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Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

randomwire.com

81–90 of 213 posts

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#81

I am pretty sure you could write the same article with the roles reversed. That in itself does of course not take away from the article, but I am catching some negative undertones how Japan is "behind" or "unable to change" because of their society. I guess you could even open the bottomless barell of a discussion about racism, but my point is just this: Seeing "them" as "behind" is a bad way to think about it and pr…

It's funny to me that one could look at these webpages and think they're "behind": https://www.yomiuri.co.jp https://okwave.jp They load pretty much instantaneously, run few scripts, have no swooshing animations or scroll behavior overriding, elements don't jumble around and rearrange themselves as the page is loading... they are basically just plain text and hyperlinks on a plain background. From my perspective they…

It's pretty disingenuous to pretend that those sites the kind of sites that are under discussion here.

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#82
post #28
post #4

Regarding advertising, the article states: "Rather than being seen as a tool to enable people Japanese companies often see the web as just another advertising platform to push their message across as loudly as possible. Websites ends up being about the maximal concentration of information into the smallest space akin to a pamphlet rather than an interactive tool." I find this quite ironic, especially given how unusab…

I agree with you but unfortunately these sites almost always have poor usability too.

IMO, the Web could stand to be a little bit harder to use.

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#84

I am pretty sure you could write the same article with the roles reversed. That in itself does of course not take away from the article, but I am catching some negative undertones how Japan is "behind" or "unable to change" because of their society. I guess you could even open the bottomless barell of a discussion about racism, but my point is just this: Seeing "them" as "behind" is a bad way to think about it and pr…

It's funny to me that one could look at these webpages and think they're "behind": https://www.yomiuri.co.jp https://okwave.jp They load pretty much instantaneously, run few scripts, have no swooshing animations or scroll behavior overriding, elements don't jumble around and rearrange themselves as the page is loading... they are basically just plain text and hyperlinks on a plain background. From my perspective they…

Article is 7 years old

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny to me that one could look at these webpages and think they're "behind": https://www.yomiuri.co.jp https://okwave.jp They load pretty much instantaneously, run few scripts, have no swooshing animations or scroll behavior overriding, elements don't jumble around and rearrange themselves as the page is loading... they are basically just plain text and hyperlinks on a plain background. From my perspective they…

It's pretty disingenuous to pretend that those sites the kind of sites that are under discussion here.

Feel free to read the article, where those websites are linked as the examples being discussed. Absolutely hilarious comment though.

> Go on a safari around some of Japan’s most popular sites and here’s what you can expect to find (see Goo, Rakuten, Yomiuri, NicoNico, OKWave, @cosme, and more):

The links, in case you still don't want to read the article:

- https://www.goo.ne.jp

- https://www.rakuten.co.jp

- https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/

- https://www.nicovideo.jp

- https://okwave.jp/

- https://www.cosme.net/

- https://www.slideshare.net/socialogilvy/top-50-japanese-webs...

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#87
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, When you want FM you can press the FM button rather than press the mode switch an unknown number of times requiring you to watch the display. My car has a rotary selector for air con mode and I usually just turn it all the way to one side and move it the number of clicks I know are needed. That way no looking is required.

I don't think any technology has improved on the decades-old three-dial system for air control in a car.

You're not fan of thermostat controlled systems where you set a temperature you want and that's what it maintains?

We have a Subaru with manual settings (3 dials) and a Volvo with a thermostat. The Volvo was set the day we bought it and I don't know that we've messed with it since. The Subaru, on the other hand, is always being adjusted.

The Volvo one seems to be smart enough to know when hot or cold (dry) air is needed on the windshield. It's pretty great.

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#88
post #69

I am pretty sure you could write the same article with the roles reversed. That in itself does of course not take away from the article, but I am catching some negative undertones how Japan is "behind" or "unable to change" because of their society. I guess you could even open the bottomless barell of a discussion about racism, but my point is just this: Seeing "them" as "behind" is a bad way to think about it and pr…

> Seeing "them" as "behind" is a bad way to think about it and prevents true understanding. So I guess still using Fax Machines to do business in 2020 is not "behind", it's just "different" right? Let's call a cat a cat when we see one.

From a NYT article [0] about fax machines in Japan.

>Handwritten messages have long been a necessity in Japan, where the written language is so complex, with two sets of symbols and 2,000 characters borrowed from Chinese, that keyboards remained impractical until the advent of word processors in the 1980s. Faxes continue to appeal to older Japanese, who often feel uncomfortable with keyboards, experts say.

People can write handwritten notes when they order from a restaurant, for example.

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/asia/in-japan-the-f...

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#89
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's funny to me that one could look at these webpages and think they're "behind": https://www.yomiuri.co.jp https://okwave.jp They load pretty much instantaneously, run few scripts, have no swooshing animations or scroll behavior overriding, elements don't jumble around and rearrange themselves as the page is loading... they are basically just plain text and hyperlinks on a plain background. From my perspective they…

Article is 7 years old

Yomiuri, at least, looked very different back then: https://web.archive.org/web/20131231233037/http://www.yomiur...

Re: Why Japanese web design is so different (2013)

#90

I am pretty sure you could write the same article with the roles reversed. That in itself does of course not take away from the article, but I am catching some negative undertones how Japan is "behind" or "unable to change" because of their society. I guess you could even open the bottomless barell of a discussion about racism, but my point is just this: Seeing "them" as "behind" is a bad way to think about it and pr…

I think that style is Corporate Memphis https://qz.com/quartzy/1728767/why-editorial-illustrations-l...

EDIT or Alegria? https://eyeondesign.aiga.org/dont-worry-these-gangley-armed-...

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