Gordon Ramsay's Secret UX Recipe: Kill Your Features & Double Conversions

Hey, reader!

Welcome to the first edition of Product Potion! It took a lot of overthinking to arrive here, so if you'd like to see anything specific to help shape this content to fit your needs better, please reply to this email. Without further ado, I'd like to begin with a unique twist that connects unusual dots using a foundational principle of user experience (UX). ✨

Today’s brew includes:

• How Gordon Ramsay's menu-slashing technique demonstrates Hick's Law in action: fewer choices lead to faster decisions and better results.

• Real data showing simplified menus led to 75% higher growth for food chains compared to their option-heavy competitors.

• The "3-3-3 Rule" framework to eliminate choice overload and apply Hick's Law to your digital product design.

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Growth Potion of the Week

Here is a hard lesson: I challenge you to view your challenges as opportunities. For me right now, it’s getting laid off, so this is my opportunity to focus on this newsletter and learn a new skill.

Product Potion of the Week

When I first discovered Kitchen Nightmares years ago, I fell into a rabbit hole. Something about watching this crazy guy save businesses through semi-abusive, tough love was oddly... addictive?

But beneath all that screaming was a UX principle so powerful it's haunted me ever since.

The "Too Many F*cking Options" Problem

Every episode followed the same formula: Gordon walks into a failing restaurant, picks up their thicc encyclopedia-sized menu, and nearly has a stroke.

"FORTY-TWO ENTRÉES? ARE YOU INSANE?"

Then the “wow” moment: Gordon slashes the menu to a single page. Suddenly the kitchen can execute like a team of dedicated samurai warriors. Customers stop squinting in confusion. And (like magic), the restaurant becomes profitable.

This isn't just culinary common sense, guys. It's Hick's Law in action: As the number of choices grows, the time it takes to make a decision increases.

Translation: Double the options, and your users' decision time doesn't just double. It multiplies. Triple the options, and their brains are basically leaking out of their ears while staring at your product. 🫠

The Menu-Slashing Money Machine

Between 2013 and 2017, food chains like Dairy Queen and Little Caesars that simplified their menus saw 3.3% annual sales growth, while their option-hoarding competitors managed only 1.9%.

That's 75% higher cumulative growth just by embracing their inner Ramsay and telling some options to f*ck off.

This Isn't Just About Restaurants

Every product I use that causes me pain violates this principle. It's why I abandoned certain AI writing tools after staring blankly at 17 different writing features and 9 language model options. My brain short-circuited before I could write a single word.

When faced with too many choices, users feel paralyzed.

What Hick's Law Does For Your Product

When you channel your inner Gordon and simplify:

1. Decision fatigue evaporates - Users make choices faster without the mental gymnastics.

2. Cognitive load plummets - Your product feels light and intuitive, not exhausting.

3. Satisfaction skyrockets - Simpler interfaces create confidence, not confusion.

4. Conversion rates climb - Clear paths mean more completed goals.

5. Abandonment rates tank - Fewer people flee in overwhelm.

Your Product Potion Recipe

For my fellow feature-creep victims (I'm looking at you, product manager who "just needs one more option"):

The 3-3-3 Rule: Limit navigation to 3 main sections, with 3 subsections each, and prioritize 3 key actions per screen. If Gordon would scream at your interface, it needs trimming, so chop chop.

The Paradox Buster: For every feature you add, remove another. Product design is a zero-sum game—more isn't better, better is better.

The Focus Filter: Ask of every element: "Does this directly help users achieve their primary goal?" If not, it's just cognitive garnish. Toss it.

While Gordon may not review your UX decisions, his menu-slashing instinct is psychological gold. Simplicity isn't just aesthetically pleasing—it's a profit engine disguised as white space.

Now excuse me while I go apply this to my own life. If Gordon can run a Michelin-star restaurant with five core recipes, I probably don't need seventeen different ways to make a to-do list.

Closing Thoughts

Let’s brew together. I’m happy to help with your product!

Discovery Call — Let’s discuss how we can help you grow by improving your users’ experience.

See ya next week! 👋

— Dana Darr

P.S. I’d love to hear your feedback, or if you have an idea for an upcoming topic, please reply to this email and I'll get back to you.