everything you know about web design is wrong
DESCRIPTION
From the 2009 South by Southwest Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. For the full article, see http://www.dswillis.com/sxsw/everything.pdfTRANSCRIPT
EVERYTHINGYOU KNOW ABOUT WEB DESIGN IS
WRONGDan Willis, Sapient
South by Southwest 2009
Print in disguise
Print in disguise
Everything we know about
Web designis all that we knew about
print design
Birth of a Nation, 1915
“... a new way of communicating a feeling, an idea, a fact - one plus oneequaled three.”
Daniel Arijon, Grammarof the Film Language
“one plus one equaled THREE”The grammar of transcendent
Web design
• Ambient awareness
• User-created context
• Random voyeurism
• Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
• Experiential content
Random voyeurism
“... Found notes and letters open up the
entire range of human experience; they offer
a shortcut directly to
people’s minds and hearts
...
we feel connected to this person we’ve never
met before and probably never will, and in
turn, to all people.”
Davy Rothbart, creator of Found Magazine
• Ambient awareness
• User-created context
• Random voyeurism
• Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
• Experiential content
The grammar of transcendentWeb design
Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
“This reflects a fundamental
shift in power from author to reader and from authority to popularity.”
Peter Morville, Ambient Findability
• Ambient awareness
• User-created context
• Random voyeurism
• Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
• Experiential content
The grammar of transcendentWeb design
User-created context
User-created context
User-created context
User-created context
“When you try to control the
interaction and tightly manipulate the
outcome of the experience,
customers tend to
rebel.”
Adaptive Path’s Subject to Change
• Ambient awareness
• User-created context
• Random voyeurism
• Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
• Experiential content
The grammar of transcendentWeb design
Am
bien
t aw
aren
ess
• Ambient awareness
• User-created context
• Random voyeurism
• Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
• Experiential content
The grammar of transcendentWeb design
Experiential content
• Ambient awareness
• User-created context
• Random voyeurism
• Self-aware (but uncontrollable) content
• Experiential content
The grammar of transcendentWeb design
Car bombkills 4
Terrorism
Middle East
Explosions
2009 attacks
Israeli/Palestinianrelations
Syria
Oil
IRA
Hezbollah Munitions Nobel PeacePrize winners
2008 attacks
“We're in the midst of an evolution, not a revolution.”
- James Levine
Tbsp Unsalted Butter1 Cup Andouille Sausage1/2 Cup Onion, Diced1/2 Cup Bell Pepper, Diced1/2 Cup Celery, Diced2 Tbsp. Garlic, Minced1/2 Cup Tomatoes, Diced1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce1 1/4 Cup Chicken Stock3/4 Cup Enriched Rice1 Cup Chicken breast2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground sage 1 teaspoon file powder 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard1/2 teaspoon black pepper 1/2 teaspoon white pepper 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Tips for Transcendent Web Design
•Organize cross-discipline teams; exploit and protect expertise
•Design for specific users and their specific needs
•Embrace your ignorance
•Don’t be distracted by business models that don’t begin and end with the user
•Don’t be distracted by technology
•Don’t be distracted by failure
