[Sigia-l] Amazon.com 99% bad!

[Listera]

You knew it had to happen; Jakob's after the Amazon contract. :-)

Amazon: No Longer the Role Model for E-Commerce Design
<http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20050725.html>

Regardless of what you might think of Amazon.com, there are other gems in
there:

> It's usually good to copy the big guys. When people grow accustomed to a
> certain design, following it in your own interface supports transfer of
> learning and thus increases usability. If you're designing an application,
> follow the lead of Microsoft Office -- for example, use a floppy-disk icon to
> denote "save" (even though nobody saves to floppies any more). If you're
> implementing a search feature, copy Google.

This is why Jakob is an abomination to Designers, who (according to Jakob)
is superfluous anywhere but the "big guys". Why bother with Design anyway,
if you're not a "big guy" just copy them -- you know, "standards," "best
practices"...The man just doesn't grok Design.

> Of course, rather than simply copy any one site, it's best to follow the
> hundreds of detailed research findings about e-commerce usability.

What might those be? Well, 207 (count'em, 207) 'guidelines' would set you
back $129 (not $130, mind you).

> But people often prefer to be told just one thing.

You didn't know that, did you? Especially if it costs only $129 from NNG.
:-)

Ziya
Nullius in Verba