Tom wrote about an important topic on UI design – UIs and the Fun factor.
We can't argue about the importance of providing the right balance between “features/functionality” vs. “usability” vs. “pleasure/fun to use” — very important indeed.
So why is it so difficult to deliver such balance?
Well, some people just don't get it. On the other hand, many of today’s products on the web are being designed and implemented by small teams of developers, and not all developers are good or effective at HCI design. And even if there is a good HCI concept, implementing such might not be easy, because of existing barriers or constraints… Because of this, it is always good to have a dedicated UI designer guru in your team, if one can be afforded; the same with having a good graphic designer.
This reminds me of something that happened to me many years ago when I worked on a project codenamed Galileo, where I designed an icon for the Windows system tray for our little agent that ran on the desktop. Because of the project codename, I decided to use the planet Jupiter (with its Red Spot) as the icon… and proud was I of my artwork. Except that when I deployed my code, the 1st thing the testing folks said was “why is a hamburger in the tray icon?”. Fortunately, my icon was a temporary one, a placeholder while our graphics designer completed the official icon-set. So the morale of the story is to find and use the people with the right set of skills for the appropriate job, and avoid jeopardizing your product by ignoring “features/functionality”, vs. “usability”, vs. “pleasure/fun to use”. Since that day, whenever possible ($), a UI and graphic designer/gurus are included in the planning/budget. :-)
ceo