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I'd consider readability to be paramount in any design described as utilitarian. HN is one of the most readable sites I visit. UI/UX in software is a field wh

I'd consider readability to be paramount in any design described as utilitarian. HN is one of the most readable sites I visit. UI/UX in software is a field which, to me, hasn't found it's feet yet. In physical architecture(buildings), there are common patterns recognized to be aesthetically pleasing and useful. Industrial design like the cockpit of a car has done the same. Most people recognize a door or a steering wheel instantly and can make use of them. I don't think these things have materialized yet in software. So if your goal is to create software for a specific purpose and you don't have the interest, time, or budget to solve this general design problem, you're just going to punt on it and make the UI basic and functional.

wahnfrieden 4y ago
HN doesn’t even restrict content width to readable limits, and uses color combinations that fail basic accessibility tests (eg OP text posts). Odd example of good design when it doesn’t even meet basic accessibility certification requirements. I do find HN design endearing in a minimalist 90s tech way, but that’s just social signaling.
- sshine 4y ago
  Mostly it's #000000 on #828282 (light gray). When things get downvoted (like your post was, for some reason), they become gradually more gray on gray, which is hardly accessible for everyone.
  - c22 4y ago
    I think hn's display of downvoted posts intentionally degrades accessibility in an effort to discourage further interaction.
    - wahnfrieden 4y ago
      Yes but it also violates accessibility for OP text posts for other reasons
    - sshine 4y ago
      Yes, the intent makes perfect sense. Less popular => less viewable is good UX. But gray on gray does not degrade equally for all. Some won't be able to see any of it, and others will have text readers that don't censor based on grayscale.
TylerE 4y ago
> HN is one of the most readable sites I visit. Funny, I find it quite hard to read, since it just blows posts out to nearly full screen width. Humans read much better with wraps at 60-80 characters. The first line of your comment, on my screen, is 196.
- xeromal 4y ago
  Yeah, I struggle to keep track of where I am reading when HN stretches from sea to shining sea on my ultrawide.
  - cableshaft 4y ago
    You could just have your browser only take up half of your ultrawide monitor if you don't like it. That's what I do. You could have a second browser window in the other half as well.
    - trynewideas 4y ago
      Except that at the 690px? breakpoint, HN starts requiring horizontal scroll: https://ibb.co/FqWf3t1 https://ibb.co/FqWf3t1
      - cableshaft 4y ago
        Huh, I can't get it to do that even when shrinking the browser window to the minimum width.
    - xeromal 4y ago
      That's what I do. I'm just kind of nitpickin
- pwg 4y ago
  HN gives you the power to decide your own preferred width for reading, instead of imposing a given value upon you. By not mandating a predefined width, you have full power to view it in any width you choose, simply by either adjusting the width of the browser window within which you read HN, or by setting up a local custom user stylesheet for HN to configure HN to your personal preference.

wahnfrieden 4y ago

HN doesn’t even restrict content width to readable limits, and uses color combinations that fail basic accessibility tests (eg OP text posts). Odd example of good design when it doesn’t even meet basic accessibility certification requirements. I do find HN design endearing in a minimalist 90s tech way, but that’s just social signaling.

sshine 4y ago
Mostly it's #000000 on #828282 (light gray). When things get downvoted (like your post was, for some reason), they become gradually more gray on gray, which is hardly accessible for everyone.
- c22 4y ago
  I think hn's display of downvoted posts intentionally degrades accessibility in an effort to discourage further interaction.
  - wahnfrieden 4y ago
    Yes but it also violates accessibility for OP text posts for other reasons
  - sshine 4y ago
    Yes, the intent makes perfect sense. Less popular => less viewable is good UX. But gray on gray does not degrade equally for all. Some won't be able to see any of it, and others will have text readers that don't censor based on grayscale.

TylerE 4y ago

> HN is one of the most readable sites I visit. Funny, I find it quite hard to read, since it just blows posts out to nearly full screen width. Humans read much better with wraps at 60-80 characters. The first line of your comment, on my screen, is 196.

xeromal 4y ago
Yeah, I struggle to keep track of where I am reading when HN stretches from sea to shining sea on my ultrawide.
- cableshaft 4y ago
  You could just have your browser only take up half of your ultrawide monitor if you don't like it. That's what I do. You could have a second browser window in the other half as well.
  - trynewideas 4y ago
    Except that at the 690px? breakpoint, HN starts requiring horizontal scroll: https://ibb.co/FqWf3t1 https://ibb.co/FqWf3t1
    - cableshaft 4y ago
      Huh, I can't get it to do that even when shrinking the browser window to the minimum width.
  - xeromal 4y ago
    That's what I do. I'm just kind of nitpickin
pwg 4y ago
HN gives you the power to decide your own preferred width for reading, instead of imposing a given value upon you. By not mandating a predefined width, you have full power to view it in any width you choose, simply by either adjusting the width of the browser window within which you read HN, or by setting up a local custom user stylesheet for HN to configure HN to your personal preference.