In the famous book Don’t Make Me Think, Steve Krug advocates that designers should make buttons look like physical buttons people would find in their non-digital lives. This advocacy became a standard and then recently declined after the rise of Flat Design. Now buttons are less obviously clickable.

I am sure you have clicked a button by accident or by not knowing that the button was indeed a button. This is usually a harmless and reversible action, but sometimes it isn’t. People who prematurely send an email before they are done writing it or individuals that accidentally buy something online are obviously frustrated when these unintended actions occur.

Apps often ask users if they are sure they want to do something after a user presses a button to alleviate issue of accidental clicks. This is usually annoying and adds another step to the process. What if every time you wanted to purchase something at the grocery store someone asked “are you sure.” If you’re like me and love to indulge in ice cream, beer, and chocolate (often at the same time) the prospect of someone asking “are you sure you want to buy that quart of Häagen-Dazs ice cream” may make you rethink the idea.

To relieve this issue I created a button that requires a bit more work to press, but relinquishes the need to ask “are you sure.” This button requires a user to click and slide the arrow element across the button to initiate the interaction. Feel free to download the PSD.

What do you think of this solution? Is it intuitive? How can it be improved?