Elaine Wherry, Meebo: What Web Application Design Can Learn from the Harpsichord
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what can web applications learn from the harpsichord?
description
Baroque harpsichordists excelled at taking simple melodies and creating elaborate, beautiful pieces of music. But in their desire to push the boundaries of experimentation, these keyboard virtuosi eventually ornamented the music beyond the limits of good taste, making the composer's original melody unrecognizable. Listen to enough Baroque music, and you'll ultimately decide, "This is ridiculous. I never want to hear another harpsichord!"Something similar happens in Web design. With new technology comes a natural desire to experiment, challenging fundamental design rules to push the limits of web applications. As designers explore just how far they can go, there inevitably comes a breaking point, where you think, "This is ridiculous. I never want to see another rounded corner!"In both cases, the lesson learned is that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.Web application interaction design brings a wealth of creative freedom and makes it increasingly important to identify the functional rationale for UI choices rather than gut reactions like "this is the way users are accustomed to it" or "this just looks better." Elaine will discuss how to approach web application design when, instead of one dominant voice, there's a multitude of web product and design philosophies.Elaine Wherry is co-founder and VP of Products at Meebo. Originally a classically-trained violinist, Elaine graduated from Stanford University with a degree in Symbolic Systems with a concentration in Human-Computer Interaction. After graduating, she became the manager of Usability and Design at Synaptics. She co-founded Meebo.com in 2005 with two good friends, Seth Sternberg and Sandy Jen. Initially, she wrote Meebo's JavaScript framework and went on to build and oversee Meebo's web, user experience, and product management teams. Today, Meebo has approximately 40 million unique users in the United States and nearly 100 million unique users worldwide, according to Quantcast.
Transcript of Elaine Wherry, Meebo: What Web Application Design Can Learn from the Harpsichord
what can web applications learn from the harpsichord?
elaine wherry Co-founder, Meebo
classical music
internet
today • Classical music 101 • Why the baroque period relates to web
applications today • Moving forward…
medieval 400-1400
medieval 400-1400
renaissance 1400-1600
renaissance 1400-1600
baroque period 1600-1750
baroque = “misshapen pearl” 1600-1750
“Enough!” – Haydn
classical 1750-1820
romantic 1820-1910
• Medieval • Necessary technical development
• Renaissance • Initial instruments and craftsman
• Baroque • Mass adoption and experimentation
• Classical • Restraint and principles, craft to art
• Romanticism • Artistic maturity, full expression
timeline
classical music
internet
emerging technology / medieval 1940-1991
emerging technology / medieval 1940-1991
mass adoption / renaissance 1991-2005
mass adoption / renaissance 1991-2005
experimentation / baroque 2005-2010
baroque period is here • Emphasis on doing as much as possible rather than
trying to construct an underlying order • The ultimate destination site that does everything • Aggregators, APIʼs, open standards, widgets, frameworks • A misunderstanding of what the web does well – a collision of
the data presentation (pages and links) with the data manipulation world (windows and folders)
today
• how “so-and-so” does it • more intuitive • more professional • techier • friendlier • good feng shui • aesthetically-pleasing • less noisy
“this design is…”
pro-round • Smoother objects say hold me, sharp objects look dangerous • More congruous with our other technologies (cars, computers) that
have become rounded • It is more expensive, time-consuming, & difficult to produce rounded-
corners, so it implies better more technical skill, better value, attention to detail, greater desirability.
• Weʼve evolved to like curved things – we eat round fruit, weʼre attracted to round body parts, we stay away from sharp things (teeth). Have women ever gone out of style? No! Rounded corners are here to stay!
pro-square Simple and honest Bracing and solid. Shows technical-precision, advanced engineering. Demonstrate an appreciation for creating a content, information-
focused site; function over form. Embraces what html/css already does well. Shows advanced
understanding of how design and technology work together.
http://www.webelements.com/
WWHD?
“what are the true fundamentals of composition?” – Young Haydn
round • Rounded rectangles keep the eye focused in the center of
the object instead of the corners, create stronger visual containers
• Rounded rectangles typically require more whitespace in the design
square • Square page layouts and tabular data reinforce information
hierarchy • Stacked rectangles make it hard to tell whatʼs inside and out
WWHD?
Call to action & purpose
Strong defaults 80/20 rules Designs targeted towards
specific experiences are more successful
Can describe what itʼs doing to your grandmother
Spatial chunking Exposure likeness Metaphor, mental model Entry point
Progression & Continuity
Serialization of tasks Error tolerance Status messages Confirmation Eye dwells on busy areas, coast
through free areas Animations and movement reflect
good continuums
Satisfaction & Confirmation
Garbage in, garbage out Feedback Performance Consistency with expectations
Universal Principles of Design Lidwell, Holden, Butler
a similar appearance suggests similar behavior
Clickable!
