

Less Aesthetic, More Design - ckarltorp
http://blog.wells.ee/less-aesthetic-more-design

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muzzamike
As a developer trying to gain more insight into proper design methodology this
really spoke to me. With all the articles and discussion around "design"
really focusing more on aesthetics, for some time I thought that was all
design is about.

For example, I work mainly on mobile apps, and it took some time for me to
view another app's design with an eye for more than just "looking pretty". You
really have to think a bit differently to begin noticing the small things the
designer did to make the experience more enjoyable.

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RyanZAG
There are tons of projects (even some open source projects) investing heavily
into AB testing and other usability testing. Unfortunately, nobody ever seems
to publish the data from these studies.

To really move user interface forward, it would be great to have a large list
of UI design tips that are _backed by real world data_.

    
    
      Do X and not Y : 72% of users found X easier.
    

Nearly everything I read about UI design these days seems to come down
entirely to the authors opinion. Surely there is a better way?

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snogglethorpe
Wait, since when does "Design" not include aesthetics?!

[Indeed, I'd say that most common uses of the word "design" are almost
_synonymous_ with aesthetics... "industrial design" => making cool looking
cases; "graphic design" => pretty pictures; "web designer" => someone who
makes pretty websites]

~~~
chewxy
Not really. Think of design as the core, while aesthetics is the chrome. In my
opinion, design has purpose. Something is "designed" to do something. You
know, as in 'intelligent design'.

Take an example here. In this website, which what people call a github for
recipes [0], note how the recipe pages are made. The recipe page is an example
of a high design, low aesthetics page. It was designed to do one thing and do
one thing well: display a recipe. It was designed to draw attention to the
FORK button, because that's what the aim of Fork the Cookbook is all about: to
get people forking recipes.

It is lacking in aesthetics. It's not that beautiful to look at honestly, but
in my opinion, it does its work well in doing its task.

[0] [http://forkthecookbook.com/recipes/white-chocolate-
passion-f...](http://forkthecookbook.com/recipes/white-chocolate-passion-
fruit-truffles-846fe)

disclosure: I designed the layout for Fork the Cookbook

