4 ms·

How Well Do You Understand Design?

15 points by saurabh 17y ago

aarongough 17y ago
And for all the understanding the author has of design, none of it stops his website feeling lopsided and cramped. I really think that interface design and user experience design are very different animals than plain 'ole graphic design. None of them are more important than the others, but they should definitely all be considered together...
- SlyShy 17y ago
  Not to mention the homepage of his website doesn't render correctly for me on Chrome with a 1024px wide screen.
  - radley 17y ago
    I dinged u because it's very likely that as a designer he most likely uses a Mac, for which Chrome does not exist: http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/mac.html http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/mac.html
    - aarongough 17y ago
      Mac version of Chrome, from the very page you linked to: "An early developer channel version is now available! While it's not at beta quality, it is coming along nicely. If you want to try it right now, see Early Access Release Channels for download instructions." http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/eula_dev.html?dl=mac http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/eula_dev.html?dl=mac
      - radley 17y ago
        "Please enter your email address below and we'll let you know when it's released." An early developer channel version is not a release, else Google would call it so. Further, it's ridiculous to expect a designer to download a developer release of a browser just to make sure his personal blog is design compliant for a moving target.
    - SlyShy 17y ago
      Since it doesn't render correctly on Firefox it's very likely that he didn't design for smaller screen sizes, which I find to be a common usability error made by people with print design backgrounds.
      - radley 17y ago
        I see the website fine in Firefox (OSX)
  - aarongough 17y ago
    Agreed. While the market-share of Chrome is still pretty low, if you're going to publish work on the 'net you really should make sure that it display properly in the browsers of your target audience...
  - jk4930 17y ago
    Ah, Chrome becomes the new Opera for people who love to whine around that they are an ignored minority even with using Windows while they are unable to install Linux to become a real minority. Drama queen reloaded. :)
    - SlyShy 17y ago
      Cute, except that it doesn't render correctly in Firefox either. And I'm using Chrome on Linux. ;)
    - Zev 17y ago
      Except that Chrome uses WebKit for rendering. WebKit is used in least one other desktop browser (Safari — talk about a minority on Windows!) and a majority of the mobile web browsers.
JohnnyBrown 17y ago
What is affordance?
- aarongough 17y ago
  From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance It's always worthwhile doing a little research...
  - memetichazard 17y ago
    The wikipedia definition is a bit abstruce. One of the links in the external links section has a much better definition, and is more relevant to usability rather than being the more general definition: http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_66.txl http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_66.txl
- bhousel 17y ago
  An "action possibility". In other words, something in the design that lets the user know that you can do something. Once you start to think about affordances, you'll see them everywhere where good design is present. The classic example is with doors. If they have a knob, you know to turn. If they have a plate, you push there. If they have a vertical bar, you expect to pull on it. You can probably figure out how to get through the door without the affordance, but it would be frustrating. Look at some other objects around your house, especially kitchen, and think about the clues that the designers have given you to know how the objects are to be used. Edit: I highly recommend the Donald Norman's The Design of Everyday Things for anyone interested in an introduction to design concepts. Classic book, and a worthwhile read for software developers too.
  - JohnnyBrown 17y ago
    Thanks to both. Added to my wishlist.
herdrick 17y ago
Q: The most powerful and communicative shape in art and design is the: A: triangle. It's the triangle, huh? Just... the triangle. Really? Much of this quiz has the attitude of the overconfident journeyman. I'd rather listen to a master. (I'm not knowledgeable enough to criticize, but if I do maybe I'll get a little education from those here who know better. So please set me straight on triangle theory.)
- george_morgan 17y ago
  "Overconfident journeyman" sums up a lot of the web design bloggers. There is a nice quote about the difference between "men who understand everything and appreciate nothing", which seems relevant here in the sense the author appears to understand 'art' but not fully appreciate it's nuances, shown by his very rote-style.
- bugs 17y ago
  In an art history context a triangular shape is most often related to strength such as pyramidal composition in paintings. Perhaps this has transferred into modern design. It also can be seen in architectural design such as truss design etc, but the arch is always very prominent as well.
bayareaguy 17y ago
I find design sites like this more readable in Opera's "User Mode".
windsurfer 17y ago
Love how a "design" quiz requires JavaScript, but doesn't let the user know.

