USABILITY

For "Theory" on Designiskinky.net
www.designiskinky.net/theory/theory5.html

Instinct
Personal instinct distinguishes how useable a website is. The usability of a website or navigation should be taken into account when the project is in the design stage. The designer should be asking him/herself "who is my target audience?". A website for public consumption, like a commercial site, should have an instinctive usability to someone who isn’t used to features outwith the norm. If the site is aimed at the new media or design world, then the sky is the limit. The website can afford to be much more exploratory and less obvious, yet still instinctive to the target audience. Navigation or features should not be so obscure that the page has to include instructions or a demonstration. I like to see minimal things that are not obvious, yet your mind unconsciously spots them and you know what to do or where to go.

Should I stay or should I go?
I find myself tiring quickly when I come across a site that involves dragging something into another to activate changes. What seems to be a novelty on the homepage soon becomes tedious on lower levels. More often than not, sites that have a challenging usability factor don't have the content within to sustain the user's interest enough to explore the site further. The magnetic and interest qualities of a website are decided in the user's mind within 30 seconds of them opening the homepage. If they can’t get to grips with the navigation or are bombarded with so much that they become confused, will they stay? – Probably not.

Mind you, every now and then, a site will come along and it will go against exactly what I just said. These are the sites that grab our attention, make us sit back from our monitor and pause in awe.

Sites like Yugop, which inspire the creative minds of both designers and developers. Innovative navigation ideas and interactive toys to keep you amused for most of your lunch hour. Mind you, saying that, I remember tiring of having to waggle the mouse to reveal streams of text on the site. I have to admit, even the likes of K10k doesn’t inspire me to delve further because a fear of getting lost. I mostly use k10k for their news and reviews, probably logging on five or six times a day.

C*nted
When I'm designing a site, I always consider navigation, usability and the design at the same time. Whether it's a project at work or a personal site like konspiracy or cunted. A lot of designers tend to design how a site will look first and the navigation takes back pew. Sometimes, not even tackling the navigation until the site is in the hands of the developer/author. If the designer isn't involved with the building of the site, he/she should discuss options or ideas with the person/people who will be. More often than not, they can throw in new ideas or suggest 'toys' they have been developing. Authors like their fun too.

Criticism
The best test of usability is to get someone who isn't involved with the project. They can cast a fresh eye over the work and usually point out things that have been overlooked. If someone who isn't a designer or author casts judgement on any of my work or points out faults, I don't take it as an insult, I'll take it as a point to ponder and probably resolve.

I have had a lot of positive feedback about the simplicity of design and usability of i.am/cunted. This site was dreamt up in a day and was built over a weekend. The navigation was born from a JavaScript source online which made me stop and think "nice and simple". The design side of the site just basically reflected the simplicity of the site and the functions needed.
No clutter, no fuss, no bright colours or distractions and arial.

Conclusion?
I hope this has been an informative read, I’ve just been sitting typing whatever's been coming into my head while supping a beer. If you oppose my views, or if you’re with them, I have hopefully provoked some new trains of thought.