Fad, fashion, and fact in web design

08.12.2008 | Author: Eric Reiss
Information architect Polina Tarnopolsky recently asked on LinkedIn:

"Do you find some things to be really annoying in regards to technology? Whether that’s a buzz-word like “web 2.0”, or endless expert advice on usability tips, or when every graphical element these days just seems to have rounded corners and gradient…

"Don’t get me wrong I’m not complaining about these things I’m just trying to gather information on what people find to be somewhat overdone, over-discussed or just simply too much of it – in regards to technology today."

Here's my answer - which also hints at new FatDUX web development products and services.

There are three sides to this issue: fashion, fad, and fact. Most people don't differentiate.

Web 2.0 is nothing particularly new. I was doing AJAXy sites long before Jesse James Garrett came up with the acronym. And eBay is the quintessential user-defined content site. And that's from 1996. So clearly, buzzwords and buzzwordy concepts (like Tim O'Reilly's Web 2.0) get to be a little much at times. Let's be honest, not every site needs a blog, wiki, or social networking component. Maybe some better owner-generated content is what's really needed.

So much for fad.

Rounded corners on buttons are fashion. Just like the current web-style, which consists of a row of tabs, a big useless picture, and three other text block/links below this. Honestly, if you like this design, you can download a skin from Dotster for about 60 dollars. Why pay an expensive designer for eye candy? Unless you think that design might consist of something more...:)

So much for fashion.

I was recently interviewed by a Danish journalist who told me, "All that usability crap. That's such old news. Don't you have anything new to say?" The fact is, most sites are still pretty atrocious and could use a kick in the pants from the usability crowd.

Sad fact of life - fashion and fad are much more interesting than web stats, server logs, conversion rates, or customer satisfaction. I for one, am looking forward to the economic downturn so that people start thinking about issues that are really important and questioning some of the overblown solutions that are being sold to them.

Let me really stick my neck out...

I just saw the slides for an information-architecture presentation held by a leading purveyor of courses and workshops. Yikes. I didn't understand half of it. And the half I did understand clearly wasn't going to make much business difference in the long run. Just a lot of curious ways to play with data. But like monkeys who play with their own feces, we clearly love our data - we pooped it out so it must be valuable.

I honestly believe that some of the fancy tools we know and love (content models and personas just to mention two), are going to be reborn in a simpler, more streamlined, less expensive forms as clients insist on seeing return on investment - not from a project in total, but from the value of the individual tools.

Here's a simple analogy: I need to hang a picture on my wall. I could use a hammer and nail, but my local hardware store has talked me into drywall plugs, brass screws, and a cordless drill that will help me make the hole I need.

My point is that there is nothing wrong with any of these tools. However, the second solution is much more expensive, though without adding any perceivable value to my project.

I say, put your money where you get the most bang for the buck.

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Filed under:  Web design | Tags: usability, web 2.0, dotster, Web design, AJAX, eBay, LinkedIn, content

2 Comments »

  1. You wrote: "Here’s my answer - which also hints at new FatDUX web development products and services."

    Sorry, I never got the hint?
    Can you help me?

    Ole

    Comment by Ole G. - 23:57 29.12.2008

  2. Hi Ole,

    Well, for starters, we're working on promoting some smaller, cheaper websites that cut through the buzzwords and focus on increasing conversion rates.

    Given the current economic climate, site owners want less expensive solutions. But a lot of them are still turning to the neighbor's kid to program their sites - pretty much what many of them were doing ten years ago.

    We want to give them high-quality advice at a price that is highly competitive. In other words, using inexpensive services, such as Dotster, we can give people a usable, attractive, and useful site at a price that is comparable to that charged by incompetent amateurs.

    And we are going to place a much greater emphasis on content.

    With Danish, English, and German-language copywriters on call, FatDUX is in a good position to provide effective online content. So, our new "products" will also include professional copywriting services.

    Over the years, we've come to a couple of interesting conclusions.

    First, although a lot of time can be spent playing with data (content models, etc.) the question is, are the products really better for having completed this exercise?

    Second, in the interest of feng shui, by eliminating the superfluous, we bring relevant information into focus.

    Hence, our "low cost" sites will be limited to about 20-30 pages. We will insist on this. And we will complete the basic task analysis, content chunking, and high-level information architecture in a matter of hours - not days, weeks or months.

    Let's be honest, most simple informational sites are pretty easy for us to figure out. After all, we've done hundreds of them the past 15 years. No point in reinventing the wheel - especially if folks are trying to economize.

    Hope that answered your question :)

    Comment by Eric Reiss - 10:30 06.01.2009

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