Lately I’ve been struck by seams. Seams everywhere: sometimes in the right places, sometimes definitely in the wrong places, but almost always noticeable. It’s been a while since I went through an experience where I didn’t notice the seams.
Seth points out that seams are important, and I think he’s right. But like most things, you only really notice them when they don’t work, or are broken.
“Where’s the damn mute button on the remote?”
“Which of these icons does what I want?”
“How to I turns on the wipers for this car?”
Each of these isn’t a deal breaker in and of itself (unless not being able to turn the wipers on/down ends in a crash), but in the long run, like Chinese water torture, they add up. Drip, drip, drip, drip…
The Bolt || Peters crew point out that one of web site UX’s 10 biggest faux pas is to unnecessarily block access to content, creating a huge seam. I remember hitting a similar seam while trying to read a Globe and Mail article way back when, and was appalled at both A. the seam and B. the audacity of G&M’s assumption that in today’s world of free! free! free! I would consider paying anything to read the article – let alone a whopping 5 dollars!
The Sausage Factory
To what extent does the Client need to know what goes on behind the scenes?
In today’s age of design transparency, where designers are increasingly embedded within organizations, clients often end up knowing everything. This, I think, is a good thing, since a big part of my work philosophy is that “the best ideas come from collaboration”. As mum always said, four eyes are better than two, and it follows that two brains are better than a solo designer working à-distance.
But what about when the Client asks for something seemingly innocuous that is actually pretty complex? Do you make assumptions for them and run the risk of delivering something they weren’t expecting, or do you involve them in the problem’s complexity and get a better result at the risk of being annoying?
A friend of mine at a big foundation once put it this way: “They don’t need to see how you make your sausage.”
Many have weighed in on the topic, and the jury is still out. Any thoughts?
@Des
Hey Des,
Yeah, I didn’t mean it as a snub in any way at all! In the past I’ve come across clients who want something relatively complex, but either don’t have the technical know-how to stay engaged, or simply aren’t interested (or both).
While I tend to think we live in a bubble where everyone around us wants – and is able – to discuss the details of a particular feature request, my guess is that the number of people and organizations out there who want a widget installed (“Just do it! Install some sort of widget or something. You can do that, right?!”) far outweigh the former group.
My guess, too, is that you were just ranting – I have no doubt you selectively reveal the sausage making, too 
Hey guys,
Firstly, thanks for the link out.
My article was written more for the Project Manager type, who happily agrees to things simply to make their meetings as easy as possible. When I say there are no small changes, I mean that PM’s must understand that a simple character limit is more work than it sounds.
The question you raise is interesting though, and I believe that if the client is managing their own application they need to be aware of the moving parts. So a simple request like a character limit has implications to them too. A typical example is an online store asking “Ooh , can we have user reviews too”. It’s my job to explain to them exactly all the ways reviews can go right and can go wrong, and the extra workload it places on all parties.
That’s my 2 cents anyways,
Take care.
Des
[...] He also works in a slightly different sphere of User Experience and User Interface over the …The EchoUser Experience SeamsIt’s been a while since I went through an experience where I didn’t notice the seams. … peters, [...]
experience innovation