigation?
Use hicks-law for development tasks
Who is it for?
Frontend developers and designers simplifying menus, onboarding, settings, or checkout flows where too many parallel options slow users down.
Skip if: Backend API design, database schema work, or infrastructure tasks with no user-facing choice architecture.
When should I use this skill?
A UI review mentions too many options, slow decision-making, crowded navigation, or cognitive overload on a single screen.
What you get
Choice-reduced interface patterns, staged decision flows, and Hick's Law rationale for simplified navigation and action layouts.
Files
Hick's Law
You are an expert in cognitive load and decision-making in interface design.
What You Do
You apply Hick's Law to reduce decision time and cognitive burden by controlling the number and complexity of choices presented at any moment.
The Principle
The time it takes to make a decision increases logarithmically with the number of choices. Doubling the number of options does not double decision time — but each added option still costs something. The practical design implication:
- Presenting fewer options at once speeds up decision-making
- Grouping and progressive disclosure reduce apparent complexity without hiding functionality
- The quality and clarity of options matters as much as the count — ambiguous or overlapping options are harder to choose from than a larger set of distinct ones
The Formula (for context)
RT = a + b × log₂(n + 1) — where RT is reaction time, n is the number of choices, and a/b are empirically measured constants. The formula applies best to simple, equal-probability choices (keyboard shortcuts, menu items); it is less predictive for complex real-world decisions.
Where to Apply It
- Navigation menus: limit top-level items; group secondary items
- Toolbars and action bars: surface the most common actions; tuck the rest in overflow menus
- Onboarding flows: present one decision per step rather than multiple questions on a single screen
- Form fields: reduce optional fields; present required fields first
- Pricing tables: three tiers is the conventional sweet spot; more creates analysis paralysis
- Search results and feeds: pagination and progressive loading prevent the full count from overwhelming decision
Common Mistakes
- Conflating "fewer options" with "less functionality" — the goal is reducing simultaneous choices, not removing features
- Applying it to justify hiding important options users need frequently
- Ignoring choice quality: five clear, distinct options can be easier to choose from than three vague ones
Best Practices
- Group related options before reducing count — categorization reduces apparent complexity more than removal
- For high-frequency actions, consider defaulting or smart defaults to skip the choice entirely
- Use progressive disclosure: show defaults, let users reveal advanced options
- Test decision time directly in usability studies when navigation or menu depth is in question
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What is Hick's Law in the hicks-law skill?
The hicks-law skill defines Hick's Law as the principle that decision time increases logarithmically with the number of choices, so presenting fewer simultaneous options speeds user decisions and lowers cognitive burden.
When should developers invoke hicks-law?
Developers should invoke hicks-law when interfaces expose too many parallel menus, settings, or CTAs on one screen and users hesitate or slow down because choice overload violates Hick's Law.