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This is a personal list of things I'd want from Applications I build. Specifically Web applications, but works well for terminal applications too.
No Accounts
I'm so sick of signing up to things. I will often refuse to sign up for more accounts on no other basis than it's another account I don't want. I don't want to give you my email. There's already accounts in the world. Applications I build for myself will not require signing up for any account.
No Numbers in Notifications
My applications are allowed, at most, one "Notify" signal. It should be discreet, and it's signal must be strong to justify it's presence. Do not show me numbers that decrease to 0 when all items have been cleared. I should not have subtle incentives to spend more time on the application. High numbers, and lots of them, are anxiety inducing.
Fast Feedback
My apps should never be slow for unnecessary reasons. Browsers are a marvel of modern engineering, and slowing them down is sacrosanct. Ideally, my websites should work flawlessly and instantly on an updated browser running very old hardware (~10 years)
High Density
I like UIs that have a high density but are still understandable and easy to approach. Accommodating new users is as important as ensuring power users, and often these two goals are aligned. Building a on ramp towards power user education of your tool, without text, is a strong signal for good design. Incorporating high density into a mobile app is hard, but achievable. Accommodating this requires skilled use of information signalling.
Malleability
I believe tools would be much more widely used if they were more Malleable. I should be able to organize information in a way I like, and ideally I would be able to change the UI from within the tool for a workflow that better suits my purpose. Finding the right extent to this aligns well with the power user on-ramp.
Accessible + Keyboard driven
I hate using the mouse. Mobile applications should still be accessible.
= Colors/Texture as an information signal = This is really just an accessibility thing. But it helps orient application. Color is good for representing different types of the same category, texture helps define categories.
= Theme-able within reason otherwise = Having an accent color feels really nice.