[thelist] Award Winning Site???

[martin.p.burns at uk.pwcglobal.com]

Memo from Martin P Burns of PricewaterhouseCoopers

-------------------- Start of message text --------------------

Hi Richard

Generally, I find 'won awards' as a yellow flag in so far as web design
goes.

It's the same as architecture - the competitions are usually based on how
nice it looks, often displayed in a demo environment (screenshots,
powerpoint,
models), rather than on how good it is to *use* the site or building.

Example of award winning site:
http://www.viaduct.co.uk/

Comments about it I found on dack.com:

"Trying to browse our client's products? Let's put them in an endless loop so you can't tell where they start or end. Then, we'll _fade them in and
out_ while you move them, to make it even harder to tell where you are. Finally, let's make the scroll controls active on rollover, so that basic
navigation becomes a constant game of acquire-the-target."

"Even the Flash gravy is half-assed. That cutesy color-dip that highlights a section when you roll over it? Roll away, and it just runs in reverse,
ruining the illusion of weight and motivation. Listen closely, kids: you animate the _entire_ _motion_, from off to on and back again, all with
appropriate ease-ins and ease-outs. Then, you cut the animation into two halves. "

Sounds like the award winning buildings I've seen, like
*) the library with no books on the top floor (forgot to allow for the weight of them)
*) the office whose entrance was a wall of glass doors, with no indication where the hinges were, or whether you push or pull them
*) the academic building whose lift capacity was underestimated (forgot that everyone wants the lifts on the hour, and used the standard office
liftspace calculation)
*) the tower block which had to chain shut one of its exits (it's in the windiest city corner in Europe. When both groundfloor doors are open, the
resulting windtunnel was
    threatening to topple the tower).
*) the flat-roofed office which endemically leaked (roof has no run-off, so the water just puddles and corrodes)

All of these won awards based on how they *look* rather than on how they are to work in.

Lots more of these things in Don Norman's "The design of everyday things"

Cheers
Martin





Please respond to thelist at lists.evolt.org

Sent by:  thelist-admin at lists.evolt.org

To:   TheList <thelist at lists.evolt.org>
cc:


Subject:  [thelist] Award Winning Site???


I defy anyone using an up-to-date browser on the Mac platform to be able to
browse to beech furniture in the catalogue on the Argos web site -
http://www.argos.co.uk - which has apparently won awards!

Truly awful.

How on earth are such awards judged? Surely not by the standards that web
designers on this list would use?



--------------------- End of message text --------------------

This e-mail is sent by the above named in their
individual, non-business capacity and is not on
behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

PricewaterhouseCoopers may monitor outgoing and incoming
e-mails and other telecommunications on its e-mail and
telecommunications systems.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to
which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged
material.  Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or
taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or
entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited.   If you received
this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any
computer.