Focusing on success, not failure
Web design has moved from an art to a combination of sciences, including neuroscience, behavioral anthropology, cultural psychology, visual attention and cognition theory, situational awareness studies, and others. No wonder it's easier to just design and hope for the best. And no wonder the majority of web designs fail or never live up to the designer's promise.
This article focuses on three websites I analyzed on the fly for a master class at iMedia's June 2009 Brand Summit in Colorado Springs. Specifically, I addressed the elements that do and do not work for the sites' target audiences. You can find a video of that class, as well as ancillary information, images, and a bibliography in this blog post.
While I'll be pointing out some of the shortcomings of the sites analyzed, I'll be spending the majority of time on what does work rather than what doesn't. After all, it's easier to move toward a target than to avoid a mistake. The former approach keeps you focused on success, while the latter keeps you focused on failure.
Here we go.
