4 ms·

No examples and prose combining platitudes with vague, hand waving grandiose manifesto language is a big red flag. It's got some horrible advice from the get-g

No examples and prose combining platitudes with vague, hand waving grandiose manifesto language is a big red flag. It's got some horrible advice from the get-go: "One hundred clear screens is preferable to a single cluttered one." is terrible advice. One hundred screens for a task is an absolute disaster.

loceng 14y ago
Agreed, it very much depends on what you're designing for.
RivieraKid 14y ago
I think you are being too critical. Yes, examples would be nice but all of these principles seem very reasonable. Also the design is beautiful. Of course "One hundred clear screens is preferable to a single cluttered one." should not be taken literally. The point is that clear screen is much better than cluttered screen.
FixThisPOSSite 14y ago
Vague indeed. There are so many examples of what NOT to do out there, it would've been easy to highlight some. Like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7257657796/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7257657796/in/set-... And here's one that precisely illustrates what he was saying about a control's appearance reflecting the way it'll work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/4361736097/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/4361736097/in/set-... The article also fails to call out one of the worst trends in UI today: the Peek-a-Boo UI that hides things until AFTER you've accidentally rolled over them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7252519646/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7252519646/in/set-... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5817845518/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5817845518/in/set-... Then there's the mistake of hard-coding colors in your UI, and failing to test it with different color schemes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5889365199/in/photostream/lightbox http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5889365199/in/phot... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235915/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235915/in/set-7... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235913/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235913/in/set-7... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6890158811/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6890158811/in/set-... How about idiotic menu organization? http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6322822823/in/set-72157600304785497/lightbox http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6322822823/in/set-... Putting stuff under the wrong menu: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5630390118/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5630390118/in/phot... Or failure to indicate that ANY controls are present? http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6645852949/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6645852949/in/phot...
WiseWeasel 14y ago
I don't think it's terrible advice. He's saying that you shouldn't present more information at once than you need to for the task at hand, not that any single task should take 100 steps. It's fine to have 100 screens if they're well-organized; HN probably has hundreds of thousands of screens.

loceng 14y ago

Agreed, it very much depends on what you're designing for.

RivieraKid 14y ago

I think you are being too critical. Yes, examples would be nice but all of these principles seem very reasonable. Also the design is beautiful. Of course "One hundred clear screens is preferable to a single cluttered one." should not be taken literally. The point is that clear screen is much better than cluttered screen.

FixThisPOSSite 14y ago

Vague indeed. There are so many examples of what NOT to do out there, it would've been easy to highlight some. Like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7257657796/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7257657796/in/set-... And here's one that precisely illustrates what he was saying about a control's appearance reflecting the way it'll work: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/4361736097/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/4361736097/in/set-... The article also fails to call out one of the worst trends in UI today: the Peek-a-Boo UI that hides things until AFTER you've accidentally rolled over them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7252519646/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/7252519646/in/set-... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5817845518/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5817845518/in/set-... Then there's the mistake of hard-coding colors in your UI, and failing to test it with different color schemes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5889365199/in/photostream/lightbox http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5889365199/in/phot... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235915/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235915/in/set-7... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235913/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/528235913/in/set-7... http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6890158811/in/set-72157600304785497 http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6890158811/in/set-... How about idiotic menu organization? http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6322822823/in/set-72157600304785497/lightbox http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6322822823/in/set-... Putting stuff under the wrong menu: http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5630390118/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/5630390118/in/phot... Or failure to indicate that ANY controls are present? http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6645852949/in/photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/forensicpics/6645852949/in/phot...

WiseWeasel 14y ago

I don't think it's terrible advice. He's saying that you shouldn't present more information at once than you need to for the task at hand, not that any single task should take 100 steps. It's fine to have 100 screens if they're well-organized; HN probably has hundreds of thousands of screens.