Addition By Subtraction

I still think saying no is important. In that vein, here’s something I shipped by removing functionality (and I think my site is better for it).

For the longest time on my icon gallery sites, you could view a list of icons in four pixel dimensions:

  1. 56×56
  2. 128×128
  3. 256×256
  4. 512×512

Each of these sizes could be accessed via a control on the website. This has been true for years on my site, whether it’s the current site:

A blurred iOS icon gallery with a red arrow pointing to window controls.

Or an older version of the site:

A grid of colorful app icons labeled ‘iOS Icon Gallery,’ with a red arrow pointing to a highlighted square in a row of four above.

By default, I loaded the 128-pixel version of the icons. But if you wanted to see other sizes, you could.

However, the more I used the site myself the more I thought, “Four options is too many”.

When it comes to choice, what I really wanted was:

  1. Default
  2. Smaller
  3. Bigger

(Plus three is always a good number, unless you have a reason otherwise).

So I removed the big 512 option. If I want to study an icon at that size and detail, I click through to the icon’s detail page.

Now there are three options for list views: 56, 128, and 256. Small (great on mobile), 128 (great by default), and big (let me see more detail).

It’s simple to think about:

You don’t need to think about it anymore than that.

I mean you can, but I’ve found I don’t need to. So I’ve taken that off your plate. Less cognitive overhead.

Three panels showing rows of colorful app icons, including a duck, owl, lightbulb, piano keys, and hot air balloon.

Maybe one day I’ll add a slider and make it all dynamic. But for now, I like this small addition by subtraction.