
Is Modern Web Design Too Formulaic? - mjio
http://blog.microlancer.com/2013-web-design-stuck-rut/
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abraxasz
I think a more relevant question should be: is a certain degree of
"formulaicity" desirable or not? I believe that it is, yes. When I browse a
website for the first time, I like it when it's clean and unoriginal in its
presentation. First, I can find my way quickly, and second (maybe it's just an
illusion) I find it less mentality taxing.

A lot of startups adopt a layout similar to that presented in the article for
their website, which makes it easier to know quickly what's going on. Is it
bad from a differentiation/branding point of view? Maybe, I don't know. I
don't think I'm very sensitive to this, but this might be a very important
point.

Take worrydream.com for instance. I checked it out yesterday, and the content
of the website is absolutely fantastic (I'm a new fan of Bret Victor). But the
website's design is very, very original, and it took me some time to get used
to it. This is not to say that it's not good. It's different. And different
requires efforts (well worth it in this case).

~~~
nnq
worrydream.com is basically impossible to scroll on Chrome on Windows. This is
basically unforgivable for an UX/I guy and together with other peculiarities
this makes it basically _unusable._

 _If I could afford to hire this guy (note: I don 't, even if he were
available :) ), I wouldn't do it just because of his website._

~~~
nzp
> worrydream.com is basically impossible to scroll on Chrome on Windows.

I was so confused by this and abraxasz's remark about original design. Not
scrolling in Chrome on Windows? What? Why would it not scroll, and what's so
original about it? I was browsing in FF, so I took a look in Chrome... Oh,
wow, this is the best example of graceful degradation I've seen and it's so
simple (I didn't know <noscript> can go into <head>, you learn something every
day). I had NoScript turned on if FF, so it kicked in the simple CSS which I
must say to me looks more beautiful and more functional.

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null_ptr
Oh, this is not modern web design. This is just the web design pushed by San
Francisco hipsters onto their brethren. None of the web sites average people
visit as part of their normal life look like that nor will they ever.

~~~
hnriot
I know you're just trolling, but I think "normal" people visit google quite
often, and that's an example of modern web design.

~~~
Kiro
I don't think Google fits the stereotype described in the article.

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dasil003
No.

When you get a bit older you'll realize that design is to a great extent like
fashion, full of the same ebbs and flows and trends with an underlying current
of timeless utility that expresses itself in different ways depending where
you look.

If there's a new quality to web design that makes it appear even more
formulaic than usual I would say it's the presence of frameworks like
Bootstrap that let you make something look halfway decent looking with very
basic skills and a tiny amount of work. It's certainly never been as easy to
get your feet wet in design.

But has innovation stopped? No, it only seems that way if you're under 25 and
your brain is still developing so you don't actually have any perspective
longer than the last year or two.

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woah
Whatever, I used to try to come up with really new, original stuff visually
until I realized it doesn't really matter.

Most people see trendy visual design as good visual design. And why shouldn't
they? For me, the important part is what a service or company allows people to
do. I'm not trying push some new trailblazing thing onto people in the visual
department.

I would rather follow a formula that allows me to work quickly and gets people
to say "ooh that's pretty", instead of putting a bunch of thought into visual
design innovation, only to have people misunderstand it.

This allows me to focus on the interaction and the content, which are the
things that really matter.

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secstate
Not to be an ass or anything, but isn't there some irony in "Microlancer"
criticizing orignality in marketing site design while his designer site
epitomizes the currently very trendy flat style? Complete with high contrast
colors and a scrollspy'd comments section.

Again, not trying to be an ass. Actually I'd argue that true originality is
damn near impossible to achieve, given that our ideas don't usually spring
forth, fully clothed from Zeus's forehead.

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leggo2m
No, it's not too formulaic. These "formulas" are very helpful to average web
users because they are instantly able to understand a given website because
it's following the norms.

Are car designs too formulaic? After all, they all have steering wheels and
pedals. They all share characteristics so as to allow any driver to
immediately know how to operate the vehicle without having to re-learn every
component for every new car. The same is true for websites.

In fact, we've finally gotten to the point of understanding this, thanks to
usability research, please don't try to reverse the trend.

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ThomPete
It doesn't really matter. As a web-designer your job is not to invent a new
aesthetic but to communicate a companys message in whatever way is most
beneficial to that specific customer whether thats flat, 3d, contemporary,
ugly, typographic and so on.

Spend some years doing this and you can follow any trend.

You are like a carpenter and 98% of you will stay carpenters, which is great
as long as there is a need for carpenters.

But my advice would be this.

Learn design, learn to mimic, learn to be original. But don't be an artist for
other peoples money unless they pay you to.

Instead on the side build a product, a company, a service a website, an
experimental design lab and go crazy. And if you have the time learn to code.
In fact as soon as your skills are descent learn to code.

~~~
camus2
> It doesn't really matter. As a web-designer your job is not to invent a new
> aesthetic

Generic ,dull webdesigns hurt new brands by making them forgetable. I chosed
Heroku years ago , partly because i liked the japanese / monsters /robot
design , and i though it was cool and risky, now it just look like Bootstrap
though their brand is well established.

Dont under estimate the power of aesthetic.

