31–40 of 74 posts
This is a pretty crass statement to make. If the focus is full-on navigability, I agree that contrast in the navigation bar is paramount. Yet, for many sites with simplified features, the emotional experience trumps the direct navigability of the site itself. This is especially true for sites like Airbnb (as in the example) where in addition to emotional response, there is an immediate focus on activating users. The…
"Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away" I installed the new iTunes for my friends dad this weekend when I was helping him with his computer troubles. It took me way too long to find the file menu and it occurred to me in that moment that UI/UX designers have gone too far. In the pursuit of simplicity the marble nose has been chipped off the sculpture…
I still use iTunes 10.7 because it was the last version before they (in my opinion) ruined the navigation and menus.
Another annoyance with iTunes is that they removed the border. If it's placed over a white background, you can't tell where the iTunes window ends. Minimalism done right can be a beautiful thing. When it's done wrong (it's very difficult to get right), it's a disaster.
a) don't have perfect eyesight
b) work in rooms with inadequate lighthing (e.g. sunlight from behind, making subtle contrasts basically vanish)
c) surf on mobile which most often is equivalent to b), with the addition that the device is shaking relative to the eyes, making the text even harder to read.
Funny that this article should appear: I have been complaining about the Campaign Living website for a while: http://www.campaignliving.com/ . The Campaign Living product concept is very interesting—furniture that's actually comfortable but that can also be taken apart. But there is no nav bar and few details about the product on their site. It's very annoying. Their desktop browser experience feels broken. All this…
While your description of the product sounds like something I'd want, I'll sadly never be able to investigate it.
Having a plaintext fallback isn't that hard people!
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"I refuse to assume that my users have an IQ of less than a carrot." Think of it less as an IQ issue and more of a "cognitive energy" issue. Even a smart person would prefer something easier rather than harder because they've got things to do with their limited cognitive energy budget other than merely navigate your website. Plus energy burned that way is energy they're not burning on your actual content, whatever it…
Also relevant: http://seriouspony.com/blog/2013/7/24/your-app-makes-me-fat
This is a pretty crass statement to make. If the focus is full-on navigability, I agree that contrast in the navigation bar is paramount. Yet, for many sites with simplified features, the emotional experience trumps the direct navigability of the site itself. This is especially true for sites like Airbnb (as in the example) where in addition to emotional response, there is an immediate focus on activating users. The…
The emotional experience I have when I go to a site and see a huge image of some stock photo is anger: "Jesus, what fucking moron put this totally useless picture here, and how do I get to the useful portion of this site and do what I need to do?"
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also relevant: http://seriouspony.com/blog/2013/7/24/your-app-makes-me-fat
If you found this article interesting, then check out Thinking Fast & Slow by Danial Kahneman.
Relatedly, I noticed the other day that I'm developing a flick-down reflex in response to seeing those stupid "hero" header images/videos appear on page. It's becoming an unconscious action. These headers are the Flash Intro Page of our day. Unnecessary hamburger menus and obscured menu text are our version of Flash Mystery Meat navigation. I blame Apple and iOS 7 for the latter problem. That popularized ultra-thin t…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
"...the emotional experience trumps the direct navigability of the site itself" The above statement is everything that is wrong with modern visual styling of software. After everything is said and done, software is a tool which people use to accomplish a goal. I would argue that anything that causes friction with that is Bad Design. As much as some visual/interaction designers may think that "experience is everything…
There was a great talk at SXSW last year entitled "The Myth of Reducing Friction in your Product." Basically, within a given flow (say onboarding or signup), you want to consider having some points of friction interspersed with low friction points. Adding friction in the right places helps to create users who will a)come back and b)will be more active users. The speaker presented some data to back up her assertions.…
I think trying to evoke a certain emotional response can really only be effective if it's not getting in the way.