I got into a debate at last night’s Port 80 meeting with another attendee over websites and the importance of design. Having mistakenly made the assumption that I was a designer (my background is in Front-End Development, which sits somewhere between designing and programming) my opponent explained to me how design served little purpose on the web and all people were interested in was information and being able to find it easily, therefore the only eyes we need to please are those of the search engine. Now, I am paraphrasing what was said but that was the gist of their argument.
My response was that design is required to make the information usable and easier to understand, to help the visitor make informed decisions. It’s all well and good to have a single page website with a white background, line after line of black text separated by some headings – it presents the information to the visitor. However, it does not encourage the visitor to actually read the text or engage them in your offering and it doesn’t help them find what they are looking for.
Through the intelligent use of design we can make that bland and overwhelming page of information come alive by:
- Using styled headings to draw the visitor to the information they need.
- Breaking the content up into manageable parts.
- Making it easier to read and more enjoyable to look at.
Gone are the days when content had to be sacrificed for good design. In the days of the semantic web the design, functionality and content are all kept separate and can easily be manipulated in isolation. When built correctly a visually appealing website is no longer the enemy of a search engine.
Throughout the debate I was constantly being told that design was subjective and I was seeing things from a designer’s (that term again) point of view, not through the eyes of the average web user. My opponent didn’t seem to consider that their own views may be skewed by their trade, experience and opinions. The whole argument was based on a conversation my opponent had with another web professional regarding researching a holiday. When asked whether they considered the design of the websites they were using for research, they apparently replied:
“No, I just wanted the information.”
To my opponent that meant that people don’t care what something looks like, they just want to find the information they are looking for. That same response to me says that design should be invisible. Good design is not noticed, only bad design is remembered when it hinders your progress.
Ultimately there should be a balance, like all things, between content and design. Design should make something easier to understand, easier to use - that is its purpose. Design does not exist just to make things look nice, its role is much deeper than that.
The conversation ended with an agree to disagree kind of vibe but I am interested in what others think. Is design (in the web sense) overrated? Does it make our online quest for information easier, or is it a hindrance?
Friday, 4. April 2008
Hi Alex,
great post :)
I think that it is all design - the graphics, the layout, the interactions, the information.
In my not-so-humble opinion, based on 10 years of doing this stuff for a living, I would have to say the following: everything has to work together or none of it works at all.
“I just want the information” sounds naive - but I can see where they are coming from - imagine a complex flash front end that gets in the way of the information.
That is not to say that a site can taste (look/feel/sound) good and be good for you also. So it sounds like you were both arguing different ends of the same stick - both correct in your own way.
I agree entirely that only bad design is remembered, and that there is a balance to be maintained between content and visual design.
Best regards, Andrew
Friday, 4. April 2008
Thanks Andrew!
Very well put and exactly what I was trying to get across from my point of view - everything has to work together.
Sunday, 22. June 2008
Hi Alex,
I’ve had this one myself.
I come from a design background that started in the early 90’s, and primarily from an industrial design starting point. So function over form, has always been an odd balance for me to strike.
It does pain me quite a lot, when I hear that particular argument “I just want the info”.
Does this person spend their entire time just digesting rss feeds in their vanilla rss reader? or do they ever EVER actually look up from the code.
To me, the design is the fulfilment of the desire to communicate and connect with the audience.
Sure I can give you “just the facts Ma’am”, but surely we would be missing all the fundamental insignificants of the world that make it great and wonderful?
You can simply taste the fine wine, and sure, it’s a great great drop. But shared with friends or loved ones, over a fine meal, or during a sunset, makes it all that much richer and more memorable.
Each of us is different, some of us like to have “just the facts” and live in perhaps somewhat ’sterile’ world. Others prefer to feel something from everything they interact with. Thus enhancing their experience of the world, every last drop of it.
So sure, we don’t need the theatre, or the arts, but the world is far less rich without them.
Monday, 23. June 2008
Very well put, Ben. How sad and uninteresting would life be without the trimmings? Thanks for your contribution!