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A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

kaishinlab.com

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Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#71

Post by uniclaude »

kaishin wrote: post #50
joblessjunkie wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you are just trying to make a supplemental point, but this isn't really where I was going. Either my cell phone drops its signal, or it doesn't. Either my books balance and my checks clear, or they don't. In engineering and accounting, there are absolute and obvious measures of success. When it comes to UI design, who decides when the design is successful? My boss? He approved the Pontiac Aztek. Lord…

Allow me to chime in, UI design is as methodical as engineering and accounting. There are quantitative and qualitative methods to build and evaluate interfaces. Maybe you are referring to aesthetics, but that's only a fraction of what an interface is...

For sure, I think we all know that, but this is something your client or boss may not be aware of.

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#72

Post by lkozma »

ThomPete wrote: post #58
raganwald wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I hope this actually reinforces the point I made. If it looks to me like this did not take place, it is because I obviously don't understand the forces and constraints upon the solution. Perhaps I don't fully understand the problem they are trying to solve. If they did an excellent job, then they knew something that is not obvious from looking at the design competition, which is why I suggest that being involved…

Well let me give you a pointer on what and for who they are solving problems. I think the numbers are something along the lines of this: 90% of users on Skype don't have much more than 5 contacts in their contact list. 95% of all messages are. "Can I call you?"

"95% of all messages are. "Can I call you?"

It's hard to separate cause and effect though, 95% of my messages are "Can I call you?", sometimes repeated 3-4 times, simply because the system often fails to reliably transmit anything longer without messages being lost, arriving out of order, etc. It is clearly hard to observe the users scientifically when the interface affects their behaviour.

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#73

Post by ThomPete »

lkozma wrote: post #72
ThomPete wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well let me give you a pointer on what and for who they are solving problems. I think the numbers are something along the lines of this: 90% of users on Skype don't have much more than 5 contacts in their contact list. 95% of all messages are. "Can I call you?"

"95% of all messages are. "Can I call you?" It's hard to separate cause and effect though, 95% of my messages are "Can I call you?", sometimes repeated 3-4 times, simply because the system often fails to reliably transmit anything longer without messages being lost, arriving out of order, etc. It is clearly hard to observe the users scientifically when the interface affects their behaviour.

Sure but even if it was only 70% or 80% it would still be important.

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#74

Post by symptic »

This game is for a young or unknown designer. It's their chance to establish themselves and build their portfolio. As a professional who makes a living in design, you are not obligated to compete. Though, you are still invited.

It was Skype's choice to put on this contest, and it should be assumed they know it is possible they won't get as quality a final product as possible. There are plenty of projects out there for quality designers to work on, and it bothers me that so many designers complain that free/cheap client work is such a pain in the community's ass.

Without a doubt, the type of client who wants to go that route is someone a designer of your talent wouldn't want to work with in the first place.

Right?

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#76

Post by lkozma »

gavinballard wrote: post #8

I agree with the author's overall thrust: that the new Skype UI for Mac is horrid and that a large company with lots of cash should generally pay quality, full-time designers who can spend a lot of time understanding the product and producing an interface that gels with the user. What I do take issue with (Edit: and what it seems that others have taken issue with since I started writing this reply) is the following s…

It's the usual lemon market argument though: clients can't discern quality reliably so they go for price only, which drives quality out of the market.

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#77

Post by danenania »

tzs wrote: post #21
larrik wrote: post #5

Am I the only one who thinks there's way too much similarity between the the RIAA's "Save the artists" screeching, and the "design industry's" "Save the artists" screeching? Your existing business model is disappearing, and your cartel isn't going to stop it. Sucks for you. (BTW, my wife is a graphic designer, so make of that what you will)

First they came for the musician's business model, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a musician. Then they came for the designer's business model, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a designer. ...

Then they came for my business model.

So I found a new one instead of bitching.

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#78

Post by danenania »

kaishin wrote: post #50
joblessjunkie wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you are just trying to make a supplemental point, but this isn't really where I was going. Either my cell phone drops its signal, or it doesn't. Either my books balance and my checks clear, or they don't. In engineering and accounting, there are absolute and obvious measures of success. When it comes to UI design, who decides when the design is successful? My boss? He approved the Pontiac Aztek. Lord…

Allow me to chime in, UI design is as methodical as engineering and accounting. There are quantitative and qualitative methods to build and evaluate interfaces. Maybe you are referring to aesthetics, but that's only a fraction of what an interface is...

There may be metrics available, but it's an inherently fuzzy proposition to say a design 'works' or 'doesn't work'. For developers, once features are pinned down, there are much clearer criteria for success--a feature either works as described without errors or it doesn't. Most of the subjectivity that developers deal with is actually related to design.

On the extreme end, you can say a design definitely doesn't work if a large percentage of users can't accomplish their goals or get frustrated in trying, but you can easily run into situations where half your users love a feature and will be frustrated without it, and half hate it and will have fits if you don't change it. Of course, these are the kinds of issues UI designers are paid to resolve, but there will rarely-to-never be total agreement between a designer, a client, and the client's customers on which aspects of a design work and which don't. Not so in development.

Re: A Call to All UI Designers: Do Not Play Skype’s Game

#80

Post by bigiain »

joblessjunkie wrote: post #4

You are trapped in the same Hell as other creative types, such as musicians: there are countless young aspirants who are willing to do this work for free just for a shot at "making it", but precious few people who sign checks who are able to discriminate the quality of the work. Engineering and accounting, your two comparison fields, don't suffer this problem.

+1.

But there are also people with track records at getting it right first time. Eventually the check signers (or the check signers bosses) work that out. (Hopefully before all the talented designers go broke.)

Reminds me a lot of this: http://weblog.muledesign.com/2010/10/dear_gap_i_have_your_ne...

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