What Makes a Notepad Feel Lightweight

· product-design

What makes apps like Typora, iA Writer, and Sublime Text feel "light" while others feel heavy? Relevant for ReadyCall's live meeting notepad.

The Core Insight

Lightweight ≠ fewer features. It's about perceived weight — how much cognitive and visual load the interface creates.

Typora's creator: "There should be a more lightweight, seamless and distraction-free solution... as a reader rather than writer want."

Principles of Lightweight UX

1. Instant Startup

Heavy: Splash screen → loading → indexing → ready Light: Double-click → immediately typing

"When I launched it, the difference was immediate: it opened instantly. There was no indexing, no waiting for background processes."

Counter-example: VS Code, Notion — feel heavy because they load workspaces, sync, run extensions.

2. Minimal Chrome

Heavy: Toolbars, sidebars, status bars, ribbons, menus Light: Blank canvas with content

Typora: "On opening it for the first time, Typora greets you with a blank screen. No pop-ups, no overstuffed toolbar, just two buttons, and a word count."

The test: What % of pixels are UI vs content?

3. No Split Panels

Heavy: Editor on left, preview on right Light: Single surface, live preview inline

Typora/Mark Text: "Unlike other Markdown editors, these two do not have a dual panel interface."

Why it matters: Split panels force constant eye movement between "what I wrote" and "how it looks."

4. Progressive Disclosure of Syntax

Heavy: Show all formatting codes all the time Light: Show formatting only when cursor is near

"When you place the caret near formatted text, the actual Markdown becomes visible. As soon as you go somewhere else, that markup gets out of your way."

The pattern: Hide complexity until needed.

5. Focus Modes

Heavy: Everything visible, everything clickable Light: Current line emphasized, rest dimmed

Typora's focus mode: "helps you focus on one line by blurring lines around it."

Typewriter mode: "always keeps the currently active line in the middle of the window."

6. WYSIWYG Without the Weight

Heavy: Rich text editor with formatting palette Light: Type naturally, see results immediately

"It is an inline WYSIWYG editor that renders the content as I'm typing it. If I add a new heading with # characters it will actually look like a heading."

The Performance Side

Perceived lightness requires actual speed:

Metric Light Heavy
Startup <200ms >1s
Keystroke response <16ms (60fps) >50ms (noticeable lag)
File open Instant for <1MB Loading spinner
Memory <100MB >500MB

"A minimal interface design often translates to improved performance, as it will require fewer resources to render."

The Hierarchy of Visual Noise

From least to most noisy:

  1. Blank canvas — just your text
  2. Minimal status — word count, maybe filename
  3. Hidden toolbar — appears on hover
  4. Persistent toolbar — always visible icons
  5. Ribbon interface — categorized tool tabs
  6. Multi-panel — sidebars, outlines, previews

Counter-Examples (What NOT to Do)

Notion: Powerful but heavy

  • Slash commands, hover menus, blocks, databases
  • Every paragraph is a "block" with controls
  • Network-dependent, syncs constantly

Word/Google Docs: Feature-rich but cluttered

  • Ribbon with 100+ buttons
  • Formatting options visible even when not needed
  • Multiple toolbars, sidebars

IDE-style editors: Power over simplicity

  • File trees, terminals, version control panels
  • Extension ecosystems add weight
  • Built for coding, not writing

For ReadyCall: Lightweight Meeting Notes

Apply these principles:

  1. Instant ready state — app always running in menu bar, note surface appears instantly
  2. Blank canvas first — open to empty note, not a dashboard
  3. Hide the transcript — show your notes primarily, transcript available but not dominant
  4. One surface — don't split into "my notes" vs "AI notes" vs "transcript"
  5. Progressive AI — AI suggestions appear contextually, not in a permanent sidebar

The test question: Can someone start typing within 1 second of wanting to take a note?

Visual Noise Checklist

For any note-taking interface, ask:

  • How many UI elements are visible when just typing?
  • What % of screen is content vs chrome?
  • Can I hide everything except my text?
  • Does it feel like a blank page or a control panel?
  • Would a writer be distracted or at home?

Related

  • products/granola.md — Competitor doing this well
  • technology/macos-swiftui.md — Technical implementation
  • UI Spacing Essentials — Related design principles

Sources