Recycled Human

Why is the window resize frowned upon by usability savvy designers? There are two main reasons, both of them have to do with mental context.

1. Web surfers like to feel that they’re in control. An unexpected window resize can, to some, mean that they’re losing some of that control. This is the exact reason that pop-ups are despised. An action that takes place that the user doesn’t expect is usually not good.

2. Many web surfers are multitaskers. They’re browsing, reading e-mail, etc. This is especially true where people are likely to be browsing at work. A fullscreen window resize makes that multitasking much harder to do. What do people do to barriers in their productivity? They get rid of ‘em.

If you don’t have a window resize, you’ll offend no one. If you do have one, I’d be willing to bet there are a chunk of people who have a knee-jerk reaction to it.

Here are my recommendations, in order of usability friendliness.

1. Remove the fullscreen resize, let browsers surf how they prefer to surf.

2. If you MUST have a window resize, have it only take over 80% of the screen, instead of 100%.

3. If it has to take over 100%, make sure you don’t hide the resize tools (on a mac, windows machines won’t have this problem) so they can make it smaller if they prefer.

4. If nothing else, put a (Fullscreen View) link below “Enter Site” so that surfers know that their window will be resized. This helps to make it less shocking.

Question: What will happen if you ask for someone’s opinion on a composition?
Answer: They’ll give it to you.

I’ve been involved in a project for a company based out of New York. I presented my client with a mockup composition for sign-off. After several days, I received a list of collective input. This was feedback from the secretary, the CEO’s wife and others at varying levels in the company. Many of the changes to the design were menial, and collectively would compromise the composition. We’ve all heard the maxim that “a camel is the horse, designed by a committee.” Here is my bold headlined argument…

One designer’s vision has more power than ten people’s opinions.

Why? I’ll tell you. If you’re a good designer, you take the time to understand your client, their product/service, their target audience, and the overall goals of the project before you ever start designing. At that point, your creative is bound by those constraints. More than putting together good looking artwork, you’re solving communications problems and creating compelling visual and verbal messages.

A designer will have a much more complete understanding of the project than others. They will take the time to find inspiration, and they will understand (with great insight) all of the elements that need to be brought together to make a piece work. The design decisions they’re making will be well informed, and based on years of experience making design decisions with goals and target audience in mind.

This is why one designer’s vision, is much stronger than ten opinions. Your friend, father, wife or secretary hasn’t gone through the same mental exercises to focus on the project and its goals. Their feedback often stems from personal preference, rather than a well-thought-out analysis of your target audience’s personal preferences. In addition, they may not understand visual communication, color psychology, typography, page layout, usability and other factors that influence a good designer’s decisions.

You wouldn’t form a large corporation, and then ask your friends and family to sit on the board of directors to make decisions that will effect the company’s future. You would want experts in business with specific industry experience to steer the company. Why is design not treated in the same way?

Client input and feedback is valuable. Many client generated ideas might fit within the parameters of the project’s goals, and should be incorporated. However, much of the feedback may be given simply because it was asked for, and not because it was needed. If you really do trust your designer, allow him to make the executive decisions on your behalf. The success of your project is directly related to the quality of the decisions that compose it and you hired a professional for a reason.

P.S. Glen, thank you for letting me publish this. I think it might help a few others avoid some of the pitfalls we discussed. I’m going to incorporate it into my presentation for new clients to help educate them up front. Again, thanks.

You don’t often see religious organizations with solid Web sites. In fact, it’s a rarity. I would assert that some of the worst sites around are often owned by a church. The LDS Church is way ahead of the curve. Not only is their new site very well designed, it’s also delivering very strong communication.  I was getting some of my recent work listed in design resource sites, when I found Mormon.org recognized for its aesthetic appeal.

The site is an excellent blend of technology, design, and writing. This is one of the best executions I’ve seen for spreading ideas online.

A couple of notes about the site, and why I think it will be a success.

1. The messages are simple.
2. The content is compelling, everyone questions their existence at one point or other.
3. The message matches the medium.  Testimony is much more effective when delivered in person since passion and conviction can be conveyed through body language, facial expression and inflection.  On the web, the next best thing is video.  If these were simply paragraphs to be read, they’d have had a fraction of the cognitive and emotional impact on viewers.
4. The site leverages “storytelling”.  One of the popular trends in marketing right now, is telling stories as a means of delivering a message.  That’s exactly what’s framed into the testimony.
5. The design is elegant, professional and simple.
6. The experience is guided.  Users are clearly directed into the video library.
7. An online message is very easily shared.  Even without the “Send An E-Card” and “Share This Page” buttons, site visitors would still likely pass the URL around.

I wonder if other churches will get as serious about their Web sites.