31–40 of 43 posts
Slightly off topic, but I love the way that blog design uses the right gutter for annotations. Keeps it in context beautifully.
I don't buy the politically laden, existentially fraught spin being sold here.... "Users have to accept the spelled out mantra and change their attitude before accessing the next piece of information." "The user should transform themselves into a “doer,” rather than being considerate, evaluating options" "Before proceeding, users should identify with this new aristocratic class." C'mon. It's just a way to visually em…
The topic of "links should not be styled as buttons" is well-known to everyone who has or had to do frontend web dev, at least I think so.
And the reasons for that as well.
The common violation of this rule on landing pages and CTA-like interstitials is also well-known to every designer or frontend dev who has to work on pages that sell something, I guess.
This essay presents these tradeoffs and developments in UX, and makes a very good point aboit button texts and an annoying next step in this evolution of commercial UX design that I never could quite put my finger on.
Sometimes, when faced with button choices "OK" and "Maybe Later", I open devtools and relabel the latter to "Fuck off" before clicking on it. I used to think it futile, but now I understand that this allows me to dismiss the modal without myself being pushed by a button.
>I'm sitting here like I'm in an Apple commercial or Square or Swipely or some bullshit tech thing, instead of "OK" I'm clicking "Got it!". Like [obnoxious surfer voice] "Ok, Got it! Got it!". That's how I acknowledge menus in the computer. That's how, when it becomes total Brave New World life, your torturers -- you're gonna have to acknowledge your -- "You've been assigned 10 hours of genital torture." "Ok, Got It!"
Sometimes, when faced with button choices "OK" and "Maybe Later", I open devtools and relabel the latter to "Fuck off" before clicking on it. I used to think it futile, but now I understand that this allows me to dismiss the modal without myself being pushed by a button.
I find it so offensive being given only two choices - "yes" or "maybe later". I salute your "fuck off" energy.
Slightly off topic, but I love the way that blog design uses the right gutter for annotations. Keeps it in context beautifully.
Sometimes, when faced with button choices "OK" and "Maybe Later", I open devtools and relabel the latter to "Fuck off" before clicking on it. I used to think it futile, but now I understand that this allows me to dismiss the modal without myself being pushed by a button.
Slightly off topic, but I love the way that blog design uses the right gutter for annotations. Keeps it in context beautifully.
On a tangent, if you read the book The 48 laws of Power then you know about all the sidenotes (more like complete side stories) throughout the book. I started reading this book on my smartphone years ago, and it was just an awful reading experience. The real paper book was way more readable, but still very annoying because of the long 'side stories'.
Yes, it did occasionally distract from the novel, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't mind reading and re-reading a passage.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
On a tangent, if you read the book The 48 laws of Power then you know about all the sidenotes (more like complete side stories) throughout the book. I started reading this book on my smartphone years ago, and it was just an awful reading experience. The real paper book was way more readable, but still very annoying because of the long 'side stories'.
Reminds me of Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel, tons of footnotes, some of which were their own contained stories. I remember at least one page that was quite literally 3/4ths footnote! Yes, it did occasionally distract from the novel, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't mind reading and re-reading a passage.
I don't buy the politically laden, existentially fraught spin being sold here.... "Users have to accept the spelled out mantra and change their attitude before accessing the next piece of information." "The user should transform themselves into a “doer,” rather than being considerate, evaluating options" "Before proceeding, users should identify with this new aristocratic class." C'mon. It's just a way to visually em…
I find it interesting that you insist there is no value to word choice on buttons in this comment, but your previous comment thread four hours prior (and ongoing) on another post delves into very pedantic semantics on naming types. Would you please explain the difference between the two cases?
Absolutely!
You'll notice my complaint about the BPY article is not about its griping over semantically incorrect uses of buttons -- I'm fine with that! My complaint is ascribing those incorrect uses to deep dark political and cultural forces, or viewing them as harbingers of societal change. That interpretation strikes me as self-indulgent nonsense.
People are styling semantic "links" as visually prominent buttons because it's a practically effective way to direct the eye, and hence a practically effective marketing strategy. Most of them don't even know what semantic html is. So this is all explained by humans taking actions to accomplish their immediate goals and not caring about things like the html spec that aren't directly relevant to those goals.
The typical landing page with big type, punchy explanations, social proof and CTA buttons evolved mostly because it works.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh I mean, everything from the Marlboro man to "Just Do It" to Apple's "Think Different" was basically a corporate hook carefully crafted to be an appeal to individualism - although Apple threaded a needle with respect to exactly whom they chose to glorify as exemplars. The marketing pablum of the past decade that appeals to tribal identity, or a lack of sense of self searching for identity, (socially conscious ident…
Rejecting authority is never "a paved road" or easy otherwise it would not be authority. The world has moved on since the 60s and individualism has had disastrous effects on society and nature (even if it also brought great advances and freedom to some parts of the world)