Chair uncomfortable? Must have won a design award
April 14th, 2009
We’ve recently moved into new office space in the Old Port and while we were getting situated we borrowed the chairs of the out-going tenant, an ad agency that was dissolving.
The chairs looked great – they were super-swanky-snazzy. Who wouldn’t love to sit in them?
Anyone. Reason? They weren’t comfortable or functional.
We’ve since brought in our cheap seats from the local office superstore and are much happier with them.
The whole experience reminded me of something usability expert Don Norman used to say (I can’t seem to dig up the direct quote, so I’m paraphrasing, but I’ll put it in blockquotes nonetheless):
Not useful or practical? Must have won a design award.
I see it all the time with Web sites. There are many graphic artists who come up with visual concepts that don’t translate well on the Web.
Graphic design is only one component to a successful Web site. The best Web designers know this. Designers can’t allow themselves to get caught up in our super cool idea for a Web site if it’s not going to be useful to people who will visit it.
Norman’s book The Design of Everyday Things is a great read for those wanting to know more about how to marry form and function elegantly.
