Designing for Cognitive Clarity: Redesigning Craigslist

Generated from prompt:

Create a visually alluring, modern, high-contrast PowerPoint presentation titled "Designing for Cognitive Clarity" by Kamrunisha Ansari. Style Direction: - Minimalist, modern UI aesthetic - Strong visual hierarchy - Plenty of white space - Clean sans-serif typography - Soft neutral background with bold accent color (deep blue or violet) - Card-based layout inspiration - Subtle icons for Cognitive Load, Miller’s Law, Gestalt, Signal-to-Noise - Use visual comparisons (Before vs After) - Use large section dividers Slides Structure: 1. Cover Slide – Title + Subtitle + Name 2. Why This Interface? (Craigslist case study – cognitive issues overview) 3. Cognitive Load Identification (Intrinsic, Extraneous, Germane) 4. Miller’s Law Violation (visual explanation) 5. Cost of Clutter (table-style visual comparison) 6. Low-Fidelity Wireframes 7. High-Fidelity Wireframes 8. Redesign Overview (Before → After transformation) 9. What Changed (structured comparison slide) 10. Principles Applied (Cognitive Load Theory, Miller’s Law, Gestalt, Signal-to-Noise) 11. How Cognitive Load Was Reduced 12. Final Visual Redesign Showcase 13. Thank You Slide (clean, minimal) Make it highly visual, reduce text density, convert bullet lists into visual blocks, comparison layouts, and clean spacing.

This presentation critiques Craigslist's cognitively overwhelming interface, identifies issues like information overload and poor hierarchy violating Miller's Law, and showcases a redesigned version applying Cognitive Load Theory, Gestalt principles,

February 24, 202613 slides

Slide 1 of 13

Slide 1 - Designing for Cognitive Clarity

Designing for Cognitive Clarity

Redesigning Craigslist for Better User Experience By Kamrunisha Ansari

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Photo by Pict4life on Unsplash

Slide 1 - Designing for Cognitive Clarity

Slide 2 of 13

Slide 2 - Why This Interface?

Craigslist: Iconic but cognitively overwhelming
Key Cognitive Issues:
- Cluttered layout with poor visual hierarchy
- Information overload exceeding Miller's 7±2 limit
- Tedious navigation and excessive scrolling
- No intuitive grouping or whitespace

Slide 3 of 13

Slide 3 - Cognitive Load Identification

Intrinsic: Complexity inherent to the task
Extraneous: Caused by ineffective design/presentation
Germane: Effort toward understanding and schema building

Slide 4 of 13

Slide 4 - Miller’s Law Violation

'The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two'
Average short-term memory: 7 ± 2 items
Craigslist: Dense lists exceed this limit
Chunking: Group info into meaningful units

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magical_Number_Seven,_Plus_or_Minus_Two

Slide 5 of 13

Slide 5 - Cost of Clutter

Aspect	Cluttered (Craigslist)	Clear (Redesign)
Time to Find Item	High (excessive scrolling)	Low (filtered views)
Error Rate	High (info overload)	Reduced (chunked info)
User Retention	Low (frustration)	High (intuitive UX)
Mental Effort	Exceeds 7±2 capacity	Within cognitive limits

Slide 6 of 13

Slide 6 - Low-Fidelity Wireframes

Simplified top navigation
Card-based listings (≤7 visible)
Clear search and filters
Gestalt grouping via proximity

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Photo by Amper on Unsplash

Slide 7 of 13

Slide 7 - High-Fidelity Wireframes

Modern sans-serif typography
Deep blue accent colors
Subtle icons for actions
Responsive grid layout

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Photo by Lorin Both on Unsplash

Slide 8 of 13

Slide 8 - Redesign Overview

Before (Original) Dense walls of text No visual separation Overwhelming info density Poor scannability

After (Redesign) Chunked card layouts Ample white space Bold hierarchy Easy scannability

Slide 9 of 13

Slide 9 - What Changed

Element	Before	After
Navigation	Buried text links	Prominent filtered menu with icons
Listings	Ungrouped endless list	Chunked cards (≤7 per view)
Hierarchy	Flat text	Bold headings & whitespace
Visuals	Plain	Deep blue accents, subtle icons
Search	Basic keyword	AI-powered filters & suggestions