[thelist] USABILITY ---> DO not confound with traditionalism.

[Stephane Gosselin]

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Jakob Nielson ---> If you ever read this don't take me personally!!!!
ookey. I'm on vacation. ( 1rst one in 3 yrs, quite well deserved!  Had a few beers with a bud. He's into ,you know, the 'doodling' side of web-design, came to us with a stunning portfolio of small --> static --> sites he had built up. Lately (thanks to his new bud --> me) he's been introduced to concepts like dynamic breadcrumbs.... db generated menus, db generated pdf's..... in wich we have to design the corresponding data-manipulation scripts that ESPECIALLY requires good usability. BUT.  Good usability should NOT cut down on innovation.
I think usability has a lot to do with tradition, or to better phrase it with my pitiful english vocab, 'the usual way to do things'.
Mr Niellson and other usability gurus  are too linear in their conservative approach.
 ex --> People are used to having links blue & underlined. I read this one hundreds of times. Helllllooooo we are in 2002 now.
I mean. Ah.
Even frames are  better accepted too it seems since the past few years. I remember going through the phase of... really wanting to do frames, ----> doing frames. ----> feeling bad for having done frames after having read NIELSON. HA ! :0)))))

Today? I do get by without frames, always, but would not object to having it incorporated in a back-end design, in a well thought way. I think the people that code tend to think like NIELSON ---> the linear way, the 'has to be perfect for everyone way'.

Wich is exactly what a lot of front-end, visual-end dudes are trying to avoid , the [square], bocky, tradtional approach.

I think web-design is an art, & the best art pieces have a charisma that distinguishes them from each other. If  'X'  wants to tinker up a fantastic new magical flash toy  that corresponds EXACTLY to one class of particular users, so be it. Maybe it shall even  become a  standard, if enough people use it & set the tradition in. If the concept is well thought out & the 'MAIN'  basic usability  traps are sidestepped ---> hey. why not?! Let's go for it, innovation is what makes this job so cool. Let's not spoil that M.Neilson!!!!

       Stef


stef at cfusions.com











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