Posted by Neredbojias on 01/25/08 15:36

Well bust mah britches and call me cheeky, on Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:24:19
GMT Kevin Scholl scribed:

>>>>>>> "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is
>>>>>>> how it works." - Steve Jobs, 2003
>>>>>> This from a man who's company would not survive if it were not
>>>>>> subsidized by Microsoft....
>>>>> Who said it, and company dynamics notwithstanding, the statement
>>>>> itself contains a great deal of logical truth.
>>>> The statement itself contains neither truth nor logic. It may,
>>>> however, sound good to those in a mental fugue.
>>> Whatever. You demonstrate a very narrow mind if you think that
>>> design has no part in how a Web site works.
>>
>> I'm not saying design has _no part in how_ a web site "works", I'm
>> saying design is not _how_ it works. You changed the meaning of the
>> word "works" in your reply.
>
> I changed nothing. It appears that the disconnect is in our definition
> of "works". Read on...
>
>> The design of a web site certainly affects how it "works" both by its
>> ergonomic and aesthetic layout for appeal, and by the ease and
>> accuracy of its dynamics for functionality. But how _this
>> functionality works_ is a non-design issue.
>
> I read "works" in the context of the quote to apply to information
> architecture, navigation scheme, content flow both within and across
> pages, among other things -- indeed, what you've outlined above. These
> aspects are all part of, and involve, design. In this sense, design
> does indeed have to do with HOW a Web site "works" for the user.
>
> Were you to say that how the functionality is IMPLEMENTED is not
> design, I might be more apt agree with you.

Okay. Perhaps that distinction is a better way to express the idea.

>> Steve Jobs was just putting on airs. The quote is bullshit.
>
> To each his own.

Sure it is. And it's not only wrong, it's simple-minded. But I'm sure
it sounded good to the target audience when first issued.

--
Neredbojias
Riches are their own reward.

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