When in Rome: engineering the Firefox 3 user experience
Snit
firefox-3-user-experience.html>
-----
we talked to user experience design expert Alex Faaborg about
the Firefox 3 visual refresh
...
Platform integration has been a very high priority for the
Firefox 3 development cycle. Visual consistency with the
underlying operating system is important, says Faaborg,
because it creates a more seamless user experience and makes
it easier for the user to focus on web content rather than on
the web browser
...
Few artists were interested in doing the Windows work,
however, so Mozilla ended up hiring The Iconfactory to do
complete sets for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
...
Although the visual style and theme of the application are
the most highly visible aspect of his work, Faaborg notes
that interaction design goes much deeper than the browser's
surface. Many subtle usability enhancements that are included
in Firefox 3 improve the overall user experience and make
complex features more easily accessible. One example that he
cites is the new single-click bookmark system. Usability
testing revealed that many users eschew bookmarks entirely
and simply use Google because it often requires less effort.
-----
Consistency... user testing... spending *money* to have people design parts
of the UI because there is a clear benefit to doing so.
As I have noted, the folks who make Firefox clearly get what many in COLA do
not: the importance of a good UI that is not just internally consistent but
also consistent with other aspects of the users environment.
--
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments
that take our breath away.
Hadron
> <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080330-when-in-rome-engineering-the-
> firefox-3-user-experience.html>
> -----
> we talked to user experience design expert Alex Faaborg about
> the Firefox 3 visual refresh
> ...
> Platform integration has been a very high priority for the
> Firefox 3 development cycle. Visual consistency with the
> underlying operating system is important, says Faaborg,
> because it creates a more seamless user experience and makes
> it easier for the user to focus on web content rather than on
> the web browser
Uh oh! Rick and Gregory are going to have to st him straight on that one!
What a silly waste of time! Talking to users too! Bah! Clearly far too
much time on his hands.
> ...
> Few artists were interested in doing the Windows work,
> however, so Mozilla ended up hiring The Iconfactory to do
> complete sets for Windows Vista and Windows XP.
> ...
> Although the visual style and theme of the application are
> the most highly visible aspect of his work, Faaborg notes
> that interaction design goes much deeper than the browser's
> surface. Many subtle usability enhancements that are included
> in Firefox 3 improve the overall user experience and make
> complex features more easily accessible. One example that he
> cites is the new single-click bookmark system. Usability
> testing revealed that many users eschew bookmarks entirely
> and simply use Google because it often requires less effort.
> -----
>
> Consistency... user testing... spending *money* to have people design parts
> of the UI because there is a clear benefit to doing so.
>
> As I have noted, the folks who make Firefox clearly get what many in COLA do
> not: the importance of a good UI that is not just internally consistent but
> also consistent with other aspects of the users environment.
Rick voice : "It's all about choice"
Gregory voice : "Fuck off, Where the fucking fuck did I fucking well
disagree with that you fucking fucktard?"
Snit voice (like HAL from 2001) : "You disagreed here Dave. Err, I mean
Gregory. Here's the link too".
<sound of Gregory punching his monitor at the horrific moment he
realises that he has been 'pwned'>
--
<Overfiend> Joy: Hey, I'm an asshole. Assholes emit odious gas.
That's what we do.
Snit
fsprl5$2m4$1...@registered.motzarella.org on 3/30/08 10:08 PM:
> Snit <use...@gallopinginsanity.com> writes:
>
>> <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080330-when-in-rome-engineering-the-
>> firefox-3-user-experience.html>
>> -----
>> we talked to user experience design expert Alex Faaborg about
>> the Firefox 3 visual refresh
>> ...
>> Platform integration has been a very high priority for the
>> Firefox 3 development cycle. Visual consistency with the
>> underlying operating system is important, says Faaborg,
>> because it creates a more seamless user experience and makes
>> it easier for the user to focus on web content rather than on
>> the web browser
>
> Uh oh! Rick and Gregory are going to have to st him straight on that one!
> What a silly waste of time! Talking to users too! Bah! Clearly far too
> much time on his hands.
Keep reading: they even *paid* to get work done that nobody wanted to do for
free. Paid! And the work that was so important they were willing to pay
for it: UI issues related to consistency.
LOL!
--
"Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to
all but the most crucial features." -- Steve Jobs