The Thing About UX Design
and letting temptation lead the way…
I would say that the” job description” is to my right. If the screen is smaller than 600px I’d say the description is posted in the link above (please see) “Review the job description”. Instructions are a funny thing, they can be very helpful but often misleading if not crafted well. If you’re still wondering why I would make a fuss about a simple description, well wonder no longer, I can explain!
The UX is driven by the UI and at times we may over look things, it’s human nature at its best. It dawned on me in my early years of design (much like the monolith with the apes from: 2001 a Space Odyssey) that users like shiny objects. The shiny object can be marvelous in its beauty but cryptic in it’s purpose. And though you might enjoy looking at it, you are perplexed as to what it all means. Working along side many clients on a variety of projects from lingerie shopping sites to vast and complex inventory management systems one thing is always evident. The design (monolith) is only as good as it’s supporting architecture, visual queues, and relevance of information.
As I am a huge advocate for design and design thinking it bewilders me to see the web world get caught up in buttons, gradients, animations and the like. The principle of good design in any industry is a strong foundation. Upon, which we apply subtle and effective techniques to elevate the human experience and improve functionality.
I have seen functionality thrown to the curb like a used piece of tissue paper for shiny buttons and fancy animations; misplaced navigational queues for awesome icons and convoluted drop-down menus; and yes, I’ve even seen basic form tabbing functionality ripped from the chest of a web browser (while it was still alive) in substitution for a marginally par JavaScript based “shiny” form solution. Just tragic!
Yet with all the horrors I have seen there is a part of me that still believes we can right our wrongs and make a better future, not just for ourselves, but for our children. I have grown to love and understand the way we use the web today. It may not be certain how we’ll use the web tomorrow, but a good recipe for success can stand the test of time, and if it doesn’t, it probably just needs a little salt.
