Fun was never a requirement

Once in a life before Mzinga I heard those exact words in a meeting when I asked why the user interface and experience of an application was so boring and uninspired. I was told this is a real business application – fun was never a requirement.

Then I wondered – why did people feel fun and work had to be mutually exclusive? They don't have to be! Having some fun at work doesn't make people less productive; in fact, I would argue it does just the opposite. To me great user experiences are: Fun, Simple, Easy and Relevant.

Several years ago I designed the UI to a web application – I had used color (not like a circus, but I had a liberal use of color) and icons to give visual cues to the user what was going on. I thought it looked pretty slick (design is always subjective though) and had a rich enough feature set that the geeks were happy too. To me, it was kind of like a pair of Cole Haan heels with Nike Air – sure it's a slick and stylish patent leather heel, but it functions well too.

I showed some folks the mockups I had made in addition to the detailed functional specification I wrote to back up the pretty face. Many thought it was great and ready to move forward, but then there were others that were hesitant. They said it had too much color and too many icons. That it looked great for a consumer product, but for a business product... well to be taken seriously there I was told, I needed to have an all gray color scheme and text only menus. No one would take an application seriously with a menu of icons. No business would buy that kind of application. I said but it has all the functionality one would want, why wouldn't they buy it?! I can understand that argument if it looked really slick, but then didn't have any decent functionality – but that wasn't the case here at all – it was packed with great functionality. Wasn't it an added bonus that it looked nice too? It didn't matter. Nor did it matter that it was PEOPLE not businesses that used this software, and at the end of the day all people are consumers. I lost the argument and we ended up with a colorless, boring UI with text only menus. *sigh*

When was it decided business applications had to suck to be taken seriously? Can't something look fantastic AND function? Anyone who still believes it can't hasn't walked into an apple store lately. They are proving users can really have their cake and eat it too. And with social media tools proliferating into businesses it's happening to web applications too – people want tools that are easy and fun to use, can be configured to how they work, have slick user interfaces, and function well. And contrary to some folk's beliefs – you can really have that!

Another Cool Paint Job

Another room we painted that I like. This effect is all done with paint. No wallpaper. This is the dining room - the photo is getting cut off, but clicking on it shows the full size image.

Love this Room

I love these two colors together and I thought my bf and I did a great job painting his extra bedroom. The stupid fan screws up the picture.

We painted these rooms about 2 years ago, but I was just looking at the photos tonight.

how to make your product unusable

Arrange action icons by color coordination, rather than the action they perform. Ya good move. That's usable. Because color coordination should always trump usability. Because the sign out icon should appear before the search. I mean search isn't important right? YEAAAHHHH

Come up with a design that is so confusing - you can't even explain it to the people you are trying to get to approve the design. Ask the people you are explaining it to, what you meant. Cuz we know somehow.

Sweet New UI

So I was looking at some of the new web based products from Demo '08, and there is some cool new stuff out there in beta.

The product I liked the best (and I haven't even gotten to use it yet) is blist. I may change my mind once I use it, but right now I love it. They are in beta right now and I signed up to be part of their beta, why haven't they let me in yet?? Hurry up! LOL

I like it for a few reasons:

First, the product looks so much like a design I did for another web based product I designed the UI for. They (other product) utimately used the overall design of my ui, but changed from a black color scheme to gray. But I love the edginess of the black, and I'm so glad to see a product out there that isn't afraid to use it! WTG! And since it looks so similar to something I designed of course I'm partial to it.

Second, as a user interface designer we need to figure out how to make using things fun, easy, intuitive, and also look nice. But if it only looks nice and isn't easy or fun - well who wants to use it? And really who wants to use something ugly either? Sometimes it takes several interations to get it right, but I like to see web apps pushing the limits. And blist is a web database application (snooze right?), but wait there's more: it's so cool looking I actually want to use it. It appears (from the screenshot) that it makes using databases easy. DBs are difficult to use, and if these guys have figured out how to make it easy (and fun?!) - well then kudos to them.

Oh and love the logo - it's really cute and friendly. It makes databases seem less scary as well. So hurry up blist - send me an invite to beta!

Nice Use of Design

So I am a storage junkie. I can admit it. I save everything.

I have 2 external 500 GB drives (plus a 200 GB internal disk), but they are now filled with mp3s and various work stuff. I needed something more, something bigger. I haven't even ripped all of my 5,000 cds yet!!!

Then I came across the Western Digital My Book Premium II - 2TB drive! And it has Raid 1 capability so I can set aside half of it to be used as a mirror. Cool. I did a quick price comparison and Newegg had it for about $50 less than everyone - even better!

So I bought it. It came yesterday - it's big, not crazy big, but bigger than I expected, but it looks pretty cool so I'm ok with it. I ran the setup disc, then plugged it in and set up the Raid 1. It was so easy I'm still convinced something went wrong. There is software with it for the raid management, and it says I am using Raid 1, but it only shows me 1 drive - is that right? Shouldn't I see 2 and one is read only from the other drive? I'm a UI chick I don't know anything about hardware! I've been harrasing every technical friend I know trying to find out if I should see 1 or 2 drives. I've gotten mixed answers. Not helpful. It makes me nervous.

With UI you can't win... make it too hard people complain and can't use it; make it too easy people freak out and are afaid they've done it wrong.

