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> If both Microsoft and Corel are aiming for an optimum spreadsheet, the UI of their applications should converge. This implies that UI design is constrained b
by throwawaykf05 11y ago
> If both Microsoft and Corel are aiming for an optimum spreadsheet, the UI of their applications should converge.
This implies that UI design is constrained by a fixed, incontrovertible set of physical laws, leaving little room for creativity, which is obviously not true. Sure, there are a large number of guidelines and rules of thumb about what make for a "good" design, but even within those constraints the space of possibilities is infinite.
- TeMPOraL 11y agoTrue, but notice that one of the most important rule in all UX design everywhere is consistency. This rule by itself is a strong attractor, dragging UI designs together. And while not directly constrained by explicit physical laws, UI space is constrained by mathematical rules of information theory, by our biology (in particular the limbs we have and the brain architecture we all have in common), by interaction media, by our culture, etc. The space of useful designs (as opposed to just pretty) is quite small. There is room for creativity, yes, but changing the shape of a scrollbar arrow button to avoid a lawsuit is not creativity, it's making things different for the sake of them being different. At best it doesn't make usability worse.