Things I Will Not Do as an Interface Designer

As a designer, there are certain things I cannot, in good conscience, do for you. Making you look like an uncomfortable poseur is at the top of that list.

The way I see design, it’s like helping someone dress for an occasion. You’re placing your institution online to meet and greet visitors, some of whom you know, some you don’t, and all of whom you’d like to leave with a good, personable impression. In that sense, I will make every effort not to send you out in something embarrassing because I value our friendship and I’m generally a nice person.

Imagine, for example, I am helping you decide what to wear for a dinner party at an upscale restaurant with people you’ve never met before but desperately want to impress. I’m not going to dress you in something trendy simply because it’s trendy. I’m also not going to dress you in something that just isn’t you. Nor will I let you leave under-dressed. If I did any of these things, you’d be uncomfortable, and everyone would notice. Things would be awkward as you fidgeted with your asymmetrical neckline or oddly-placed buttons, and you’d eventually isolate yourself near the bar as your confidence drained. At this point, you’d begin blaming me for convincing you to wear this…this thing; and a few hours later, our mutual acquaintances would be notified of the end of our friendship via some social networking app.

In the un-metaphor, in order to create a genuine and enjoyable online interaction between your website and your visitors, I will not simply appropriate a “cool/edgy/hip” style for you. In other words, I’m not going to take MTV.com’s Internet-clothes and make you.com wear them unless you truly are loud and possess a fleeting, celebrity-obsessed attention span. If your institution was founded before the turn of the century and currently has a well-earned reputation for being serious and focused, slapping some textures and grunge fonts on your website will seem unpalatable at best and disingenuous at worst. Like Christiane Amanpour reporting live in a Slipknot t-shirt.

I also won’t let you walk into the Internet without the personal touches that keep sites from looking interchangeable. Nor will I put you in a outfit that looks like I’m re-gifting something Aunt Crystal wore back in ’92 (you know, when she got really obsessed with Native American culture and hypercolor clothing). Unless, of course, that really is you. In which case, I know a few places that sell screen printed dreamcatcher shirts. Let’s go!

Posted by Laurel Hechanova
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Categories: Design and usability