Mark, are you basing your statement,

The Aesthetic-Usability Effect is a condition whereby users perceive more aesthetically pleasing designs to be easier to use than less aesthetically pleasing designs.

...on a study, or your own observations? Just curious. Could you give some antecdotes or examples?

I can see users “feeling better” about a site or design, but I haven’t seen users state exactly that the site is easier to use, necessarily. But, to be honest, I really hadn’t thought about it much.

I do agree that in this new phase of web development, “design is the differentiator”. Excellent!

’Four wheels, seats, they go from point A to B. Why do people buy one over the other? One word. Design.’

I wouldn’t agree with that statement as strategic marketing plays more of an important role. You could have the best design in the world but if it isn’t marketed properly than quite simply what’s the point? No-one will be aware of it and no-one will buy it. Without clear, targetted marketting, design becomes redundant.

I agree to disagree but before I go I’ll leave you with the age old argument:
Apple Macintosh’s vs PC’s

Graham, that is indeed an old argument! =) But, I would note, despite the Mac’s great design, inside & out, it also is the beneficiary of a very highly evolved marketing campaign.

One example that comes to mind is that of 37signals’ Basecamp - marketed soley by word-of-mouth and people blogging about it, Basecamp has become a raging success because of its quality design and usability as a product (it pretty much is the product).

The point that interests me is how design and usability interact and intersect. I don’t quite understand the ACM points, but I can see how, if you could somehow remove cultural influences, “good design” could improve perceived usability.

One way I might state this as an example is that good design, when doing its job, should certainly not get in the way of usability (like noisy, distracting design elements might do). Good design can, for example, enhance legibility, clearing the way for a more usable experience.

I suppose it’s a semantic thing: if, to you, good design means that it’s also usable, then good design=good usability. That makes sense to us, but I think it has to be explained to clients, who tend to focus on the visual aesthetics.

A product can be usable (that is, be designed well from a usability perspective), but not visually “designed” well. A design can look good, but not be very usable. That sounds really obvious when I writeit that way… hope that’s not too dumb a statement.

</splitting hairs>

In terms of “usable conventions” I think we will certainly be seeing these. But it’s not bad. Take newspapers for instance. The medium and they way in which it is delivered has creating some relatively strict guidelines. Most newspapers read and act the same in the macro sense. Within those parameters is where the true artistry happens and newspapers differentiate themselves. Over the course of time they have come to understand what ‘works’ and what doesn’t ?work? holistically. I say holistically because many factors, of which the visual design is one factor in, attribute to the guidelines.

The web is/has done this same thing. Certain types of ‘guidelines’, which usability is the main driver of, are in the process of being formed, used, and cemented into our everyday practice.

Take the ‘new window’ link icon concept. It didn’t really exist 5 years ago, yet it’s very common now. It’s a general rule of thumb in many circles. Within that rule of thumb, a designer can create any kind of icon they like, as long as it fulfills the message required by the guideline. Working with these rules, to me, is what really makes an artist great.

To be honest I have never really understood why there would be any friction between someone who focuses on usability and someone who focuses on visual design. The only friction I can see is some measure of ignorance on one part or the other, and a lack of looking at the whole rather than a part.

Allan / Mark, a good design with equally good marketing is a proven success. There is no argument there. What I was communicating is how marketing is integral to a design, without marketing design becomes redundant and relies purely on word of mouth and there are several examples of inferior products out in the worlds’ marketplace which rely heavily on marketing.

Ryan
‘Working with these rules, to me, is what really makes an artist great.’

From an art college perspective an artist (in all senses of the word) should never be dictated to by guidelines. They should work with what best suits the end requirement.

?The enemy of art is the absence of limitations.? ? Orson Welles

?In art, progress lies not in an extension, but in a knowledge of limitations.? ? Georges Braque

?Art is limitation. The essence of every picture is the frame.? ? G. K. Chesterton

?Creativity?requires limits, for the creative act rises out of the struggle of human beings with and against that which limits them.? ? Rollo May

’I say unto you; one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.’
? Nietzsche

‘All great truths begin as blasphemies.’
? George Bernard Shaw

‘Inventing the future requires giving up control. No one with a compelling purpose and a great vision knows how it will be achieved. One has to be willing to follow an unknown path, allowing the road to take you where it will. Surprise, serendipity, uncertainty and the unexpected are guaranteed on the way to the future.’
? George Land

‘Don’t let your preoccupation with reality stifle your imagination.’
? Robert A. Cassanova and Sharon M. Garrison

Reason?s last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things which are beyond it.
? Blaise Pascal

‘One aspect of serendipity to bear in mind is that you have to be looking for something in order to find something else.’
? Lawrence Block

‘Beautiful accidents can happen that you can take advantage of. Serendipity occurs all the time and you’ve got to move in the direction that feels right.’
? David Lynch

Students borrow. Artists steal.

- Picasso (?)

Are we seeing “quote spam” replacing comment spam...?

Thanks Mark. Today is the day of my retirement celebration and to be quoted in that way is all I could hope for as a lecturer. You have made my day!