Innovation, Design and The Web
November 18, 2004 | 
10 Comments
We published a follow up to the thought provoking End of Usability Culture over at Digital Web last night.
This follow up sheds a bit more light on what is sure to be a hot topic in the months to come. As well it should be noted that these two articles are part of Dirk’s new, ongoing column for Digital Web, Innovating The Web Experience. I’m really looking forward to more.
In that vein you can also expect me to weigh in on this, and related issues a bit, both here and at Digital Web. As you might have been able to tell by some of my posts, like Return of Design, that I think it’s time for Web design (etc.) to kick it up a notch.
I hope to bring a bit of real world perspective to these topics as well as try and “bridge the gap” between things like usability and branding. There is a sweet spot in there and I, for one, want to find it.
For now I just need to find some time.
Filed under: News
Comments
1. John Zeratsky said:
Dirk’s followup piece is inspiring and right on the mark.
I picked up on an interesting parallel between the idea of brand experience and user experience on the web. There is a lot of focus on user experience now, but the result of that focus is a dry, flat experience focused on task completion. Future user experience design will embrace the ideas of brand experience to create rich, high-quality and valuable experiences that address branding in more than just a superficial way.
This is definitely fascinating. Keith, I look forward to reading what you, Dirk and others have to say… and contributing my own thoughts.
Posted on November 18, 2004 11:09 AM | #
2. Jay Jones said:
I think usability and branding absolutely have a common link, and that link would be “likability”, for lack of a better term. If a company’s product, whether it’s a website or a kitchen utensil, does not give the user a good experience, it affects the perception given to that brand. That’s why our designs should convey a mood or emotion to our visitors. It’s a good topic, Keith, and I hope it gets explored more in the design/development community.
Posted on November 18, 2004 11:18 AM | #
3. Keith said:
Jay – Totally. I’ve got an article in the works that’s about how branding and usability come together and how, on the Web, they *must* support each other.
Posted on November 18, 2004 11:58 AM | #
4. Jay Jones said:
I can’t wait to read your article, Keith. I agree with you on this. I think as a design community, we’re starting to finally get a grasp on the important elements of successful design… but this is one concept that I think can tie things together.
An interesting thing I’ve noticed over the last couple of years is that we go through phases… first, it’s content that’s king, then it’s usability that’s king, then later the only thing we’re talking about is user experience, then separation of style and structure, etc. (ad nauseaum :))
I think this is good though, because it allows us to really focus on things and (almost) perfect each area as we go along.
Definitely, I think we can say, the future for web design/development is looking bright!
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to your thoughts on how usability and marketing work together. ;) (So, you got that article done yet?!)
Posted on November 18, 2004 08:30 PM | #
5. Tim said:
I showed the original answer to my Jakob-lovin’ boss, and he all but dismissed it as “pixel-pushers throwing their toys out of the pram”.
A lot comes down to the fact that when you talk about “design”, you really mean “visual design”, and for him it’s so much more than that - requirements capture, usability, accessibility - the whole “holistic” works.
Posted on November 19, 2004 01:05 AM | #
6. John Zeratsky said:
Tim, it’s not just about visual design. We need to design sites that not only work well and are standards-compliant, but are memorable and enjoyable to users (and some of that is tied to visuals, yes).
Jay, you’re right about how we jump from topic to topic. Seems every month there is something new we’re all concerned about. Zeldman talks about that in the video he put together for Web Essentials.
Posted on November 19, 2004 01:17 AM | #
7. Tim said:
John,
*I* know it’s not just about visual design (I should have made that clearer). It’s just that my boss got the impression from reading the article that “design” in that context was just visual design.
Unfortunately, where I work we have usabilitistas in one department who “get” the web; and transitioning print designers in another dept. who are not quite there yet. Me? I’m an Industrial Design graduate who writes code, but wants good design *and* good usability in the sites we produce, but I’m caught between a design studio who haven’t caught up and an IS dept. who don’t give *visual* design its proper dues.
*Sigh*
Posted on November 19, 2004 02:30 AM | #
8. Kev said:
I ‘got’ the redux article much more than the original. It was more expansive with its illustrations and a better read as a result. I was still a bit disapointed with some of the comments made afterwards as there seems to be a residue of dislike between designers and usability guys and thats sad to see.
I agree with those above me who’ve mentioned the whole jumping from topic to topic (something I mentioned in my comments to your original thread on the original article Keith) and it still concerns me a bit as I worry that it’ll result in a series of over-[insert latest fad here] web sites.
Posted on November 19, 2004 06:07 AM | #
9. Ray said:
The first article did it for me but I also found it interesting the need for a second. How anyone, design or usability advocates, took the first article as a war between the two camps is beyond me. It’s all part of the same discipline… effective communication.
Maybe it’s just me, but as a marketer I try and see opportunity around every corner.
Posted on November 21, 2004 08:41 AM | #
10. Arnholdt said:
Measuring Beauty
Until recently, the last attempt to measure beauty was made in 1932 by the mathematician G.D. Birkhoff. His formula was extraordinarily simple. On analysing any work of art, be it music, sculpture, arquitecture or painting, Birkoff would measure the complexity of the object. He would then measure the order of the elements that composed the object. Divide order by complexity:
beauty increases as complexity decreases (M = O/C).
Yeah, you’ll say, but how do you measure complexity and order? More recently, John G. Byrne , from the Department of Computer Science in Trinity College, published his findings in a brilliant paper in which the formulae for the measurements are presented. I’m no mathematician, but Birkhoff´s formula has haunted me since the time I was dabbling in Information Theory in the 60s.
It seems to me that the discussion about design has to start further back, into aesthetics, before we can really get down to essencials. Is it possible to apply standards to beauty? You bet! It’s being done since we were cavemen.
Posted on November 24, 2004 09:29 AM | #
Comments are now closed