---
title: I just want to click the button
teaser: Intuition often wins over familiarity.
tags: user experience,user interface,user research,design
author: Elaina Natario
published_on: 2025-06-11
---

I regularly use Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos. The first thing I do after opening the app is add photos from my camera. And this is what I usually see:

<p>
  <figure
    role="figure"
    aria-label="The start screen when you open up Adobe Lightroom.">
    <img
      style="margin: 0 0 1rem 0;"
      src="https://images.thoughtbot.com/e53md0a05mjh5qkt4ln4zn5rox3m_lightroom-ui.png"
      alt="A user interface with 2 sidebars showing various options and a center screen in black with white icons that read ‘Add some photos’. Below it is a blue button that says ‘Add photos’.">
    <figcaption>
    The start screen when you open up Adobe Lightroom.
    </figcaption>
  </figure>
</p>

I’m presented with a large instructional screen prompting me to connect my camera, drag and drop photos, or sync from my mobile Lightroom app. Below that is a blue button that tells me to “Add photos”. The blue button is the only color in a screen that is gray and black and white. I want to click the button. The button will do the thing that I want: Add my photos.

_It does not add my photos._

When clicking the big blue button, it suddenly spawns a blue orb that gently arcs over to the sidebar menu, landing oh-so delicately on a menu option that reads the same as the blue button: “Add photos”. It pulses around the plus icon and shows a tooltip that says: “Lightroom is more fun with your photos. To get started click the + button and select some photos”.

<p>
  <figure
    role="figure"
    aria-label="The primary button call to action on this page prompts me to click another button to do the action I expected the original button to do.">
    <video
      style="margin: 0 0 1rem 0;"
      src="https://images.thoughtbot.com/pfqesgcmw9tw9wlzt0ayplo0gazz_lightroom-add-photos.mov"
      autoplay
      preload
      playsinline
      loop
      muted
      controls></video>
    <figcaption>
    The primary button call to action on this page prompts me to click another button to do the action I expected the original button to do.
    </figcaption>
  </figure>
</p>

I KNOW LIGHTROOM IS MORE FUN WITH PHOTOS — THAT IS WHAT I AM TRYING TO DO! WHY DO YOU MOCK ME, LIGHTROOM?!

Why can’t I just add photos from the first button I pressed? Why on earth do I have a tutorial telling me how to click something that I wouldn’t intuitively click on given the user interface? Why can’t I dismiss this tutorial?

Here’s the thing: I’ve been a Lightroom user for years. They’ve had this user experience for _years_. And every single time, I click the blue button. Despite my experience with the app, I still will always take the path that seems most _obvious_ to me.

Familiarity and teaching users how to use your app won’t always win over what is most intuitive on the page. Especially when that intuition drives a primary goal.

Shoehorning in overlays or extra steps won’t always force folks to use the nicely paved sidewalk you put in place. Your product — the web really — is just a series of [desire paths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_path). Understanding those paths (read: talking to users), is critical to designing an experience that is based in reality, not just product objectives.

So, just let me click the button to add my photos.