On: A new approach to the sign up form

[dzohrob]

while i appreciate this from an aesthetic perspective, this fails multiple usability tests:

1) "across the room" -- stand 10 feet away from your machine and see if you can tell what you're supposed to do

2) "don't make me think" -- i'm sure anyone who has ever used a website has to think about this one.

if you actually want people to sign up, make it easier, not harder. save your creativity for your content.

[tjpick → dzohrob]

I've never heard of the "across the room" usability test before. I'm intrigued: can you point to sources?

[dzohrob → tjpick]

My only source is my business partner, but it's a pretty good test. At 10-15 feet, you can only see features as geometric shapes, but on very well-designed sites you can probably tell what you're "supposed" to do. This is most effective for signup and purchase flows, where simplicity matters most, but I think it can lead to insights on pretty much anything.