Comments on: Good signage http://waxcreative.com/blog/2008/05/good-web-navigation/ Talking about websites Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:28:46 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Stroller Airport Disaster http://waxcreative.com/blog/2008/05/good-web-navigation/comment-page-1/#comment-3595 Stroller Airport Disaster Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:35:11 +0000 http://waxcreative.com/blog/?p=26#comment-3595 Your airport metaphor for web navigation was excellent. I have another one for you! The last time I traveled with my family, we checked my daughter's stroller because it was big and bulky and pretty much a necessity to do so. And when we arrived at our destination airport, our stroller was magically lost in the some deep dark corner of a connecting airport or previous plane. But, despite our fuming anger, the airport managed to calm us down with a back-up plan. They happened to have several strollers (and car seats and other potentially important baby goods) on hand that we were allowed to borrow for our trip until they found our stroller (they delivered it to our hotel a day and a half later). But, turning it to navigation, it's always good for a website to have a back-up plan for consumers who can't seem to find what they want. Having navigation by brand or type of item, beyond a simple search feature, always helps. Thanks for the entertaining metaphor! Your airport metaphor for web navigation was excellent. I have another one for you! The last time I traveled with my family, we checked my daughter’s stroller because it was big and bulky and pretty much a necessity to do so. And when we arrived at our destination airport, our stroller was magically lost in the some deep dark corner of a connecting airport or previous plane. But, despite our fuming anger, the airport managed to calm us down with a back-up plan. They happened to have several strollers (and car seats and other potentially important baby goods) on hand that we were allowed to borrow for our trip until they found our stroller (they delivered it to our hotel a day and a half later). But, turning it to navigation, it’s always good for a website to have a back-up plan for consumers who can’t seem to find what they want. Having navigation by brand or type of item, beyond a simple search feature, always helps. Thanks for the entertaining metaphor!

]]> By: Keira Soleore http://waxcreative.com/blog/2008/05/good-web-navigation/comment-page-1/#comment-51 Keira Soleore Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:20:16 +0000 http://waxcreative.com/blog/?p=26#comment-51 Emily, just found out you and Julie are at BEA this weekend. Hope you'll blog about your experience. And I hope it was a successful weekend for WC (your site, not the toilet). Emily, just found out you and Julie are at BEA this weekend. Hope you’ll blog about your experience. And I hope it was a successful weekend for WC (your site, not the toilet).

]]> By: Emily Cotler http://waxcreative.com/blog/2008/05/good-web-navigation/comment-page-1/#comment-31 Emily Cotler Sun, 25 May 2008 19:08:18 +0000 http://waxcreative.com/blog/?p=26#comment-31 Keira, sorry to hear about your gate fiasco. And a toddler to Asia? I can’t imagine. In terms of “Sometimes I have to wonder at the expense that goes into a site that’s impossible traverse,” I hear ya! What is probably happening there is that the client is dictating the navigation: “I want a button for this and this and this.” Most web designers are not also information designers so they take what the client says and just build it. And while clients definitely have vision, web design is not usually their area of expertise. It is the good over-all web designer who can take the client’s vision and shape it into really good user flow through well-thought-out navigation. But that requires information design expertise, and the resources in the budget to work on it. A lot of designers can produce a site on-the-cheap if they skip the information design. –Emily, who also finds power in hyphenation Keira, sorry to hear about your gate fiasco. And a toddler to Asia? I can’t imagine.

In terms of “Sometimes I have to wonder at the expense that goes into a site that’s impossible traverse,” I hear ya! What is probably happening there is that the client is dictating the navigation: “I want a button for this and this and this.” Most web designers are not also information designers so they take what the client says and just build it.

And while clients definitely have vision, web design is not usually their area of expertise. It is the good over-all web designer who can take the client’s vision and shape it into really good user flow through well-thought-out navigation. But that requires information design expertise, and the resources in the budget to work on it. A lot of designers can produce a site on-the-cheap if they skip the information design.

–Emily, who also finds power in hyphenation

]]> By: Keira Soleore http://waxcreative.com/blog/2008/05/good-web-navigation/comment-page-1/#comment-28 Keira Soleore Sun, 25 May 2008 01:55:02 +0000 http://waxcreative.com/blog/?p=26#comment-28 Omigosh, you're prescient, Emily. I just returned home from a gate fiasco, when we should've been on the east coast right now. Luckily our li'l one's a trooper, even on long-haul trips to Asia. Regarding site nav: Sometimes I have to wonder at the expense that goes into a site that's impossible traverse. Too much whiz-bang stuff that makes it cool as a first-time treat, but is a frustrating exercise forever more. Keira-who-loves-hyphenated-words :) Omigosh, you’re prescient, Emily. I just returned home from a gate fiasco, when we should’ve been on the east coast right now. Luckily our li’l one’s a trooper, even on long-haul trips to Asia.

Regarding site nav: Sometimes I have to wonder at the expense that goes into a site that’s impossible traverse. Too much whiz-bang stuff that makes it cool as a first-time treat, but is a frustrating exercise forever more.

Keira-who-loves-hyphenated-words :)

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