[Sigia-l] is bad design a choice?

[Jared M. Spool]

At 03:46 PM 10/17/2005, Dave Heller wrote:
>It is a combination and in a world where technology is getting cheaper
>and cheaper to replicate (market share is not cheap, just eBay's
>advantage), when there is a more level playing field, design (all
>aspects, not just visual) can make a difference depending on the
>market.

Yah. Yah. Motherhood. Apple Pie. Baseball. Good Design. Got all that.

But the thread, if I ain't mistaken, is about whether bad design is a 
choice. Is it a good business decision to choose a bad design?

And the examples that were used to illustrate this was eBay and MySpace. 
Did they intentionally create bad designs to help their business?

I'm just challenging the claim that either of them are bad designs.

I believe that good design can help business. I just don't believe that 
either you nor I can accurately determine what is good design. At least not 
today.

So, maybe eBay and MySpace are great designs, for their audiences, and 
that's why they succeeded.

At which point, maybe the thread should be renamed, "Are designs I don't 
like a choice?" That would work better for me. Then I could follow the 
argument.

:)

Jared


Jared M. Spool, Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering
4 Lookout Lane, Unit 4d, Middleton, MA 01949
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