FOCUS Series - The User
July 02, 2003 | 
1 Comments
A few weeks ago I published, FOCUS - On The User, the first in a series of introductory articles which I’m calling the FOCUS series. This was done to coincide with the launch of my redesigned site and provides me with an outlet for pieces that I feel would be of great benefit non “Web” folks and those looking for broad overviews on subjects I feel are essential to successful Web projects.
I feel that all to often those of us who spend every day working, surfing, reading and thinking about the Web lose sight of the fact that it’s still a new medium and there are lots of folks out there who don’t spend every day working, surfing, reading and thinking about the Web. This could be newbies, your clients and stakeholders or any number of people who might have a vested interest in understanding what makes the Web tick.
I’ve tried to make these articles as informative as possible yet easy to read and infused with real world flavor. My hope is that people find them useful. As always, they reflect my experience and if there is one thing we know about the Web it’s that there is usually more than one side to every story.
For that reason I’ll be posting links to them here, much like I’ve been doing with my Gorilla Web Tips, to try and generate some dialogue that Web folks and non Web folks alike will benefit from.
Filed under: IA and Usability
Comments
1. Steven Streight said:
Your article on focus on users gives me hope that the dream of usability and pleasing design may one day rule the Web.
You are attacking diplomatically the User Observation Phobia that designers, site owners and marketing people seem to harbor. What is so hard or strange about giving some typical users a set of standard task assignments, then watching them attempt to accomplish those tasks at your web site?
I guess we’re afraid to discover that our brilliant copy, genius information architecture, divinely inspired design, and impeccable marketing strategies…are not meeting the needs of users.
Genuine usability guidelines are based on actual observation of users performing tasks. The heuristics are not “random opinions” as my friend Didier Hilhorst claims in “The Designer is Dead” article. They are generally valid principles that hold true for most sites most of the time. Exceptions can exist, but like with web norms, one must ask: “For what purpose am I disregarding or contradicting the principle?”
If the answer is “because it’s my web site and I can do whatever I want,” one should consider why one even has a web site. For others to adore you, or to provide some service or information to other people?
Hard to read text may look good in a tiny screenshot, but is text supposed to look good or be readable/scannable? Is text a design flourish…or a means to conveying information?
Jacques Derrida declares in his deconstructionist texts that the seeds of destruction are contained within every construction…not necessarily within outside forces.
Let’s try to minimize self-destructive web sites, by blending usability, credibility, and pleasing design…for a satisfying and beneficial web experience for all users.
Posted on April 22, 2004 03:15 PM | #
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