MOST of the teams in the current crop that I know of (ours included) have someone on the team who is a fair shake at design. Another way to say this is that "most startups don't have room for specialists".
If you want my opinion, design is not a "coat of paint" to be applied after the fact. User experience (UX) design should be baked into how you make your product.
"If you want my opinion, design is not a "coat of paint" to be applied after the fact. User experience (UX) design should be baked into how you make your product."
So true !
Since the web came along, design has been hijacked by graphic designers - "coat of paint" - whilst important, its really just one part of design (perhaps the easiest) - UX is sooo much more.
Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.
-- STEVE JOBS
Very important point. That being said, it's not an one-or-the-other issue.
I can do 100% of my UX/UI design in OmniGraffle and then implement it as black boxes on a white page and have a well thought-out easy to use site.
On the other hand, there are so many "pretty" sites that are really hard to interact with.
So, both are important - It seems to me that in the "web 2.0" world a pretty design will get press and get people in the door, and good UX is what will keep people using your site.
Comments
MOST of the teams in the current crop that I know of (ours included) have someone on the team who is a fair shake at design. Another way to say this is that "most startups don't have room for specialists".
If you want my opinion, design is not a "coat of paint" to be applied after the fact. User experience (UX) design should be baked into how you make your product.
"If you want my opinion, design is not a "coat of paint" to be applied after the fact. User experience (UX) design should be baked into how you make your product."
So true ! Since the web came along, design has been hijacked by graphic designers - "coat of paint" - whilst important, its really just one part of design (perhaps the easiest) - UX is sooo much more.
Reminds me of my favorite quotation:
Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer — that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That’s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works. -- STEVE JOBS
Very important point. That being said, it's not an one-or-the-other issue.
I can do 100% of my UX/UI design in OmniGraffle and then implement it as black boxes on a white page and have a well thought-out easy to use site.
On the other hand, there are so many "pretty" sites that are really hard to interact with.
So, both are important - It seems to me that in the "web 2.0" world a pretty design will get press and get people in the door, and good UX is what will keep people using your site.
Good strategy. Without someone on the team you have to conract out:
http://ourdoings.com/2008-02-12