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People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

andrewcoyle.com

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Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#21

Post by mrob »

I trust software more if it's ugly. Desktop software interfaces were pretty much solved by the late 90s. The majority of changes since then have been aimed at either dumbing down the software to better appeal to people who are easily manipulated and exploited, or just change for the sake of change so designers can justify their jobs. And I choose to avoid mobile devices because every one of them is slow and frustrating compared to using a keyboard and mouse.

I believe modern UI designers provide me negative value on average. Ugly software is a good sign because tells me no designer was there to ruin it.

Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#23

Post by baobun »

krm01 wrote: post #17

Designer–engineer here. After 15 years building products [1] ,from scrappy side projects to multibillion-dollar platforms, I’ve found the most productive way to think about design is as a growth accelerant. The OP reaches a similar insight but keeps it in the realm of product development. That framing is precisely where the friction between engineering and design tends to arise. Design isn’t about making the code loo…

> When designers focus on the measurable business impact of their work—and engineers stop treating design as a decorative afterthought—cross-functional frictions fade and growth compounds.

Measurable business impact -> The dashboard becomes a battlefield and every team wants a modal for their feature release. Dark patterns come hand-in-hand.

I think the world would be better if individual designers focused less on business growth metrics and more on holistic User Experience.

Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#24

Post by ahartmetz »

mrob wrote: post #21

I trust software more if it's ugly. Desktop software interfaces were pretty much solved by the late 90s. The majority of changes since then have been aimed at either dumbing down the software to better appeal to people who are easily manipulated and exploited, or just change for the sake of change so designers can justify their jobs. And I choose to avoid mobile devices because every one of them is slow and frustrati…

You seem to be using the most negative expressions possible. Maybe I'm also less upset because most of the software that I use (Linux, FOSS, KDE) is less affected. I'd call it making the software look less intimidating / more approachable and more fashionable. They can both make some sense, though in many cases I also don't like it. Some fashions are objectively worse than others, like hiding scrollbars in non-touch interfaces and making interactive elements look like regular text.

IME, the ugliest software has not received much UX nor design work, and so the UX often sucks, too. Gitk comes to mind, it's very ugly and the weird diff scrolling behavior regularly gets me to where I don't want to go.

Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#27

Post by collingreen »

foldr wrote: post #18
shermantanktop wrote: post #3

This is the type of twaddle that I have come to expect from “designer” types. Constant boosterism and exhortations to respect their craft. And when left to practice said craft, the majority of the actual work product is visionary PPTs for execs and a pile of figma screens that barely cover the happiest of happy cases. Sad thing is that I very much agree with the importance of design. But practitioners seem often inse…

My pet peeve with the Figma drivers is that they tend to think of design as a 'phase' that happens before engineering. So as an engineer you are asked to implement a bunch of painstakingly laid out user interfaces that have never actually been used to do any work . IMO it's essentially impossible to design a good interface without feedback obtained from using it. Designers would be way more useful if they'd partner w…

Nice, sequential flow charts are easy to understand and pitch and they also make it nice for the folks at the front to say they did their part and any issues are now someone else's fault.

When people try to diagram the actual process (closer to what you're talking about) it's just a giant circle (or "double diamond" for folks charging money for powerpoints) which isn't a tool that makes management feel easier or "on track".

Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#28

Post by 4b11b4 »

krm01 wrote: post #17

Designer–engineer here. After 15 years building products [1] ,from scrappy side projects to multibillion-dollar platforms, I’ve found the most productive way to think about design is as a growth accelerant. The OP reaches a similar insight but keeps it in the realm of product development. That framing is precisely where the friction between engineering and design tends to arise. Design isn’t about making the code loo…

A well designed comment

Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#29

Post by nickserv »

baobun wrote: post #23
krm01 wrote: post #17

Designer–engineer here. After 15 years building products [1] ,from scrappy side projects to multibillion-dollar platforms, I’ve found the most productive way to think about design is as a growth accelerant. The OP reaches a similar insight but keeps it in the realm of product development. That framing is precisely where the friction between engineering and design tends to arise. Design isn’t about making the code loo…

> When designers focus on the measurable business impact of their work—and engineers stop treating design as a decorative afterthought—cross-functional frictions fade and growth compounds. Measurable business impact -> The dashboard becomes a battlefield and every team wants a modal for their feature release. Dark patterns come hand-in-hand. I think the world would be better if individual designers focused less on bu…

> The dashboard becomes a battlefield and every team wants a modal for their feature release. Dark patterns come hand-in-hand.

To me, this is exactly what the OP is going on against.

If it's not cohesive, it's bad design.

Re: People instantly decide whether to trust a product based on design

#30

Post by shermantanktop »

collingreen wrote: post #27
foldr wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My pet peeve with the Figma drivers is that they tend to think of design as a 'phase' that happens before engineering. So as an engineer you are asked to implement a bunch of painstakingly laid out user interfaces that have never actually been used to do any work . IMO it's essentially impossible to design a good interface without feedback obtained from using it. Designers would be way more useful if they'd partner w…

Nice, sequential flow charts are easy to understand and pitch and they also make it nice for the folks at the front to say they did their part and any issues are now someone else's fault. When people try to diagram the actual process (closer to what you're talking about) it's just a giant circle (or "double diamond" for folks charging money for powerpoints) which isn't a tool that makes management feel easier or "on…

Worrying about how managers are feeling, what vibe they are into now, how they might misinterpret something they heard-it’s exhausting.
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