But now to the point of this whole post. The design of the case is very cool. It looks sleek, but very heavy duty at the same time. Power button is a funky blue glowing button. But I think the coolest design feature is the vent holes: which are actually Morse code!!! The code spells out personal, reliable, innovative, design, and simple, repeating over and over again. LOVE IT! You have to have vent holes, why not make them kind of cool?

Bad Product Design

So being a UI Designer I am always trying to make things easier to use. I need to make sure that the product meets the mental model of the user. Well and I am passionate about what I do.

So I am always analyzing other products for good and bad. Like the iPhone - it's a great design, although the scroll initially annoyed me because you have to move your hand in the opposite direction than I had expected, but I quickly learned the behavior, and have no more issue with it.

Donald Norman's Design of Everyday Things is a great book about this whole subject. He's also written Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things - which I haven't read yet - it's on my list of things to do. And he just published a new book: The Design of Future Things that is getting mixed reviews. But I will have to check it out for myself to decide.

Now onto the bad design that has been making me nuts. I bought a plug in air freshener from Bath and Body Works. You take this oil thing and screw it into the thing that plugs into the wall. It smells really nice - I'm enjoying that at least.

However, to screw in the scent thingy - you have to screw it in counter clockwise! To screw it out - you screw it out clockwise!! WTF??? Who does this? For years maybe hundreds of them, people have screwed things in clockwise and unscrewed them counter clockwise. It's a UNIVERSALLY accepted way to do things!!!!!! All items I have ever encountered before that had to be screwed into something worked with this model. So because I already have a mental model of how this works.. righty tighty, lefty loosy - I assumed this would follow the universally accepted model..... but nooooooooo why should millions of products built to a certain standard make them think it's a good idea to follow that?

On one hand I've only had to change out the oil thing 3 times, but on the other each time it makes me angry that it's backwards!

Annoying Flash Sites

I love cool design. I do. I'm a UI Designer - I hope I like design.

I love excellent design of all kinds: Clothes, Shoes, Handbags, Houses, Cars, Buildings, Websites... you name it.

I think flash can do some really cool things, but most sites that are all flash just annoy me. Why you ask? Because I can't use the fucking back button.

My mental model is that the BACK button should take me BACK to the previous page, not kick me out to the homepage of the entire site. I HATE this about flash sites.

Uniqlo, the site I love to hate, does exactly that. And now I was just on Mazda's site trying to look at the CX-7. I looked at the exterior and wanted to go back to see the interior. What happens when I click back? Well I am back on the freaking homepage where I have to one AGAIN select which vehicle I want to look at. I already DID THAT. I shouldn't have to do that again!

If you want to use flash on your site - great. Find a way to have the back button still work!!

most. annoying. site. ever.

WTF is the deal with this site? How can anyone actually LOOK at the clothes they potentially want to buy??? Clicking anywhere seems to throw you back to the homepage, the back button totally doesnt work becuase it's all flash. ANNOYING! and then as if that wasn't bad enough.. the freaking clothes move back and forth in a dizzying way to show you the close up. Clicking (which I expected would STOP the MOVEMENT or "my mental model" if you will) just brought me to this insane mosiac view where I have to try to decide which item of clothing I want to view. From a mosiac!?? How do I even know where to look? I have to hover to actually have the little mosiac piece even make sense to see the item.

It could be a belt, hat, gloves, shirt, jeans, pants, spin the wheel who knows... wheeeeeeeeeee WTF! And you can't shop online - I guess it's to promote the store... but with this kind of user experience I think I'll skip it and go right on into Bloomies or Saks.

Let's see.. here's the "wicked useful" mosiac view. This is how I usually like to shop for clothes :S


If the site is this crazy - what does the store look like??? Clothes dancing on racks? Strobes lights and blaring club music? Moving shelves?

They seem to have some cute things, but who can tell with this crazy design? I don't even understand how the designer came up with this concept and how once they started building it - they were able to keep track of what they put where. I'd be totally lost. I mean it's pretty. But it's not useful.

Oh and wait... there's more! if you click on a category.. let's say women / shirt - you then see a SEA, and I mean a SEA of shirts scrolling non-stop on the page! 10 across and 8 down!!!! Who the hell can focus. I cannot scan fast enough to see them. And once again the "mental model" (to use the annoying buzz word people seem obsessed with at my company) is broken becuase hovering doesn't MAKE THEM STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they just keep right on moving! I am dizzy. I feel drunk and it's only 11 in the morning.

now picture this stupid thing scrolling vertically, or better yet go to their website and see it for yourself. It's like a slot machine...

This is the coolest thing

Right brained or left?

My co-worker sent me this link and said don't read the text on the left - just look at the picture and tell me which way this person is moving. Ok...

Immediately I said counter clockwise. It was so completely obvious to me. She was shocked - thinking I would definitely see it clockwise (as I am a user interface designer). Then the longer I stared at it - suddenly the damn thing started moving clockwise! and I couldn't see it counter clockwise anymore! When I closed the page and reopened it - it was back to counter clockwise. And now it keeps switching for me.

I am starting to be convinced they are secretly switching out the image and fooling everyone. How else is this possible?

My co-worker was sure I was right-brained and I am pretty sure I am because I am terrible at math. I guess I can use both sides of the braind though since I am able to see this thing moving in both directions. Perhaps this shows why I am able to do UI Design well - I can see both sides Design and Engineering.. who knows.... it's pretty cool though.