15 points by saurabh 17y ago

And for all the understanding the author has of design, none of it stops his website feeling lopsided and cramped. I really think that interface design and user experience design are very different animals than plain 'ole graphic design. None of them are more important than the others, but they should definitely all be considered together...

SlyShy 17y ago
Not to mention the homepage of his website doesn't render correctly for me on Chrome with a 1024px wide screen.
- radley 17y ago
  I dinged u because it's very likely that as a designer he most likely uses a Mac, for which Chrome does not exist: http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/mac.html http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/mac.html
  - aarongough 17y ago
    Mac version of Chrome, from the very page you linked to: "An early developer channel version is now available! While it's not at beta quality, it is coming along nicely. If you want to try it right now, see Early Access Release Channels for download instructions." http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/eula_dev.html?dl=mac http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/eula_dev.html?dl=mac
    - radley 17y ago
      "Please enter your email address below and we'll let you know when it's released." An early developer channel version is not a release, else Google would call it so. Further, it's ridiculous to expect a designer to download a developer release of a browser just to make sure his personal blog is design compliant for a moving target.
  - SlyShy 17y ago
    Since it doesn't render correctly on Firefox it's very likely that he didn't design for smaller screen sizes, which I find to be a common usability error made by people with print design backgrounds.
    - radley 17y ago
      I see the website fine in Firefox (OSX)
- aarongough 17y ago
  Agreed. While the market-share of Chrome is still pretty low, if you're going to publish work on the 'net you really should make sure that it display properly in the browsers of your target audience...
- jk4930 17y ago
  Ah, Chrome becomes the new Opera for people who love to whine around that they are an ignored minority even with using Windows while they are unable to install Linux to become a real minority. Drama queen reloaded. :)
  - SlyShy 17y ago
    Cute, except that it doesn't render correctly in Firefox either. And I'm using Chrome on Linux. ;)
  - Zev 17y ago
    Except that Chrome uses WebKit for rendering. WebKit is used in least one other desktop browser (Safari — talk about a minority on Windows!) and a majority of the mobile web browsers.

JohnnyBrown 17y ago

What is affordance?

aarongough 17y ago
From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance It's always worthwhile doing a little research...
- memetichazard 17y ago
  The wikipedia definition is a bit abstruce. One of the links in the external links section has a much better definition, and is more relevant to usability rather than being the more general definition: http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_66.txl http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_66.txl
bhousel 17y ago
An "action possibility". In other words, something in the design that lets the user know that you can do something. Once you start to think about affordances, you'll see them everywhere where good design is present. The classic example is with doors. If they have a knob, you know to turn. If they have a plate, you push there. If they have a vertical bar, you expect to pull on it. You can probably figure out how to get through the door without the affordance, but it would be frustrating. Look at some other objects around your house, especially kitchen, and think about the clues that the designers have given you to know how the objects are to be used. Edit: I highly recommend the Donald Norman's The Design of Everyday Things for anyone interested in an introduction to design concepts. Classic book, and a worthwhile read for software developers too.
- JohnnyBrown 17y ago
  Thanks to both. Added to my wishlist.

herdrick 17y ago

Q: The most powerful and communicative shape in art and design is the: A: triangle. It's the triangle, huh? Just... the triangle. Really? Much of this quiz has the attitude of the overconfident journeyman. I'd rather listen to a master. (I'm not knowledgeable enough to criticize, but if I do maybe I'll get a little education from those here who know better. So please set me straight on triangle theory.)

george_morgan 17y ago
"Overconfident journeyman" sums up a lot of the web design bloggers. There is a nice quote about the difference between "men who understand everything and appreciate nothing", which seems relevant here in the sense the author appears to understand 'art' but not fully appreciate it's nuances, shown by his very rote-style.
bugs 17y ago
In an art history context a triangular shape is most often related to strength such as pyramidal composition in paintings. Perhaps this has transferred into modern design. It also can be seen in architectural design such as truss design etc, but the arch is always very prominent as well.

bayareaguy 17y ago

I find design sites like this more readable in Opera's "User Mode".

windsurfer 17y ago

Love how a "design" quiz requires JavaScript, but doesn't let the user know.