Yes, I'm sorry John. That must sound patronizing if read in a
particular way. But, that is the limitation of email correspondence.
It isn't possible to qualify every remark.

I'm sure most people will get the gist of the meaning: that there are
many people responsible for the design of Web sites where appearance
takes precedence over functionality and will look to start off with a
highly technical and attractive looking site before experimenting
with the way it is working.

The fact is that when a Web site is first put up you don't need it to
be attractive because the functionality has to be tested first. The
more complicated it is in early phases of development, the more
difficult it is to make changes and also to know where the site is
not working.

Okay, when you know you have the basics right and you are ready to go
out to a larger audience then appearance may become important. But,
this not necessarily so. Think of some of the most successful sites,
such as Amazon and EBay. Would you say that the excellence of their
designs plays any major part in their success?

peter
http://www.stigmergicsystems.com



>!
>On Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 11:01 am, Peter Small wrote:
>><snip>
>>I know most of you design Web sites for clients, so you have to
>>cater for simple minds where appearance is a major consideration.
>>In practice, elaborate design can be a hindrance to getting a site
>>to work efficiently (i.e., it adds additional variables that
>>confuse the issue when you are trying to work out how a site is
>>performing).
>>
>></snip>
>>peter
>>
>
>What an incredibly patronizing attitude! Many of mine and other
>clients of people on this list have a great deal of experience in
>marketing and knowledge of what *their* clients want to see. The use
>of colour and imagery is an accepted strategy in advertising for the
>purpose of gaining attention and holding the consumer's interest in
>a product. Appearance IS a major consideration in much of the real
>commercial world - why do you think so much money is spent on it?
>Perhaps you're more "high-minded" than the majority of the
>population and therefore not affected by such things?
>
>I'm not saying that pretty web-sites are required for all designs,
>but where the client feels that their product is going to be
>marketed better because of the design, then yes, appearance is
>important. The job of a designer, whether it is for web, print or
>any other medium is to make the appearance attractive for the
>potential users and deliver the content.
>
>Rgds
>john
>
>
>iCatching Design Ltd design@icatching.co.uk
>http://www.icatching.co.uk 0845 644 2884
>
>
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