Wolf’s Little Store

When designing interfaces for web applications, I usually come to a point where I wonder if the end user will ‘get’ how to use the interface. What happens then is either going with what I designed (and taking a risk there) or falling back to the “proven” solution. That last option usually wins.

Currently I’m revising the interface of our* CMS and there’s a lot of design decisions to be taken. Do I stand firmly behind my ideas and take a risk, or do I go for the safe way? Without risks there won’t be any innovation, but a miscalculated design decision can have a severe cost.

Danc from Lost Garden got me thinking with the excellent Short thoughts on games and interaction design →:

Modern interaction design has great difficulty with the topic of learning. The current rule of thumb is that users should never be forced to learn any new skills in order to use the application. This greatly limits the scope of potential designs and their ultimate usefulness to expert users. Game techniques, as systems that teach, allow designers to break free from the oppressive assumption that they must only design for the lowest common denominator.

And a little thought on usability (Satisfying UI design if often illogical on Usabilitynews.com →) :

Usability tests and theories about interaction are tools. Very useful tools, but still just tools — not purposes onto themselves. The real goal is user satisfaction, and some of that is really illogical and messy.

Do you take the risk of go with the safe way? Are those ‘proven’ design patterns really that user-friendly?

* The company I work for, Netlash webdesign.

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