Happy New Year

Happy new year!

I just got home from vacation. Well back from visiting family, it was so busy Im not sure how vacationy it was.

I always try to read a book when I go away, and this time I read Emotional Design by Donald Norman. Good book. Norman is always a great writer, and after reading his best (IMO) “The design of everyday things” (DOET) a few years ago, this went on my list. Sadly, I think he could have taken the 2nd half further, but I understand why it changed tones when talking about robots. But I felt that DOET was a game changer, and the primer for interaction design. Emotional design was almost the primer for experience design. (Except that the term was used before this book was written).

I thought something was funny though. Im a huge believer in usability design. HUGE! And somehow people including Norman feel that aesthetics are not part of usability. Norman talked a bit about this, but without going into too much detail, he basically said that there is proof that people perceive better looking interfaces to be easier to use. They give a better experience.

Well yes, they do. But I knew that. But Norman said that without changing the usability of the product, and only making it look nicer, it was easier. Personally I believe this totally neglects the importance of several major things. First what about information design!?!?

By changing the way the interface looks, you ARE changing the way it works. The way an interface looks completely determines how a person sees it, and therefore changes the way they will think of interacting with it.

Id like to do this experiment myself, give me 200 people, and a confusing UI (with 2 skins (1 nice, 1 ugly)). let 100 use the ugly, and 100 use the nice. Video both. Im 100% sure that people will interact with them differently.

Also, by giving the user a better looking interface, the user approaches the system in a better mood. This alone as (Norman pointed out )is enough to change the way people think. When the user is happy, they see the forest, when upset, only the trees.

Last, but not least is what I tall people…

The hardest to use interface, is the one so-ugly people refuse to use it.

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