Clickable!
Clickable!
Clickable!
Notclickable!
Clickable!
a different appearance suggests different behavior
• Filterelementsarewhite
• Imdlginputelementisblue
stacked
notstacked
visual effects map to physical space
“wait a second…” – Young Haydn
haydnʼs lessons 1 To flout the rules, you must know the rules 2 Minimize ornamentation to maximize effect 3 … 4 …
to flout the rules, you must know the rules • Objective principles help:
• Sharpen your sensitivity to emotional and physical responses
• Facilitate good discourse • Objective principles may not:
• Account for emotional responses • Trump contextual issues
• You want to expect the unexpected • Focus the design, only innovate where necessary • False recaps, phony endings, musical pranks
haydnʼs lessons 1 To flout the rules, you must know the rules 2 Minimize ornamentation to maximize effect 3 Use design principles for internal iteration 4 Prototype in your medium
esterházy palace
unparalleled iteration
rapid iteration
lab testing
bucket testing
guerilla usability
rapid iteration
“I was cut off from the world. There was no one near to confuse or torment me, I was forced to become original.”
- Haydn
internal evaluation
external validation
usability evaluations • Users can:
• Validate that our mental models are successful • Participate in A/B test to optimize designs
• Users may not: • Tell us why they think the way they do • Create new designs
• We will be faster if: • We can iterate within our own teams faster • Use design principles to
high-fidelity prototyping
high-fidelity prototyping
prototyping • Native OS • Pixel-level • Reusable UI components • Closer to the native language
haydnʼs lessons 1 To flout the rules, you must know the rules 2 Minimize ornamentation to maximize effect 3 Use design principles for internal iteration 4 Prototype in your medium
influence
do larger organizations naturally benefit? • Good usability = predictability • Most users prefer what they see the most,
whether itʼs good or bad • Do large organizations naturally benefit?
summary 1 To flout the rules, you must know the rules 2 Minimize ornamentation to maximize effect 3 Use design principles for internal iteration 4 Prototype in your medium
Image credits • Time travel clock: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bendodson/3402250681/ • Medieval Church: http://www.flickr.com/photos/antmoose/102131833/ • Pantheon: http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterjingo/1809727430/ • Flea: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36128932@N03/3404894430/ • Monte Python troubadoors: http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_pictures/grail/large/HolyGrail144.jpg • Renaissance books: http://www.flickr.com/photos/traceyp3031/2892438542/in/set-72157603791556092/ • Renaissance instruments: http://www.yesnet.yk.ca/schools/projects/renaissance/graphics/despreztwo.jpg • Late Renaissance chamber group: http://www.flickr.com/photos/allengarvin/3741207690/ • Bernini's Cornaro chapel http://www.flickr.com/photos/aischylos/235801406/ • The Adoration of the Magi, a 1624 • Sint-Pieter-en-Pauluschurch http://flickr.com/photos/e3000/82186320/ • Vivaldi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_Vivaldi.jpg • Bach: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg • Harpsichord: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Clavecin_flamand.png • Haydn - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Haydn_portrait_by_Thomas_Hardy_(small).jpg • Beethoven: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beethoven.jpg • Mozart: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart_1.jpg • Erard piano: http://www.periodpiano.com/grand/images/Parquetry-Erard-lid-open.jpg • Teletype (1945): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WACsOperateTeletype.jpg • Apple (1975): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Apple_I.jpg • Apple II (1977): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apple-II.jpg • Gopher Servers Menu: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Floodgap_gopher_servers_menu.PNG • arpa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Darpaheadquarters.jpg • Laeken Church: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nico78/152678493/ • Yahoo 1994: http://news.cnet.com/2300-1032_3-6072801-1.html?tag=mncol • Wayback machine archive • iGoogle - http://timir.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/igoogle.jpg • Rounded corners theme: http://wp-themes.com/wp-content/themes/ahimsa/screenshot.png • Young haydn: http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/zdbpath/composerpix/2662.jpg • Law site: http://www.bluehousegroup.com/images/bpf_03.jpg • Esterhazy Palace: http://www.flickr.com/photos/konrads/2402182899/in/set-72157604062384320/ • Haydnʼs Opera court: http://www.bbc.co.uk/composers/haydn/pictures/images/haydn_05.jpg • Card sorting: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dunk/152245036/ • Audience Voting: http://www.davegorman.com/images/audiencevote.jpg • Haydn’s tomb: http://www.flickr.com/photos/indigotimbre/2544538697/
thank you
