My Philosophy : Less is More
your users will thank you for every second you save them
The web is inherently interactive. That’s what makes it so great, and why we are increasingly using it to fulfill our everyday needs. What this means from a design standpoint is that looking good online is more than just a pretty face.
From the moment a user arrives on your virtual doorstep, they have a goal to accomplish. These goals can range from the vague, such as “find out what this site is about” to the well defined, such as “purchase a birthday present for Susan, who likes war history”. Either way, impatience is the rule of the day. The instant gratification of the online world has created a new standard of satisfaction.
Which Interface Would You Rather Use? By gently nudging your users towards their goal,they will remember your site as easy to use, and recommend it to others
As of April 2008, there are over 165 billion sites on the web1. As soon as the user gets to your site, a timer starts ticking away in their head. If it takes more than a few moments to take at least one step towards their goal, your site is labeled a lost cause, and abandoned for one of the many alternatives.
Clean, useable design doesn’t have to be boring though. Choice of color palette, well placed sparing use of texture and imagery mixed with some good old fashioned typographic sense can work wonders to create a site with impact and ease of use. As you might have guessed, that’s what I do.
1 As reported in Netcraft Web Survey