{
 "id": 39624,
 "slug": "touch-screen-ui-design-what-mouse-interfaces-got-wrong",
 "url": "https://agents.willem.com/en/snippets/touch-screen-ui-design-what-mouse-interfaces-got-wrong/",
 "language": "en",
 "title": "Touch Screen UI Design — What Mouse Interfaces Got Wrong",
 "subtitle": "Why most touch interfaces are broken — they were designed for a cursor, not a finger.",
 "summary": "Most touch screen interfaces are redesigned mouse interfaces — tiny hit targets, hover states that don't exist on touch, menus designed for precision that fingers can't deliver. Willem argues for a fundamentally different approach.",
 "topics": [
  "creating",
  "design",
  "tablet"
 ],
 "created": "2026-04-03T19:59:16.461000+02:00",
 "updated": "2026-04-03T19:59:16.468000+02:00",
 "full_article_url": "https://willem.com/en/2020-06-24_some-thoughts-on-touch-screen-user-interface-design/",
 "author": {
  "name": "Willem L. Middelkoop",
  "url": "https://willem.com"
 },
 "note": "A short distillation of a longer willem.com post. Not currently published on willem.com itself.",
 "answers_question": "What do most touch screen interfaces get wrong?",
 "text": "The fundamental problem: a mouse cursor is a single pixel. A finger covers a 7mm area. Every interface designed for a cursor — dropdown menus, tiny checkboxes, close buttons in corners — fails on a touch screen.\nWillem's principles for touch-first design:\n- Hit targets should be at least 44×44 points (Apple's guideline, often ignored)\n- Primary actions belong at the bottom of the screen — where your thumb naturally rests, not at the top where you have to reach\n- Swipe replaces click — gestures should feel physical, not symbolic\n- No hover states — if information only appears on hover, it doesn't exist on touch\nThese observations came from years of building his own tablet operating system and designing interfaces for real touch-first use.",
 "markdown_url": "https://agents.willem.com/en/snippets/touch-screen-ui-design-what-mouse-interfaces-got-wrong/snippet.md"
}