Design as a Conversation

In the 21^st century, websites occupy a major part of our lives. As the most important source of information, and the primary way of getting in touch with the world around us, websites need to show aesthetic quality, professionalism, and have the ability to spark a conversation with the viewer. The very first thing we see when we load an internet page are the visual representations and their relationship to the other elements of the page. If in the past, quality and creativity of a web page was enough to attract readers, it seems that nowadays, rules have changed. We, the viewers, don’t accept to be treated as “it’s” anymore, but rather as humans. We want the internet page to communicate something to us, and not just to create a visual image. The web designs need to be strong enough to capture our interest and have the power to spark a conversation in transmitting their message, while keeping their aesthetics and professionalism. The New York Tiems is a good example:

Fig 1

In designing a Web page today, a connection needs to be established between the content of the page and the viewers.  As Darren Hoyt recently wrote in “Designing with Social Skills”, “Simply being ‘usable’ isn’t enough, no more than nice cars should be merely “drivable”. Ideally, a website should spark an interesting conversation the moment it loads”. A good web design needs to have visual unity. It is not only about the usefulness of a website anymore, but also about its power to establish a relationship (in the good sense of the word) between the topic presented and the readers: “It should usher you from page to page, telling great stories along the way. It shouldn’t come on too shy or too strong. It should look sharp without looking vain”.

                  Fig 1In designing interfaces, a conversation should be established between the web designer and the user. The user should be treated as a “friend”. Hoyt also shows that in the recent years, more and more internet pages use “Hello” instead of “Welcome”, as greeting, in order to personalize the conversation. The websites for Governmental institutions and companies where professionalism is crucial and needs to be maintained, other ways to connect with their viewers and communicate with them are necessary.

Works Cited

Hoyt, Darren. Designing with Social Skills. http://www.darrenhoyt.com/2010/04/20/designing-with-social-skills/
Fig 1: http://www.nytimes.com/