Ayşe Doğan
Oct 30, 2025
5 min read
Case Study on Balancing Freedom and Usability
In today’s digital landscape, personalization has become a core expectation rather than a luxury. When one of our clients sought to add customization features to their platform in response to user requests, we faced a familiar challenge: how much freedom is too much? This case study explores our approach to creating a personalized experience that empowers users without overwhelming them.
The Challenge of Customization in UX
Customization allows users to adjust and shape interface elements according to their preferences and priorities. Recently, personalization has become a popular trend in UX design. Users now expect digital products to be adaptable and allow them to tailor their experience to their liking.
When companies offer more personalized experiences, they strengthen their connection with users. This approach not only meets customer expectations but also enhances satisfaction, resulting in positive feedback for the company.
However, there’s a critical design challenge: offering unlimited customization options doesn’t always guarantee a better user experience. Too many choices can overwhelm users, leading to frustration and disconnection. In this case study, we share our approach to solving this challenge and the design principles we applied to achieve balanced customization.
Why Customization Needs Balance?
Customization can empower users by giving them control over their experience, but there’s a fine line between offering flexibility and causing confusion. When faced with too many options, many users may feel lost or indecisive. This can lead to a negative experience, where users abandon the product instead of engaging with it. Therefore, offering unlimited freedom may not always be the best approach.
In the following example, we see the outcomes when users are given unlimited freedom. While users often appreciate a few additional options to customize certain areas, if we place the entire responsibility on them, they may not know what to do. This can lead to unintended consequences and a less satisfying user experience.
Unrestricted freedom can destroy readability and overall design harmony.
With this approach, our goal for our client was to strike the right balance. Instead of overwhelming users with endless customization options, we focused on providing a controlled set of choices that allowed them to personalize without feeling overwhelmed or making mistakes.
Design Principles for Balanced Customization
1. Managing Colors and Theme Guidelines
Color is one of the most essential components of an interface. It creates the first impression of the product and, when used effectively, can enhance usability while reinforcing brand perception.
Our approach involved exploring how a single color selection can be made more versatile. To ensure variety while providing clear direction for development, we defined proper color variations.
Color Categorization Strategy:
Fixed Colors: Content colors that remain consistent across the interface
Theme Colors: Flexible colors that adapt based on user selections
For each color selected by users, we created multiple theme variations that allow choice while maintaining design consistency.
Five theme variations automatically generated from a single color code entered by the user, demonstrating controlled customization and design consistency.
2. Contrast and Accessibility
Contrast refers to the difference between colors and directly impacts readability. Higher contrast enhances readability by making text and elements stand out against backgrounds, improving user interaction. Insufficient contrast can make content difficult to read and negatively affect the user experience.
Best Practices:
Use contrast checking tools during design phase
Implement consistent text color rules (dark text on light themes, light text on dark themes)
Apply contrast principles to interactive elements like buttons
Test with real users across different devices and lighting conditions
Example of content color variation in different contrasts
3. Light and Dark Versions
We know interfaces require both light and dark theme support. Our approach:
Divided palettes into light and dark sets
Defined rules using HSL lightness values
Created automatic theme application based on color properties
Ensured all elements meet appropriate contrast requirements in both modes
Dark and light mode approach
4. Maintaining Visual Consistency
Consistency is crucial for achieving cohesive design outcomes. Our approach included:
Creating standardized rules for each theme variation
Developing comprehensive theme systems (both light and dark versions)
Avoiding conflicting color tones within the same interface
Ensuring overall harmony to prevent visual errors
Implementation Guidelines
1. Typography Customization
Typography was limited to a small set of curated options:
Commonly used and universally compatible
Completely distinct from each other to avoid confusion
Optimized for the specific use case (web, email, mobile)
This prevented decision fatigue while maintaining flexibility.
2. Interactive Elements
Interactive components like buttons require careful balance between flexibility and consistency. Our approach to customizable interactive elements ensured they:
Enhanced user experience and improve functionality
Included relevant customization options (alignment, corner styles, colors)
Maintained consistency across different theme variations
Help users achieve their goals efficiently
Example of theme-based customization: the same interface components automatically adjust their colors and contrast based on the selected theme.
3. Gradient Handling
Customizing gradients is significantly more challenging than working with solid colors. Poor gradient choices can quickly lead to readability issues and visual inconsistency. Given these risks, we took a more controlled approach:
Define all variations internally rather than allowing unlimited user input
Provide curated alternatives that work well together
Maintain design quality by controlling available options
Offer enough variety while preventing poor combinations
Poor gradient example: insufficient contrast makes text unreadable.
Example of our gradient customization approach: offering users meaningful variety through pre-designed options rather than unlimited freedom
Key Takeaways
Through this project, we learned that successful personalization in UX design requires striking a delicate balance between offering freedom and maintaining usability. By establishing clear guidelines for colors, typography, and interactive elements, we ensured users have flexibility to personalize their experience without feeling overwhelmed.
Our goal was always to enhance user experience by providing controlled customization options that align with the platform’s overall design and functionality. This approach empowers users while ensuring a seamless and enjoyable experience.
Remember: More options don’t always mean better user experience. The art lies in offering just enough choice to satisfy user needs while preventing decision paralysis and maintaining design quality.
