People like to look good
People don't like to look bad
These two phrases underpin most people's behavior in life and are especially relevant in advertising and usability/ information architecture.
The other day I was sitting in a park which had a drinking fountain in the middle. Now this drinking fountain has quite the reputation as the water stream is way too powerful and when people drink from it, they get a squirt in the face.
I sat on the grass in anticipation, waiting for someone to come and cop the money shot. I was soon rewarded by a businesses man dressed in a nice charcoal suit, with a big round face providing more than adequate surface area to be splashed. He put his face down to the metal (first mistake) and then turned the water on. A powerful stream of water came out like a firehose all over his face, and all over the top of his suit.
He jumped back in horror and his first reaction was to look around the park to see if anyone was looking. I was of course and I laughed, fairly uncontrollably. He had been made to look bad and he tottered off shaking his head and cursing the fountain. It's like when people trip on a crack as they're walking on the pavement and they try to cover it up by doing a little jog "hey, I meant to do that". Or else they look behind them at the pavement as if to say "who's the idiot who put a crack there". You my friend, are the idiot.
We exist in a state of equilibrium, and when that is destabilized, it is possible to undermine someone and make them look or feel bad/stupid. This is the basis to great comedy like Commedia d'Arte and is the reason why we love Funniest Home Videos and The Chaser's War on Everything.
People hate to look bad and when they do, they react with anger, embarrassment and shame.
So how does this relate to the digital world?
It's the reason Apple invests so much in usability testing. When I pick up the iphone (which is damn sexy) I know exactly how to use it, and it makes me look good. When my mum asks me to show her how to use her Samsung phone I struggle and it makes me look bad. It makes me look stupid and I think Samsung phones are stupid.
The catch phrase to web usability is Steve Krug's line "don't make me think". I'm sick of seeing self serving agency websites which are supposed to show the creativity of the agency, but are so difficult to navigate and find information that I feel stupid when browsing them. In my opinion, people won't be impressed by the form if they can't work out the function. Be creative with web design, but don't detract from the usability.
The same is true with social networks. Facebook took off because when you go to Facebook, it's easy to work out what you are suposed to do. I find Twitter fairly intuitive too which is why I use it over Plurk which I find has a daunting interface. Plurk probably has better functionality, but ease of use will win over technology most of the time.
This extends to virtually everything - when I walk into a shop, I want to find things easily or I will get frustrated and walk out feeling like an idiot - like when I go into trendy Sydney shops and can't tell the girls jeans from the guys and the shop assistant laughs at me (though that warrants another rant on the state of masculinity).
When building websites, writing copy, concepting campaign ideas or even pitching an idea in to a client - make them look good and don't make them look bad. If you squirt water in their face they will go somewhere else. Another website is one click away, and once you make someone look bad, it's hard to turn them the other way. Whether online or off, test your assumptions rigorously against these two catch phrases:
Are you going to make your users/target audience look/feel good or are you going to make them look/feel bad?
Daniel Addington is a freelance social media and search engine optimisation enthusiast in Australia. Visit http://www.thelonelytraveller.com.au for more articles
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