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How about a guide to non-minimalist web design? Can we please please please have a discussion about how to build interfaces that aren't oceans of white space, r

by 1_2__4 9y ago

How about a guide to non-minimalist web design? Can we please please please have a discussion about how to build interfaces that aren't oceans of white space, relentless reduction of "click targets", and an overriding emphasis on showing the user the absolute least amount of information possible lest we frighten or confuse them? I'm so sick of consumer-focused web design infecting all corners of web design, including and especially professional/industry design where more information may sometimes be better than less. It's like UI designers' collective takeaway from Tufte et al. is "wow showing lots of information effectively in limited space is tough, let's just not do that."

Raphmedia 9y ago
Clever use of white space is vital to a good design. That being said, "white spaces" are not supposed to always be the color white. Interfaces are not supposed to always be a sea of nothingness either. That's simply bad minimalistic designs you are describing. Even a skeuomorphic design filled with textures and gradients require good use of white space and a minimalist approach to be a proper UI. Function over form should remain true no matter the "skin" of your user interface.
crispyambulance 9y ago
Well, the article is focused on consumer web design. It appears to be someone thinking out loud and coming up with some fairly standard advice. I agree an information-dense approach is warranted when people re-visit a site many times-- what you would call professional/industry design? But even then, the minimalist principles are still valid. You don't want to clutter with unnecessary stuff, but you _MAY_ just have more stuff. Do you have a compelling example of effective non-minimalist web design?
keithpeter 9y ago
I'm glad you said that. I've gone back to making a home page (remember those?) for my Maths teaching next year. I'm trying to pack as much as I can into one page that students can just access without passwords and which will work ok on a variety of platforms. http://www.maths91.uk/ http://www.maths91.uk/ I suppose this is 'maximalist'. Still no javascript. The style sheet is copypasta from various sources I'm afraid.
- noir_lord 9y ago
  I love that page, information dense but with a clear hierarchy and progression.
  - keithpeter 9y ago
    The page is a rendition of an administrative document (the 'scheme of work' for the Maths course) into language appropriate to students. The idea is they can't lose it if it is at a handy location on the web. We'll see.
ksk 9y ago
One annoying trend in UX these days is believing that simple UIs are sufficient, when the audience is technical, and the product is technical/complex. You simply have to see a cockpit to know that highly technical/skilled people can easily use a complicated UI just fine. I do believe designing a UI is hard when your audience is "everyone who can use a computer", but OTOH, products obviously meant for programmers or other technical folks should definitely surface a LOT more complex interactions.
- noir_lord 9y ago
  I'm a fan of interfaces that surface and submerge information at the behest of the user. Intellij does this well since you can toggle everything with the key map, two key strokes and I have the conventional busy IDE interface, two more and editor with text and no clutter, which mode I'm in is dependent on what I'm doing. vscode has it as well, they call theirs Zen mode.

by 1_2__4 9y ago

Raphmedia 9y ago

Clever use of white space is vital to a good design. That being said, "white spaces" are not supposed to always be the color white. Interfaces are not supposed to always be a sea of nothingness either. That's simply bad minimalistic designs you are describing. Even a skeuomorphic design filled with textures and gradients require good use of white space and a minimalist approach to be a proper UI. Function over form should remain true no matter the "skin" of your user interface.

crispyambulance 9y ago

Well, the article is focused on consumer web design. It appears to be someone thinking out loud and coming up with some fairly standard advice. I agree an information-dense approach is warranted when people re-visit a site many times-- what you would call professional/industry design? But even then, the minimalist principles are still valid. You don't want to clutter with unnecessary stuff, but you _MAY_ just have more stuff. Do you have a compelling example of effective non-minimalist web design?

keithpeter 9y ago

I'm glad you said that. I've gone back to making a home page (remember those?) for my Maths teaching next year. I'm trying to pack as much as I can into one page that students can just access without passwords and which will work ok on a variety of platforms. http://www.maths91.uk/ http://www.maths91.uk/ I suppose this is 'maximalist'. Still no javascript. The style sheet is copypasta from various sources I'm afraid.

noir_lord 9y ago
I love that page, information dense but with a clear hierarchy and progression.
- keithpeter 9y ago
  The page is a rendition of an administrative document (the 'scheme of work' for the Maths course) into language appropriate to students. The idea is they can't lose it if it is at a handy location on the web. We'll see.

ksk 9y ago

One annoying trend in UX these days is believing that simple UIs are sufficient, when the audience is technical, and the product is technical/complex. You simply have to see a cockpit to know that highly technical/skilled people can easily use a complicated UI just fine. I do believe designing a UI is hard when your audience is "everyone who can use a computer", but OTOH, products obviously meant for programmers or other technical folks should definitely surface a LOT more complex interactions.

noir_lord 9y ago
I'm a fan of interfaces that surface and submerge information at the behest of the user. Intellij does this well since you can toggle everything with the key map, two key strokes and I have the conventional busy IDE interface, two more and editor with text and no clutter, which mode I'm in is dependent on what I'm doing. vscode has it as well, they call theirs Zen mode.