HW #6 – Article 3

Article title:

Facebook, Google, and the data design disaster

Link: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10206053-36.html

As the title said it all, the article is about the problems of the information design that Facebook and Google were facing. In Facebook case, the issue was about user experience (UX). The new redesign interface was too much for the majority users to digest right away. While Google on the other hands, wouldn’t change the look of its products for the approval of a design professional. The author, Miss Caroline McCarthy pointed out both companies have the same problem — seduction by information, and the resulting disconnect between data and design.

Commentary

I think the article is a great example of the challenges that information designers might need to face in the real life. “How to get the balance between data and design?” — That’s the question that I had in my mind when I finished the story.

Also the part that really hit me hard is the case of Google’s missing “delete” button when it launched Gmail. The response from Google was there was a gigabyte in each Gmail account, so the clients did not need one. Whitney Hess, a UX designer, pointed out that Google did not understand the real reason for the people delete their emails is to make space on their mind. They didn’t want to look at something that they might have an emotional response to.

What Miss Hess said is very inspiring, it make you understand how important the users’ experience can be if you want to build a successful website.

P. S.: Comments on the style, the structure, anything you do not like about the blog are welcomed and thank you!