

TED Talk - How to make your consumers happy - Malcom Gladwell (video) - Keios
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/20
I think this is very useful for startup founders.
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tipjoy
Malcolm Gladwell rarely says anything too revolutionary, but he always says it
in such an engaging and fascinating way as to make what we already know seem
amazing. The 'tale of a user who doesn't know what he wants' always reminds me
of an old Simpsons episode where Homer gets to design his own car. Perhaps
that could be a definition for 'popular science': that which is suitable for
consumption via the Simpsons.

Still, one of my favorite anecdotes from Blink is the tale of the identical
ice cream: the same ice cream was wrapped in two different packages, one
plain, the other fancy, and taken around to the public for taste tests. People
actually reported that the ice cream in the 'fancier' package _tasted_ better.
What's great about this story is that it's an excellent way to explain to
someone the value of beauty to usability. Given two functionally identical
products, users will believe that one is _easier to use_ simply by virtue of
it being aesthetically pleasing. I once saw a presentation at a UPA (Usability
Professionals Assoc) Conference where a study showed just that - a product
with identical information architecture was run through two usability tests:
one where the product had a rudimentary look and feel, and one where the look
and feel had been touched up by a graphic designer. User data showed that
people felt the prettier version was easier for them to use, even though it
took them the same time to complete tasks in both versions. Now, as an
interaction designer myself, I would hope this argument is never used to
dismiss the importance of interaction design and information architecture. We
can't use aesthetics to 'put lipstick on the pig,' as one of my coworkers is
fond of saying. But if you've taken the time to make a really usable product
which meets a user need, imagine how much people will love it if you ALSO make
it beautiful. That, for me, is the definition of a "delightful experience."

~~~
ivankirigin
Yah, the after-the-fact layer of beauty doesn't work so much. I had to push
pretty hard recently for a redesign of an interface _before_ work began on a
port to a new architecture.

Somehow folks thought they would build everything, then make it
better/usable/pretty. But the process needs to be the other way around at such
a critical time.

