Every element on a page fights for the attention of the user. Text
sits next to form elements, which sit next to ad banners, which sit
next to logos, taglines, copyright information, and persistent
navigation. How is a user supposed to know which things
really need attention and which things can safely be ignored?
Interfaces full of unnecessary graphical elements, text that's longer
than it needs to be, and features that don't really help anyone risk
creating an environment of visual overload. Every time a user accesses
a page, his brain must take a moment to process everything on the
screen to see what's there and analyze the importance of each element.
This moment can be disorienting when a page is jammed full of content
and graphics.