everything is not important sxsw
DESCRIPTION
My presentation Everything Is Not Important, as presented at SXSW, Saturday, March 9th, 2013 in Austin, TXTRANSCRIPT
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