Visual design will not fix your broken business • Hacker News Board

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#21

Post by brudgers » Tue, May 08, 2012, 1:27 PM UTC

digitalcraft wrote: post #9

Good design is a strong component for your startup's success today. unlike some 10-15 years ago, users now have high expectations for your product design- thanks to the likes of Apple- and I see this is where inexperienced people get stuck- After it looks like Apple's, What next?

It took Apple a couple of decades to really get serious about design aesthetics - e.g. the first iMacs. Earlier designs were primarily driven by function - nobody would describe an Apple II as "just gorgeous" or the first Macs as expressing much other than functional considerations.

Industrial design always matters, but your startup doesn't need a Dreyfuss or a Loewy.

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#22

Post by cateye » Tue, May 08, 2012, 1:29 PM UTC

A product needs the right balance between visual appeal and technical elegance. There is no single recipe to get that. It can be achieved in several ways.

These articles are written in a situation where the balance is not right and depending on the situation, the author recommends the other side.

I am in a situation where the design is too much in lead and technical aspects are forgotten. The psd's are often all worked out in detail without considering if it is technically possible or there are far more better approaches to solve the problems then in the visual designs. Also the visual designs are inconsistent and cause confusion because there is not a idea how it really should work.

But this doesn't mean I'll have to preach that development is more important. The right balance needs to be found. But this advice is to nuanced to get any attention.

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#23

Post by sgdesign » Tue, May 08, 2012, 1:36 PM UTC

As long as we're shooting down strawmen, why don't I write a similar article entitled "technology will not fix your broken business", where I explain why upgrading your app to the latest version of Rails is not enough to make it an overnight viral sensation?

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#24

Post by geoffw8 » Tue, May 08, 2012, 1:38 PM UTC

jsavimbi wrote: post #11

> In my experience Only a fool would pretend to be blissfully unaware of what he's talking about and then offer you advice on the very subject of his ignorance.

I'm not sure "In my experience" suggests the OP is unaware of what he's talking about, in fact, quite the opposite.

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#25

Post by ams6110 » Tue, May 08, 2012, 1:59 PM UTC

sgdesign wrote: post #23

As long as we're shooting down strawmen, why don't I write a similar article entitled "technology will not fix your broken business", where I explain why upgrading your app to the latest version of Rails is not enough to make it an overnight viral sensation?

That might make a good post. I can think of several folks I wish would read something like that.

Updating for security or real bug fixes is one thing. Running the treadmill of always trying to have the "latest and greatest" of everything wastes a lot of time.

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#26

Post by ams6110 » Tue, May 08, 2012, 2:01 PM UTC

its_so_on wrote: post #20

I can guarantee that visual design will not fix anyone's broken business, if someone can guarantee me that: - Nobody cares how anything looks - any two things that are functionally equivalent are guaranteed to have equivalent conversions - Looks have no impact on usability - anything that is functionally equivalent is guaranteed to be equally usable - Usability does not translate to users - no correlation with whethe…

I didn't read the piece as arguing that design is irrelevant, or that good design doesn't add to things like conversion, usability, or usage.

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#27

Post by harrylove » Tue, May 08, 2012, 2:05 PM UTC

> If a reader is aware of a study that quantifies the influence of “good” design (however that is defined) on startup success, I would be interested in having a read.

This is not exactly what you're looking for, but here are two studies concerned with the aesthetic-usability effect. The summary is that aesthetically-pleasing interfaces are judged by users to be easier to use, regardless of their actual usability.

"Apparent Usability vs. Inherent Usability Experimental analysis on the determinants of the apparent usability" - CHI '95 Proceedings - http://www.sigchi.org/chi95/proceedings/shortppr/mk_bdy.htm

"Aesthetics and Apparent Usability: Empirically Assessing Cultural and Methodological Issues" - CHI '97 Proceedings - http://www.sigchi.org/chi97/proceedings/paper/nt.htm

You could also test this yourself on your own software with an A/B test. Use two designs with the same feature set. Use a plain interface for one and a nice interface on the other. Whichever one brings better results according to your business needs is the one you should use.

Personally, I believe context is just as important as beauty in design. If an interface is plain but helps me get the job done faster because my brain is able to concentrate better, I would consider that better design.

But in general, given two designs of equal features, I prefer the one that looks better, however that is defined. I'm not a social psychologist, but one would probably tell you most people have the same preference.

In the second study listed above, the reference section lists this 1980 study: "Defendant's Attractiveness as a Factor in the Outcome of Criminal Trials". Search the web for an abstract. As you might guess from the title, the study found "the more attractive the defendant, the less severe the sentence imposed."

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#28

Post by its_so_on » Tue, May 08, 2012, 2:10 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #26

its_so_on wrote: post #20

I can guarantee that visual design will not fix anyone's broken business, if someone can guarantee me that: - Nobody cares how anything looks - any two things that are functionally equivalent are guaranteed to have equivalent conversions - Looks have no impact on usability - anything that is functionally equivalent is guaranteed to be equally usable - Usability does not translate to users - no correlation with whethe…

I didn't read the piece as arguing that design is irrelevant, or that good design doesn't add to things like conversion, usability, or usage.

Fair enough. If you can guarantee that adding to conversion, usability, usage, etc, can't fix a broken business, then I'll accept that visual design can't fix your broken business.

Basically, I'm saying "it just might."

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#29

Post by ams6110 » Tue, May 08, 2012, 2:10 PM UTC

brudgers wrote: post #21

digitalcraft wrote: post #9

Good design is a strong component for your startup's success today. unlike some 10-15 years ago, users now have high expectations for your product design- thanks to the likes of Apple- and I see this is where inexperienced people get stuck- After it looks like Apple's, What next?

It took Apple a couple of decades to really get serious about design aesthetics - e.g. the first iMacs. Earlier designs were primarily driven by function - nobody would describe an Apple II as "just gorgeous" or the first Macs as expressing much other than functional considerations. Industrial design always matters, but your startup doesn't need a Dreyfuss or a Loewy.

Even the first Mac was pretty gorgeous compared to something like an IBM PC or clone.

A period where they did lose their elegance was when Jobs was in exile, they started looking like pretty ordinary (though still decent) PC systems.

Re: Visual design will not fix your broken business

#30

Post by zachrose » Tue, May 08, 2012, 2:22 PM UTC

ams6110 wrote: post #29

brudgers wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It took Apple a couple of decades to really get serious about design aesthetics - e.g. the first iMacs. Earlier designs were primarily driven by function - nobody would describe an Apple II as "just gorgeous" or the first Macs as expressing much other than functional considerations. Industrial design always matters, but your startup doesn't need a Dreyfuss or a Loewy.

Even the first Mac was pretty gorgeous compared to something like an IBM PC or clone. A period where they did lose their elegance was when Jobs was in exile, they started looking like pretty ordinary (though still decent) PC systems.

Indeed:

>> Esslinger convinced Jobs that zero-draft tooling was essential. As well as gaining a subtle but powerful precision to the shape of Apple's cases, it decreased their actual size. A zero-draft enclosure could fit more tightly around the components within, and, despite the tooling expense, the resulting decrease in plastic could eventually decrease costs. Moreover, zero-draft molding, being an unusual, complex and expensive technology, helped prevent a growing problem for Apple: unauthorized clones.

http://www.landsnail.com/apple/local/design/design2.html