Category: Design

By color coding I usually mean assigning a specific color to a section or sub-section
of a web site (I realize that may be a bit of a narrow definition, but bear with
me here.) Mention color coding and I will, unsurprisingly, reply amazon. Now
before I go on let me state that color coding has both positive and negative
implications, but from this posts title it’s pretty obvious I think there’s
more wrong to color coding than good.

Good?

Color in general is an important facet of any web site. Different colors have
different connotations: red for warning, green for okay (simple example.) To seek attention designers
might use vibrant and bright colors, while for subtle communication more mid-toned
and pastel colors would be preferred. Colors are known to work subconsciously.
The thoughtful use of color can increase the speed of comprehension for the
user and produce instantaneous associations that are most easily recalled.

(more…)

So, I’m a bit late to join the party. But heck, it was a busy week and
I only got a chance to dig through my RSS feeds this weekend. It seems Scoble
thinks design is useless, eh? Big deal. While I don’t care much for
Scoble’s views on the matter, I do however care about design as a fundamental
part of daily life.

Reading his rant against design I pictured Scoble at the movies: “Uhmm,
no thanks, dialogue transcripts will do, pictures are just embellishment of
data, don’t need that”. Surreal. Yet, he’s saying exactly
that in his post.

Jumping into the field of information management, theory holds that there’s
an unambiguous distinction between data and information. However, my purpose
is not to debate theoretical details, but present an analogous concept applicable
to design. Moreover the difference between data and content should be noted.
In essence content is (re-)packaged data.

Scoble is clearly data oriented. For Scoble the package (or wrapping) in which
data is delivered plays an inferior or even detrimental role. I’d like
to remind people that data as such is useless. To become both convenient and
effective data requires to be interpreted to fit human processing. Whether,
in the end, design is good or bad is a subjective matter, prone to hefty (unproductive?)
debates. But arguing design or aesthetics are not required is bogus.

Next time Scoble boots up Windows, he should be reminded of the fact that some
folks at Microsoft spent a considerable amount of time designing its interface.
Oh wait, maybe we should get rid of that too, it’s just a nuisance, right?
Design matters! More than
ever.

Not surprisingly, as a designer I value aesthetics highly. However at a certain
point aesthetics clash with functionality – or more specifically usability.
Sometimes I wish I were a painter. No constraints, no font size issues, no low
contrast color combination problems, no accessibility or usability concerns
and no angry users to face. You either like my work or not, no strings attached.
But I’m not a painter, I design websites.

The difference between a painting and a website will be obvious to most. A
painting does not require interaction, at least not on a functional level. I
can not use a painting. I can nevertheless enjoy or dislike
a painting (the same analogy is to some extend applicable
to motion pictures). A website, on the contrary, has a function that carries
beyond its visual attractiveness. Websites generally require (functional) interaction
of some form. The most feared and tenacious embodiment of interaction being
the homo interneticus.

You know what? Humans are nasty mammals. Humans developed to perfection their
aptitude to bitch, whine, moan, complain, nitpick, nag, criticize, grumble,
protest and disapprove. Ironically though, without users (thus interaction) my job
is rather useless. Designing websites is (unfortunately?) not exclusively about
visually pleasing users, it is also about limiting interference to effectively
deliver content and enable efficient interaction. The latter is of course a
simplified statement; the process is more complex and constituted of more factors
and elements.

In “Design and Usability: Part 2” I will dig a
little deeper and try to discern some of the factors and elements related to
usability and functionality. Last but not least, providentially, humans can
also adore, cherish, care, appreciate, value, understand, realize and love.
It is with these thoughts that I leave you and wish you a Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year. See you in 2004!

The entry deadline has passed, so as the judges get to work reviewing the submissions, we get to see them as well, and there is some fine work to be seen.

Some of my colleagues do not think the entries are very inspired, and I agree, but I’m looking at them based on their real-world application, using my personal “would Jakob use this design?” meter, and by that unit of measurement, there are some real winners.