Uday Gajendar's musings on design
From IHT:
The odd thing is that no one sets out to design something that’s mediocre. So why does design go wrong so often? Let’s set aside the rational reasons why projects can fail – like budgetary constraints, deadline pressure and lack of talent – to concentrate on the scenarios that should be easily avoidable, but crop up again and again, with predictably dire results.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/04/06/arts/design9.php?page=1
This is what separates the pros from the amateurs–making design decisions by really understanding the construction aspects (ie, code issues), rather than purely aesthetic or other factors. That way, you’re helping to avoid unnecessary re-work, empathizing with the coder’s POV, mindful of the level of work involved, and just smarter all around. Doesn’t happen by itself or magically. Better know-how of the technical issues can also make for better arguments, so you don’t sound “wishy-washy” but firm when talking with Engineers.
Functional details can really matter and add up to either a horribly frustrating experience or one that is fluid, productive, sensible. For example, keyboard shortcuts for a date picker or in-field auto completion (similar to Google Suggest). Coding for CTRL + A, Arrow UP/DOWN, HOME/END buttons, etc. all add up big time for those power users who are data entry experts, 8 hrs a day, 40 hrs a week. They increase productivity and keep the data entry pro humming along swimmingly well, minimizing errors, and maximizing output.
Yes, it’s tedious, but working out the interaction details like tab, shift, control, spacebar, etc. can have huge dividends for your user cranking away at her job someplace…
Sure it may not be the most visible item on the screen or necessarily the most usable (discoverable, functional) but small flourishes like an elegantly crafted branding area (what I like to call the “credenza” for some reason), can add that extra “something” to give a degree of polish, sophistication, and yes beauty to an otherwise rote, dry, spartan interface. Think of the New Beetle’s flower vase next to the dashboard. Adds small delight without obscuring or being grandiose.
Related to earlier posting about too many systems. Process is nothing bad or evil in itself; it’s just the risk of process becoming a burden that sucks out the “life” (ie, nimbleness, fluidity, momentum, passion) of a team and project overall. Also other things related to that, at a psycho/perceptual level: a feeling of “on-demand” or “on-call”, that the work just becomes tedious administrative tasks, a sense of “another thing I gotta do”, the pressure of “gotta please the manager”, etc. Rather than spending the actual hours/effort getting the real design work done, that speed along the necessary progress of getting a good product out the door.