[thelist] color blindness|usability, accessibility, preferences?

Jenn Coker me at wt.net
Fri Oct 6 10:29:35 CDT 2000


a) I have to say that I'm truly impressed, having somewhat "returned" to
evolt after a long time of inactivity- having only occasional lurked or
glanced over subjects that caught my eye - I'm impressed with the lack of
flame-type rhetoric happening here - I think that's a goal we can say we've
achieved at least to some extent from the days of monkey..

b) anyway, regarding the "3 versions of a site" concept:

-----
This way, the designers can be happy that they've done their job creating
the best possible brand for the site, the core target users will be happy
because they have some level of control over what they see and the users who
are used to being left out by the excesses of designers will be happy that
they can get the information they need from the site.
----

>From a sales/psychology/ia/ui perspective, this troubles me.  Don't get me
wrong - I've often done something like this three branch system or something
similar to that effect but.. my point is: Regardless of how we'd like to
believe that we all *like* choices and that our users want this, we are
happiest when our products/providers simply *know* what we want and give it
to us without us having to ask or look for it.  Not to say that an out of
the way "text version" link isn't nice to have.. or that a "printer friendly
version" button shouldn't be included for data-intensive stuff (from papers
to invoices and more) but I for one cannot stand when someone gives me three
choices (having typically only seen their logo so far).  They usually go
something like this:

Text version | Flash | HTML

I always have this "UGH!  How am **I** supposed to know which version is
"best"/is going to best address my needs, impress me, make me want to read
YOUR site, know about YOUR productor discovery or what have you" reaction -
ya know? Anyone else ever get frustrated with that?  It's like gees.. if you
haven't even taken the time to think about who it is that you are
targetting, to think about who I am, what I want, where I come from.. then..
frankly.. I'm not gonna make this decision for you. Now a poll on your front
page (alongside the content that would keep me there long enough to help you
out with your market research) of whether they'd prefer all this in plain
text or flash or something like that.. that's a diffferent story.. It makes
that choice optional and starts serving your real purpose here immediately :
influencing/providing information/conducting a sale.

Furthermore or I guess, alongside that is the issue that though we (again)
*say* we want choice.. studying the history of consumer buying and its
relation to the world of advertising (again, this talking about things from
a commercial perspective - though I think colleges would do well to format
some of those papers and bibliographies a little sweeter as well:) will show
you time and time again, we want it spoonfed and when you spoonfeed it to
them.. they buy it.

I dunno. K. So now I've rambled too :)  But I think definitely that the web
is a place where we can better address usability as well as preferences
(some people may really think Jakob's site is imminently "usable" and may
actually prefer to have their stuff thrown at them in huge expansive
paragraphs) perhaps better than any other medium has - so ... right on.

; j










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