[Sigia-l] Does interface design matter?

[Listera]

Trenouth, John:

> Of course some would say that while CraigsList is pretty low on aesthetic
> quality, that same no-nonsense design helps users achieve their goals more
> easily.

I'm not sure if CraigsList ever did a A/B test of alternative UIs. Otherwise
how exactly do we know what the opportunity costs are for the present
minimalist UI?

Which is why I am excited to see a real-life, high-volume cross-comparison
of two fairly minimalist UIs in GMail YahooMail, addressing largely the same
problem, one with a higher visual design quotient.

> Perhaps a product's success is due more to marketing and promotion than to
> design and quality.

I know this'll sound like a broken record, but product Design (w/ a capital
D) must necessarily address product positioning before anything.

I often attenuate my design approach if I feel my clients' salesforce can't,
for example, properly sell a particular design. I am designing a large-scale
app at the moment which will require a different sales approach and
training. At every step we've discussed this. I invited various salespeople
at the earliest stages of the design process and went to see actual and
potential clients with them.

So as designers we have to insist on maintaining Design consistency and
integrity from concept through sales as a continuum, and get involved.

---- 
Ziya

Best Practices,
For when you've run out of your own ideas and context.