://FRESH - FACE-TO-FACE ON INTERFACING
In North America, one cannot watch television or ride a bus without seeing dotcom ads. For all the commercial hype over these sites, an actual visit proves that all too often they are of disappointing design. In the mad rush to service the on-line masses, new sites have benchmarked the likes of Amazon.com as the path to success. As a result, few stray from formulaic layout and navigation methods, creating a sea of cookie-cutter blandness. This perceived need to sacrifice creativity is one of the factors that define the current crop of websites. Limitations of the web as a medium is another, the lack of content a third.
To gain a better
perspective on this topic, we asked six designers Rei Inamoto of R/GA ,
John Warwicker of Tomato Interactive, Matt Griffin of Deepend, Stuart
Sharpe, Tom Nicholson of Icon-Nicholson and Peter Spreenberg of MOVE
Design "to participate in some navel gazing ..."
As with
the processes of most other industries, the design of a web interface
is dependent upon three standard components: the product, the target
audience and available technology. It is the complex interaction of
these components and the upcoming trends in the industry that will
dictate the future of interface design.
With its rapid
spread across geographic, political and social boundaries, the web
promises to be a significant force for change in the future. The
consequence of this expansion is an exponential growth in new users
going on-line as their communities become exposed and the inevitable
meeting of those cultures and the culture of the web. It is through
this expansion that the web has the potential to create what Warwicker
calls a "greater parity between nations".
One obstacle to
this is the web's West-centric development. In the past, the Western
Hemisphere, particularly the United States, has been able to dictate
the global development of many key industries including technology.
Being the creators and the leaders in its development, these nations
have also set the standards and precedents that shape the web today.
While
it is necessary for these new cultures to adopt certain standards where
practical, it is important that they remain distinct, for it is through
a celebration of the heritage of each culture that assimilation and
culture death can be prevented. One only has to look at the web's
profound influence on the societies of industrialized nations to
realize that this is more than just an issue of on-line presence. By
submitting to the established norms that exist on the web, local
identities have to be sacrificed to sustain the globalization of
Western values.
The web that exists today is the product
of a predominantly Western development and fits within that particular
historic and cultural context. Similarly, the web that evolves from the
relationship with a new culture should be representative of that
particular culture. It is these relationships the reciprocal transfer
of information between the web and disparate cultures - that will
contribute to the creation and development of a truly international
culture.
The second consequence of this expansion, the
rapid increase in new users getting connected, is occurring everywhere,
both locally and internationally. With this increase comes a widening
gap in the once homogenous audience of web pioneers. On one side there
are the "Tech-Knows" and on the other are the "Tech-Know-Nots". Besides
knowledge and familiarity, this division is based on a number of
factors such as purposes of use and level of expectation. The early
adapters, who represent a shrinking proportion of the audience base,
have experienced the various stages of the web's evolution and have now
become web-savvy and sophisticated, demanding a more fulfilling on-line
experience.
The new users, who represent a growing
majority, are logging onto the web by the millions - an explosion that
is not going unnoticed by businesses and is being mirrored by the level
of commercial interest in the web. After having proven itself in terms
of usefulness, stability and security, the web has now become a part of
mainstream culture. Consequently, sites such as Yahoo are catering to
this less-experienced crowd with sites based on simple structures,
familiar visuals and standard navigation systems. These interface
designs have become standardized for users who are more interested in
what the web can do for them than in the web itself.
Realization
of the web's potential as the most efficient means of delivery has
translated to an increasingly marketing-driven environment for the
designer and an increase of commercial presence and influence on the
web. The need to utilize the Internet as a positive revenue stream has
forced companies to re-evaluate the way in which they develop the web.
While some have taken the more business-structured approach, others are
re-writing the business books. The struggle to maintain a creative edge
is becoming more difficult as the focus shifts to commerce.
Transaction
sites are designed to be fast and accurate and tend towards
standardization and predictability for the user. Entertainment sites
are designed to seduce their users with a rich and provocative
interface that supports the type of content. A user-centered approach
has become an important factor for both types of sites. As the gap
between the experienced and new users grows, this use-dependent
approach to interface design will be of increasing value to development
planning.
Catering to both of these types of sites and
their users is one of the latest web-technology developments,
Broadband. Its popularization is facilitating delivery, making
data-intensive sites and others a practical reality. Another
development that has already made an impact in other parts of the world
is the emergence of Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) and WAP-enabled
devices, allowing users to access networked text-based information
conveniently from almost any location.
By changing the
method and speed of data transfer, these technologies have created new
opportunities for designers in different ways. With the spread of
Broadband, more people will be able to experience the most
sophisticated sites as they were intended. In conjunction with
developments in other fields, such as the use of digital video in the
film industry, Broadband will give designers the potential to provide
their audiences with immersive environments that are as engaging and
gratifying as other forms of media.
But WAP goes in the
opposite direction. Due to low access speeds, this technology limits
traditional creative input by the interface designer. However, this
limitation creates a challenge for designers to find and produce the
most appropriate interface for this new medium. Another potential
design opportunity that WAP provides is an occasion for the interface
designer to collaborate with hardware designers, if not the opportunity
to design the device itself.
These are both welcome
developments, but there are still a number of technical issues that
continue to thwart the efforts of designers. Among these issues, one
that was mentioned more than once is the lack of HTML and DHTML
standards between the browser platforms and the inordinate amount of
time and effort that is wasted on the development of browser-specific
content. Though this redundancy is unlikely to end, some relief to
workload is provided by an incidental benefit of Broadband - decreasing
need to design a low-bandwidth site for slower access.
When
asked to comment on the increasing complexity of developing a website
and its effect, the unanimous response was that it was having a
negative effect on the quality of the final product. It has become
difficult for lone designers to create world-class sites. This
complexity has created the need for specialists in different areas, and
their collaboration. This in turn has necessitated an increasingly
stratified organization to manage the development. As more people are
involved, the designers become further removed from the clients and
ideas have to pass through multiple filters before they can be
implemented. This has a tendency to dilute the vision that maintains
the integrity of a project, impacting the quality of the final product.
As far as some designers are concerned, it doesn't improve the
situation at all, now that marketing is becoming increasingly
influential.
Using the analogy that Tom Nicholson
provided, as with a film production, it is no longer the talents of
individual star designers that will determine the success of a project,
but the ability of a director to gather and guide great talent that
works together well.
In conclusion, what seems to be of
overriding concern is the dwindling presence of good, thoughtful
interfaces in the current crop of web designs.
Like the
others, Warwicker believes that web design is still driven by
technology, and that form still overwhelms content. There is a
consensus that interface design should be less about interface or any
particular component piece. Ideally, all aspects should form a cohesive
message that bonds the site into a whole seamless experience that is
appropriate for the purpose and audience. Paradoxically, the better the
design of the interface the less it will be noticed by most people. As
Rei expressed it so eloquently: Design is a thought. A thought should
be visible. Technology, on the other hand is a method and a method
should be transparent.
Recommended sites:
www.viaduct.co.uk
www.bam-b.com
www.brandnewmusic.co.uk
www.pictor.co.uk
www.lessrain.co.uk
www.turbonium.com
www.maedastudio.com
www.metmuseum.org
About this article
The above article by the IdN editorial team appears here with permission. (C) 2000 IdN.
About IdN
IdN magazine is a digital design magazine published bimonthly,
primarily catering to content creators and aesthetes throughout the
world. It is currently available in four editions in two languages,
English and Chinese. It is the only publication of its type in the
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