Is the “Look” Getting in the Way of the Function?

I am beginning to enjoy the idea that perhaps design visuals, when it comes to the creation of websites and applications should not be included in the initial interaction with the client. At least not in the way that they are more traditionally included in the process.

Here are my thoughts on this subject. Often times during my design process I am faced with the problem of the client focusing too much on the “look” of the design rather than the way in which the content is presented or furthermore, functions.

Let’s take a typical process example. I present a client with a rough comp of the site, a visual comp in jpeg form let’s say. The client is pleased and signs off on the comp so I proceed to development. (shortened version of the process).

Now we fall upon a review of the site. The client while at home views the working draft in the latest version of Firefox, things look wonderful to them. However they then decide to grab a quick look later that day, this time viewing it on IE 6 at the office. Interestingly the button on the check out page seems to have shifted 2px to the right when compared to FF and certainly does match the design visual first presented. Oddly this is now of primary concern and we will spend the better part of the day fixing it.

Ok more than likely an easy fix, but here is the point. While that might be an annoyance to them, most of their end-users will never know the difference. What the client should be focusing on are things like how inviting is the button based on placement, color etc. How much sense does it make and will it lead the end-user to click or can it be done better. Secondly they should be focusing on what happens when the button is clicked. Is the next step logical or is it confusing. Can step 1 and step 2 be combined to make this process easier and thus more inviting.

In my opinion these are the types of problems that design should be concerned with solving, but unfortunately we are now concentrating on that pixel instead.

How does the original visual comp influence this behavior? By presenting the client with the visual representation of the site we are encouraging them to focus on the look of the site from the get go.

Unfortunately this is not the way the web works, it is a living working machine that will be viewed by hundreds of different users of varying technical skill and understanding, on hundreds of combinations of software and hardware making it near impossible to truly accommodate the same visual experience in each. Thus the focus should be on the interactive experience.

That is not to say that the “look” of the site is not important to certain degree. The aesthetics should play a role in the overall design itself, but they should just make sense. They should work cohesively with the architecture of the site to lead the end user to complete the process with little thought.

Take for instance a well designed home. You may see it and say Wow look at all of those beautiful windows! or Wow, so modern looking, I love it. But if you where to dissect it further you might gain a better understanding of why the architect choose to design the house with so many windows on this particular side of the building. Possible energy reasons, lighting etc. Things that will lead to the way the home is used and interacted with. These intricacies or more technical aspects of the design are what will come to matter in the daily life of the home owner after the initial awe has sunk in. The home owner is the end user in this case.

How do we go about alleviating this problem. It’s certainly going to depend on several factors both on a per business case and per project case. Things like current work process, type of business, type of client and even project budget are going to play key factors in how you approach it.

Overall I think there needs to be a stronger communication of how things work rather than how they look leading the client to focus more on the important aspects of the site.

The concept of skipping Photoshop and going straight to development has certainly been discussed.

Or perhaps you explore a way in which you continue to present the client with design visuals in more of a diagram format explaining the interaction more deeply.

Perhaps a meshing of wireframe with visual comp that truly explains interaction on the site. What happens when you click here.

I think there are a lot of possible approaches to solving these issues and it is going to have to start with allowing yourself to break free of some of your current thoughts and processes. It is also going to rely heavily on the education of clients. Preaching the importance of on site interaction and end user intuition and how they relate to achieving the true goals of the design project.

Stay tuned, there is a follow on article in the works.