[Sigia-l] Need published proof that scrolling text is not good

[Jared M. Spool]

On Dec 2, 2007, at 11:08 PM, Janet Wallace wrote:

> If I could give her some "official" opinions, perhaps she'd change  
> her mind.

Without knowing much about the context of this question, I'm  
wondering if you can get a sense as to why your client wants  
scrolling text? Is it because she enjoys motion? Is it because she's  
hoping to make the text stand out? Is it because she feels its  
important to emulate a modern cable-network news channel?

I'm also wondering if the scrolling text is the only imperfection in  
an otherwise perfect design. If that's the case, it probably warrants  
much attention. If it is just one of many perceived imperfections,  
you might want to prioritize and make sure it's the most important  
thing you need to be talking to your client about.

And then you better make sure you're right. How do you know the  
imperfections are really issues for users? Have you watched them to  
see how they react to the design? Has the client?

I'm going to bet that, once you and your client have watched real  
users do real tasks with the design, the scrolling text will become a  
footnote against the design discussions that really make a difference  
in the user's experience.

Of course, that's an assumption based on practically no information,  
so you probably shouldn't put much weight behind it. Or anything else  
you read in this thread.

Jared "Feeling snippy at 30,000 ft" Spool

p.s. Never forget the First Rule of Consulting: "You can't stop  
people from sticking beans up their nose." This sounds like a primary  
case of beans and noses.

p.p.s. The First Corollary to the First Rule of Consulting: "No  
amount of published proof will convince someone intent on sticking  
beans up their nose to do otherwise."

Jared M. Spool
User Interface Engineering
510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845
e: jspool at uie.com p: +1 978 327 5561
http://uie.com  Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks