Style & Design was I did it! I did it! (was: Please, let me poke my eyes out...)

[John Angelico]

On Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:07:29 -0400 (EDT), Gregory L. Marx wrote:

>On Sat, 16 Sep 2000 09:33:05 -0300, Trevor Smith wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 16 Sep 2000 08:12:56 -0400 (EDT), Gregory L. Marx wrote:
>>
>>>20+ million people use AOL ... Are they all devoid of design sense ???
>>
>>Um... Yes? :-)
>>
>
>By your use of a smiley I assume you're only half-serious ...
>
>I don't think they are devoid of design sense ... I really believe that they just don't know any better ... or they 
really just haven't thought about 
>the issue too much ... I see alot of professionals (I work for a major law firm) where their offices are beautifully 
layed out and decorated very 
>tastefully ... and they dress with style and pizazz ...
>
>Where does ones design flair come from ???  I think from observing what's going on around them ... in their friends 
dressing habits ... 
>magazines and newspapers, television and movies, good taste and style is all around us ... Even subconsiously we 
pick up on what looks good to 
>us ... but see, with computers and software there is none of that influence ... I wonder if a magazine dealing with 
nothing but good looking 
>interfaces, stylish software operations, etc would be a success ... I think once a users eyes are opened, and they 
start to realize and look at 
>systems and interfaces with a critical eye for design flair that's when things will start to change overall ...
>
>For now, I think most people are so dazzled, so in awe, so stoned, with seeing what a PC and software can do that 
they're like little kids in a 
>candy store ... it's all giggles and smiles ... That's why AOL can get away with such horrid design principles ... 
IMO ...
>
>Does any of this make sense to anyone else ??? It's hard to put into words ...
>

Greg, you're right.

But then, how many people live in a house with the design sense of say Frank Lloyd-Wright or equivalent? Nay, how 
many even KNOW about the Golden Rectangle as the most pleasing proportion to the eyes? How many designers would know? 

It is a conundrum: most of us would be able to say "Yep! I like that!" when they see something well-designed, of good 
taste etc. But hardly any one of us could explain it or apply the underlying principles to anything in our lives over 
which we actually have control. 

Let's keep putting it in front of people's eyes. 

I am glad there is the Interface Hall of Fame/Hall of Shame web site (http://WWW.IARCHITECT.COM/shame.htm) to do some 
of that.


Best regards
John Angelico
OS/2 SIG
talldad@melbpc.org.au or talldad@kepl.com.au
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