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Tuesday, April 27, 2004
Although this is a long time coming and almost a repeat (because i've already read these chapters) I suppose I ought to write in this blog in order to get credit for it.
Anyway, Krug's chapter's 5 and 6- some of his longer writing, but very useful. What I found to be most promising about his analysis is the way he describes navigation as compared to trying to find something in a store. Similarly, users on the web may browse aimlessly to find their product and eventually may do so. In a store, someone might wander around until they find the product. However, once he knows the physical location of that product, he can go directly there next time- with the web, it's a bit more abstract. One cannot just go straight down aisle 3 and turn left at the end- on the web, the only way for someone to get back to the same place is to follow all the same steps as before (that is, if the navigation is bad). This is where searching comes in. Searching allows an intermediate step that skips all the wandering- although it also doesn't show the user the true path to their destination. His diagrams of a typical user browsing a store and a site are interesting- their paths that either lead to their destination or frustration. As mentioned before, Krug says that the web has no sense of scale- that is, we don't know how far we have to browse or wander to find something- as well as no sense of location or direction. This is why navigation is crucial.
Consistency, as always is a key. Global navigation, similar logo placement, a constant color scheme that reflects your site, as well as keeping good and consistent naming conventions (ie. "search" instead of "quickFind" or something).
His reference to page names was kind of amusing- considering we (as bostonians) know that most of the signs here really ARE to see. Keeping this in mind, it's a thing to make sure our naming conventions are in order. Every link name, title label and page title must reflect what's on that page. Breadcrumbs, showing us where we have been (and how to get to where we are) must reflect what's on parent pages. Indicators that show us where we presently are must reflect the page title. And so on. These things, although seemingly obvious, can wreak havok when not followed- if a user expects to find "iPods" and comes to a site that has all portable audio gear, even that can throw him off.
I've since finished the book, and plan on keeping it as it's a great reference and pretty much a quick "bible" for those doing interface design or info architecture. I find the reading easy and the pictures intriguing. Thanks for the good required book!
Anyway, Krug's chapter's 5 and 6- some of his longer writing, but very useful. What I found to be most promising about his analysis is the way he describes navigation as compared to trying to find something in a store. Similarly, users on the web may browse aimlessly to find their product and eventually may do so. In a store, someone might wander around until they find the product. However, once he knows the physical location of that product, he can go directly there next time- with the web, it's a bit more abstract. One cannot just go straight down aisle 3 and turn left at the end- on the web, the only way for someone to get back to the same place is to follow all the same steps as before (that is, if the navigation is bad). This is where searching comes in. Searching allows an intermediate step that skips all the wandering- although it also doesn't show the user the true path to their destination. His diagrams of a typical user browsing a store and a site are interesting- their paths that either lead to their destination or frustration. As mentioned before, Krug says that the web has no sense of scale- that is, we don't know how far we have to browse or wander to find something- as well as no sense of location or direction. This is why navigation is crucial.
Consistency, as always is a key. Global navigation, similar logo placement, a constant color scheme that reflects your site, as well as keeping good and consistent naming conventions (ie. "search" instead of "quickFind" or something).
His reference to page names was kind of amusing- considering we (as bostonians) know that most of the signs here really ARE to see. Keeping this in mind, it's a thing to make sure our naming conventions are in order. Every link name, title label and page title must reflect what's on that page. Breadcrumbs, showing us where we have been (and how to get to where we are) must reflect what's on parent pages. Indicators that show us where we presently are must reflect the page title. And so on. These things, although seemingly obvious, can wreak havok when not followed- if a user expects to find "iPods" and comes to a site that has all portable audio gear, even that can throw him off.
I've since finished the book, and plan on keeping it as it's a great reference and pretty much a quick "bible" for those doing interface design or info architecture. I find the reading easy and the pictures intriguing. Thanks for the good required book!
