Everything Is ImportantNOT

@stribs

Hi.I’m Robert Stribley.I’m an Information Architect atRazorfish, NYC.

Everything Is ImportantNOT

What do you mean?

#important

Murder your darlings

No, seriously. Kill them.

7 Principles for Banishing the Unimportant

Scent of Information

1

3 Clicks? A myth

Designing for scent is more successful than designing for navigation. – Jared Spool, UIE

If there is a scientific basis to the Three-Click Rule, we couldn't find it in our data.- User Interface Engineering, April 2003

Progressive Disclosure

2

Tease users.Then draw them to the

details.

Information Clustering

Lustmord Table by Jenny Holzer, 1994

3

When information is clustered appropriately on a screen, users can scan and quickly come to terms with the intent of the content.

1. Group features and content by type

1. Group features and content by type

2. Position them according to an intuitive hierarchy

1. Group features and content by type

2. Position them according to an intuitive hierarchy

3. Drop or demote the less important content

ExampleScreenshot

Remove Paths Not Taken

4

Reduce the field of view

Once users commit to a path, remove irrelevant navigation

ExampleScreenshot

The Tyranny of Consistency

5

Consistency is an important but sometimes over-rated tool

It’s key in maintaining a coherent experience

But develop an eye to know when to break from it

Design pages so they're scalable

Suppress modules or sections of the page until they're needed

Don’t labor to create content just to ensure every page is "consistently" populated

ExampleScreenshot

Your Homepage Ain’t Important Either

6

People may come to your homepage

But more and more likely not

They’re more likely coming from Google or social media

Many sites report only 20% of visitors landing on their homepages

Some as few as 10 or 5%

More Important?

• SEO*• Taxonomy• Meta data• Tagging

*search engine optimization

ExampleScreenshot

Know Your Audience

7

Consider the amount of attention an audience needs on a particular screen*

*It may be zero

Recapping:

•Scent of Information•Progressive Disclosure•Information Clustering•Remove Paths Not Taken•The Tyranny of Consistency•Your Homepage Ain’t Important*•Know Your Audience

*OK, it’s not *as* important as once thought

Now.

Your site is perfect, right?

No.

Rinse and repeat.

Thank you!

@stribs slideshare.net/stribs