~~~
ThomPete
I am not. Please keep in mind that Google even early google was aesthetical.

Don't confuse personal aesthetic with what sell in general.

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programminggeek
No, it's not. Formulas are good within reason because they give the average
user a framework to navigate an application. That is why you have standard
buttons, widgets, etc. in gui toolkits. It provides a consistency that people
don't have to re-learn for each application.

Uniqueness has its place, but not every app should be a unique snowflake.

------
GrinningFool
This is asking the wrong question.

Web design has generally been formulaic - but the formula changes and evolves
over time.

No, this is the question to be asked: is the current formula the correct one?

My opinion is no. The giant picture-banner that takes up half (or more,
depending on device) the page and conveys no useful information is annoying.
The odd vertical scrolling behaviors -- almost as if in rebellion against the
previous pattern of never requiring users to scroll: now we must _always_
require them to scroll -- are frustrating, particularly for the majority of
people who do not have a mac trackpad.

But that's just my opinion. One could just as easily argue that every formula
is correct for its time, or else it wouldn't have come to be a common formula.

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netpenthe
it is all fashion, things come into fashion then they go out.

then they come back in.

there was an old Mad magazine that had this with cars:

    
    
      1. first the cars were all chrome with a little bit of glass
    
      2. then the glass got bigger and bigger
    
      3. eventually the cars were all glass with a little bit of chrome
    
      4. then a 'futuristic' car came along that was all chrome with only a little bit of glass

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benjash
I think part of the problem with web design at the moment is the overuse of
themes and frameworks. Where people really add no creativity to the design.

I've just spent the last 3 months trying to design a site that is original,
follows conventions and is responsive.

And there is a point where your just trying to be different for different
sake. We are currently ironing out problems.
[http://whatson.ae/](http://whatson.ae/)

I did however try to avoid looking formulaic, but certain things just work.
The layouts we have are simple and have flexibility. We are letting the
content and visuals have the creativity.

I suppose that sums up my oppionion on the matter. The website design itself
shouldn't be the message. Its the message your trying to pass on or the
content.

I'm personally glad we are moving away from gimmicky elements. I hated having
to create big shiny buttons with flashy animations because my boss thought
they where exciting.

In fact - some times changing a design is detrimental to a website in massive
ways. I left my old job because my previous employer wanted to change the
website. After they did, the conversion rates for the site plummeted and
eventually they lost a lot of traffic.

Even though the new designs where perceived as more appealing and exciting.

Certains things just work really well, thats why there more abundant.

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poissonpie
Are cars too formulaic? There's always a steering wheel. And pedals. A gear
lever. And wheels and breaks. And headlights. And......

Are books formulaic? Cover, Title, Author, Chapters, Writing, A beginning, a
middle, an end?

formulaic allows us, the users, to easily begin using something new without a
learning curve. Personally, I don't want every website to be innovative,
requiring me to re-learn or figure out how to do something.

~~~
PuerkitoBio
Your metaphor, to me, would be more along the lines of the browser frame, the
clicking, the scrolling, ... Not the content and the design.

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Raphmedia
At the web design / development I work at, none of the websites look like
that. Sure, we are not making single pages, but still. There is more to the
web than single pages fronts for startups.

This is only a trend. Humans love trends.

Wait until the next guy come up with a great idea and everyone will copy it
once again. See the flat design trend.

~~~
exo_duz
I agree. It's all about the trends. But that's what they came to see. So give
the public what they requested.

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vezzy-fnord
In my mind, the main issue with modern web design is people slapping on
generic Bootstrap themes without any effort.

~~~
joeblau
That's what I did for [http://xo9.us](http://xo9.us). Although I did change a
few things, but it's basically a theme which I've seen on a few other sites.

~~~
VintageCool
Thank you for the arrow at the bottom of the screen.

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neovi
It's like logo design: there are specific types of branding that you keep in
mind (abstract, wordmark, letterform..), they're like mental models. They aid
you in the development of design, so it's not "is [it] too formulaic" but
"does it serve its purpose?" Does the way it's designed benefit what it's
meant to do?

A lot of landing pages look the way they look because it does what it needs to
do: educate about the product. The uniqueness of the web design isn't in the
layout but in the hierarchy and positioning of information within the common
single page -> scroll down -> sign up.

Is it lazy? Depends on the situation. Is it beautiful? You could make it so,
but it commonly isn't. Does it get the job done? Pretty much all the time. I
see the same template, but I get different information.

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wushupork
When you get into a new car, do you want all the controls neatly laid out
where you know them to be or do you want "originality & creativity". I think
most people would find it less stressful and taxing and more comforted if they
knew how to navigate it.

Same with a website. I always want to know where the navigation is, how to
login, where the call to action is - the basics. The value isn't the website
"design" \- it's either the product or the content.

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drawkbox
Web design is a communication art. When norms/formulas are created they convey
a message users understand. It is easier to default on the norms so that
prevails for most situations. Sometimes new norms are created with new
platforms, i.e. touch, scroll changes. But in the end you are trying to
communicate a message and being too different is a certain kind of message.

