Future of Web Design Recap – Ryan Singer, 37Signals

Allen Stern - November 10th, 2007

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Ryan Singer, 37 Signals

the company is known for making software that is easy to use, clear, that people like to use.
you know when things reach critical mass when you get a lot of bullshit and jargon (referring to all the usability and design talk)
we talk about clear, fast, easy, fun and good. usability does not mean it is good.
for us, the interface is the product. Going to take a look at 3 areas that get focused on: screens, flow, language

Screens

on hitting a screen, focus on what is most important for the user, why they are on the screen and make sure that is easy to find. On the files tab of basecamp there is a lot of information but the main focus is on file icon and file name. Think about what the immediate hit is, see the parts, see the relationships.
he thinks there should be a ‘weak’ tag, to de emphasise things. so we have strong, normal and weak across the page
he looks for elements he can use to act as handles, to act as ‘containers’ for the content to organise things – gives context… looks to de-emphasise things when they do not need to catch your eye at the start. add colour to bring attention.
you use elements to direct attention and to support the content. making things clear and well structures often end up looking good. think about importance and priority and user stuff and it helps on the art side.
DECIDE WHAT MATTERS…MAKE THAT POP OUT…MAKE EVERYTHING ELSE FADE BACK

Flow

your screens could be beautiful, but if finding your way through them is horrible, then it is still bad. always need to think about flow and how people will move through the screens.
think about why people load up an app – it needs to be fast and smooth. you can have a great product but if is not easy to use, then won;t be.
what do people need to do and make it as easy as possible
think about making it frictionless – what do most people want to do next and get the app to do it and drive you along

Language

interface design on copywriting
speak your users language
in order for people to use something it has to make sense to them
talk like a human. think about it being a conversation
long labels are OK…they are descriptive. instead of ‘submit’ what are they actually doing.

In summary