[Sigia-l] Fw: Alertbox: Celebrating Holidays and Special Occasions on Websites

[Henrik Olsen]

> Possible writing sample: "Pumpkins have long symbolized 
> Halloween in much of North America, although there is 
> evidence to suggest reduced pumpkin activity in some Canadian 
> provinces. Pumpkins are easily recognized by their roundish 
> shape and orange color (approximately 84% are websafe 
> FF9900). Our studies show that as many as 67% feature carved 
> faces, of which 31% are toothless. (See Fig. 27a, Jack-O-Lantern)."

It think it would be more like this:

Christmas: 99% Bad
 
Although multimedia has its role on the Web, current Christmas
technology tends to discourage usability for three reasons: it makes bad
design more likely, it breaks with the Web's fundamental interaction
style, and it consumes resources that would be better spent enhancing a
site's core value. 

About 99% of the time, the presence of Christmas on a website
constitutes a usability disease. Although there are rare occurrences of
good Christmas design (it even adds value on occasion), the use of
Christmas typically lowers usability. In most cases, we would be better
off if these holiday objects were removed. 

Learn More Full-day tutorial on Christmas usability

Ho, ho, ho!

Henrik Olsen
http://www.guuui.com - The Interaction Designer's Coffee Break