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March 7, 2007

Design and Usability are Irrelevant in Web 2.0

Wait! I can hear ever reader out there saying that in the Web 2.0 world design and usability are not big issues. The contribution will be based on the value of the content not the look and feel. Of course, that’s why we buy a Lexus versus a dune buggy because we only want to get to point A to point B. Please, give me a break; you can’t honestly believe that.

Imagine for a moment that web communications is like owning a home and the original web was like living with your parents. If you didn’t know how to landscape a yard then you just cut it as your Dad told you to do. If you didn’t have an inkling of interior design then that hand-me down furniture with neon posters worked fine. If you didn’t understand the architecture of remodeling then you shared a bathroom with your three sisters. Same thing with Web 1.0 design and usability, if you didn’t understand Human Computer Interaction, HTML or Metadata then you stayed at home and used whatever your management told you.

Early or Pre 2.0 applications like discussions threads or community sites was like leaving home and renting an apartment. Of course, you felt the freedom and exhilaration of being on your own and being able to say and do whatever you wanted to do. However, you couldn’t change the infrastructure even if you had skills in design, the landlord would have kept that 2 month security fee. Rules were everywhere; no parking, no parties, no noise, no boats, etc. It was better than living at home but your freedoms were limited.

The emergence of Web 2.0 is like moving into your own home. You are now responsible for the look, the design, the content, and the perception decreed by the environment. If you want to plant Kudzo in the front yard because you have childhood memories of failure then that’s ok. If you want to paint your house with a giant “Wonder Bread” design then knock yourself out. Do you like that seventies look? They still have those Forrest Green and Harvest Gold appliances available and shag carpet may be making a comeback. The point is that you control things now and you don’t need to know HTML or .Net programming but you still have an image or brand to protect. Design and usability don’t become irrelevant, they become distinguishing. There are 55 million voices out there and your just one of them, you are going to need all of the help you can get.

Posted by Todd at March 7, 2007 5:13 PM