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Pitarou
You say "formulaic" like it's a bad thing!

Formulaic --> Follows well-understood conventions --> Easy to make sense of
--> Gets the message across better --> More sign-ups --> Profit --> Food on
the table --> My kids grow up strong and healthy --> I'm more likely to
propagate my genes

So I'll take formulaic every time.

~~~
hcarvalhoalves
What a stretch!

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sampk
Off topic: @mjio I was supposed to be a part of the Microlancer Beta and I've
that badge on my Envato profile but it says service provider applications are
temporarily closed when I click the "Start Selling" button. I'd love to try
out Microlancer if you're giving away any invites.

~~~
mjio
@sampk Write me an email (see GitHub) or Twitter message with your Envato
Account username and I will let you know as soon as we open the gate for new
freelancers again.

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jlcummings
Audience matters to the equation.

Is it product motivated? Who is the product for, a consumer or a contributor?

Is it interpretive, art, or otherwise? In other words, as a producer, do you
simply have a statement or rhetorical to present?

When conversion rate is no longer relevant, the formula is staggeringly more
permissive.

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normloman
Same buttons, same navigation, same layout is a good thing. Users are already
used to the design, and can navigate efficiently.

Same typeface, same graphics (mac book with graphs), same style (flat) is a
bad thing. You won't stand out and everyone will forget you.

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mafro
Bring back the blink tag!

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sarreph
This is very true.

I remember the days when poorly-built flash websites were the norm; they may
have sucked from a usability standpoint, but they sure had the edge in
originality!

~~~
camus2
Flash is also that kind of website :

[http://awaytools.com/awaybuilder/live-
tool](http://awaytools.com/awaybuilder/live-tool)

which sets high standards in web development.

Fortunately with languages like Typescript and the right abstraction ,like
webgl, things are going to get easier, to build complex desktop like apps like
that ,which dont care about HTML semantics or SEO while still using web
standards and being usable on tablets without going native.

I'm a bit tired of hearing people saying their latest AngularJS "fairly large"
CRUD app is the paragon of web development,it is not.

Also relevant artice :

[http://www.thefwa.com/article/10-reasons-why-flash-cannot-
di...](http://www.thefwa.com/article/10-reasons-why-flash-cannot-die)

Though i think in 3/4 years when the whole HTML5 migration is done , we'll
start seeing creatives taking risks again in plain HTML.

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rsl7
kinda, but you can't tell people to just go and be different. People do what
they think is cool, it's pretty effective and easy to understand. The trend
setters are going to appear from time to time and make something new, but they
don't need to be told to do that. Maybe people can be reminded, though, that
certain parameters are flexible within a familiar design language.

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elmosan
I think Dieter's ten rules hit the nail on the head...

Dieter Rams's Ten Principles of "Good Design"

Good Design Is Innovative— The possibilities for innovation are not, by any
means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new
opportunities for innovative design. But innovative design always develops in
tandem with innovative technology, and can never be an end in itself.

Good Design Makes a Product Useful—A product is bought to be used. It has to
satisfy certain criteria, not only functional but also psychological and
aesthetic. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product while
disregarding anything that could possibly detract from it.

Good Design Is Aesthetic—The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its
usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people
and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

Good Design Makes A Product Understandable—It clarifies the product's
structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function
by making use of the user's intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.

Good Design Is Unobtrusive— Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They
are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore
be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user's self-expression.

Good Design Is Honest— It does not make a product more innovative, powerful or
valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer
with promises that cannot be kept

Good Design Is Long-lasting— It avoids being fashionable and therefore never
appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in
today's throwaway society.

Good Design Is Thorough Down to the Last Detail—Nothing must be arbitrary or
left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards
the consumer.

Good Design Is Environmentally Friendly— Design makes an important
contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources
and minimises physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the
product.

Good Design Is as Little Design as Possible—Less, but better – because it
concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with
non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity.

Source:
[http://www.sfmoma.org/about/press/press_exhibitions/releases...](http://www.sfmoma.org/about/press/press_exhibitions/releases/880#ixzz2jxTgqrT2)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

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microcolonel
Breaking conventions without good reason is bad design.

~~~
normloman
Following conventions without good reason is bad design.

~~~
microcolonel
No, breaking them may be. You don't need a good reason to follow a convention,
since conventions themselves are good reasons, if you have no compelling
reason /not/ to follow the convention, you should stick with it. This is why
people use Helveticoids.

Just because you have a facetious comment to drop in doesn't mean it's
correct.

~~~
normloman
But in order to understand when and how to use conventions, we have to know
the reasons why it exists in the first place (so we may judge whether the same
reasons apply to the problem at hand). This is what I meant by my comment. If
you don't know the reasons for the convention in the first place, you're
doomed to applying the same convention in situations where it doesn't make
sense.

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elwell
You want something un-formulaic? My favorite: bible.ca

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blahbl4hblahtoo
Does the author have a little round picture of their self? (Yes.)

