Tech futurists say chats and agents will replace graphical interfaces. I disagree. It’s like saying:

“Because a hotel concierge is so helpful they should replace vending machines.”

A concierge is universal; they can call you a taxi, book a tour, and change the room if it has bed bugs.

But if I want a Snickers? I don't want to greet them, explain the request, and find out that my idea is brilliant. I want to press the bloody button and eat my Snickers. I want zero cognitive load.

Same with interfaces. There are two core metrics of interface quality:

Effectiveness: can the user accomplish the task?
Efficiency: how quickly and effortlessly can they do it?

Conversational UIs are effective. You can initiate almost any task through a universal interface: pull any data from the database, present it in any way you want, operate with it in any way you need.

But conversational UIs fail at efficiency, speed, and reducing cognitive load.

They rely on recall (you have to remember what is possible and how to ask for it). They suck at recognition (seeing the option in front of you).

Graphical interfaces (GUIs) are efficient. They are optimized for speed, muscle memory, and predictable, structured output.

GUIs are also way better at providing status. I don’t want to ask: "What’s the current PnL of my Apple position?" I don’t need reasoning and interpretation.I don't want to wait for a free-form text summary. I want to see a simple optimized UI that I can process in milliseconds. And if the position goes from profit to loss, I can spot the color change with peripheral vision.

The future isn’t chat/voice UIs replacing graphical UIs. They should coexist, each used where it’s strongest.

Don’t make me talk to my light switch.

I despise simplistic generalizations.

Here’s one of my “favourites”: “Build for mobile devices first.” Garbage advice. Stupid and dangerous.

I have a better one: “Optimize for whatever makes sense in your particular case, for your niche, demographics, user behavior, and acquisition channel, based on real data.”

Look at your reality, not the global averages.

“70% of world’s traffic is mobile.” Wow, I’m impressed.

But let’s now look closer:

Video streaming, social scrolling and mobile games consume a lot of traffic and most of it comes from mobile devices. I don’t disagree. Teenagers stream 4K video on their phones. Does this mean your potential B2B customers are browsing your pricing page on a mobile device? 100% no.

Next, without segmenting by event type, device metrics are meaningless.

Take trading apps. I might check my portfolio 20 times a day on mobile (yes, I know), but I only do the real trading on a desktop, because I want full control and concentration.

Same with forms. I hate filling out forms on mobile. I send the link to myself and finish it on a desktop, in a quiet room, with a real keyboard.

Next, mobile usage heavily depends on geography and some markets skew the averages.

In emerging regions, more people go online from cheaper mobile devices. For example, in Africa the estimated penetration is 80-90%. In developed markets this number drops to around 50%, and even lower in certain niches.

If you’re a financial advisor serving HNWIs in Milwaukee WI, I bet your highest quality organic visitors and conversions will come from desktops.

Why?

• To be a HNWI, they’ve likely been saving for 20-30 years, so they’re probably 50+.
• Eyesight declines with age. They want big screens.
• They also want a quiet environment with no distraction to make big commitments. They don't transfer $500k while changing trains.

It just makes sense.

But!

If you plan to run paid Meta ads campaigns - you should 100% optimize for mobile, because 90% of your clicks will come from mobile devices, even in Milwaukee. But realize that the final conversion might still happen later, on a laptop.

You see? Context matters. Simplistic general advice works great for engagements on social. It doesn’t mean you should follow it.

Collect your own data. Do your own research.

1. Design ≠ art.
2. Users are stupid.
3. Color wheel is cool.
4. Discovery never ends.
5. Marketing ≠ promotion.
6. People don’t read policies.
7. Specialists beat generalists.
8. Waterfall processes don’t work.
9. Trust = Competence × Integrity.
10. Using dark UX patterns isn’t smart.
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11. Most roadmaps are wishful thinking.
12. Good design won’t save a weak offer.
13. Great products don’t sell themselves.
14. Trust is hard to build and easy to lose.
15. Designers should understand business.
16. Trust is the most important thing in finance.
17. Design won’t help if you have nothing to say.
18. Copy without setup verbs is always stronger.
19. There are many design solutions to a problem.
20. Great products are only built through iterations.
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21. Not every UI needs to feel obvious at first glance.
22. Being busy usually means avoiding hard decisions.
23. Mobile-first approach is premium-grade nonsense.
24. If you think your clients are terrible, blame yourself.
25. Experience only lets you make slightly better mistakes.
26. Everything you say and do either builds trust or erodes it.
27. The rule of contrast makes the most difference in design.
28. “Sell the vacation, not the plane ticket” is a rubbish advice.
29. The more experience you have, the more control you want.
30. It’s impossible to create anything truly unique, don’t even try.
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31. A lot of ‘rebrands’ happen when teams can’t make real progress.
32. Most companies use regulation as an excuse for a lack of creativity.
33. The simplest way to write strong copy: remove evaluative adjectives.
34. ASAP projects signal bad planning and are avoidable most of the time.
35. When you’re early-stage, brand guides are a waste of time and money.
36. Offers that remove pain are stronger than offers that promise pleasure.
37. Even in a regulated industry, you can be genuine, authentic, and specific.
38. Clients tend to remember your worst moments more than your best ones.
39. Building a business is damn hard, and every entrepreneur deserves a statue.
40. If you need legal disclaimers to defend your integrity, you don’t have integrity.
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41. In finance, brand loyalty doesn’t exist. People only stay until they distrust you.
42. Simplistic color psychology is hogwash. Colors don’t have universal meanings.
43. For every manipulative tactic, hidden fee, and dark UI pattern, you’ll pay later with churn.
44. Good design only happens at the intersection of business objectives and constraints.
45. You can’t “design” trust. You can only live up to it and then use design to communicate it.
46. People who can switch between entrepreneurship and employment are extremely rare and talented.
47. From the outside, most founders look like they have a plan. Up close, it’s total chaos and continuous guessing.