One of the joys of writing the kind of books I do is I have to skip all over the place – libraries, websites, magazines, books, talking to people – researching them.
I was recently trying to get some information on hybrid cars from manufacturers’ websites, and THEY ARE TERRIBLE. (Not hybrid cars, the websites.)
Sorry for shouting, I lost my cool there.
The trouble is the sites are so pathetically slow. They cram in so much high tech wizzy web stuff with video and music and interactive this and 360 degree that, that the whole experience of using them is slow and painful, and it can take forever to find a simple bit of information.
Please, car manufacturers, have two sites. One for the brain dead who want to play with pretty interactive graphics, and one for people who need to find things out. Surely it can’t be too difficult…
Hhmm,
I recall watching a TED talk a few months ago that made reference to a car manufacturers website.
It didn’t take long to track it down
The car bit starts at 2 minutes in but it’s worth watching the full 7 minutes to place things in context.
It’s the same with most architect’s websites – all Flash animations and no back buttons. People who are in the business of designing things tend to overdesign their web presence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDW_Hj2K0wo
Sorry, forgot to link the above.
But German vaccuum cleaner and fridge websites are wonderful. Also scandinavian bed websites. We recently bought a bed that was one of those assemble-it-yourself pieces, but the instructions were not included. We did a google search, found the website, and could download the instructions.
I will end here before I start to make faintly sexist comments about toys vs the commercial imperitive for usefulness……
Maxine – when I used to be involved in software user interface design, my mantra was always ‘if your user has to read the manual, you’ve got it wrong.’ I think it’s time scandavian bed manfacturers and others made it unnecessary to have instructions to assemble their products (Ikea take note) – entirely possible if you design the product thoughtfully.
It’s very old now, but I commend Donald Norman’s The Psychology of Everyday Things on this. He points out how simple design changes can hugely alter usability. One example is pull handles/push plates on doors. You see a handle, you know to pull. See a plate, you know to push. But many designers put symmetry above usability and put a pull handle on the push side.
I have stood beside a door like this and watched person after person come up, pull the door, fail and then push it. All because some idiot designer thought a pull handle looked prettier.
I will refrain from any comment on the implications of needing instructions on how to use a bed as below the dignity of this blog.