How Important IS Eye Candy?
There is a belief that interfaces are made enjoyable just because they are easy to use.
My question is how important does the aesthetics play in shaping how we come to know, feel, and respond to interface elements?
On a daily basis, I have to consider how far to push design elements down to a pixel variation. Would the addition of a very subtle drop shadow, gradient, or highlight help the users find what they are looking for? Do these small moves make a difference? Or are they just "eye candy" and of no nutritional value?
My firm stance is Less is More. But that said, i've also instinctual applied a level of details to all interface work that not everyone is attuned to with the main goal of a "pretty design".
Ask yourself which button below do you prefer?Which would you be more inclined to touch/click?
Can small design moves make items more approachable and interactable (is that a word?).
My instincts say hole-heartedly "hell yes". So I'll keep going with that assumption.
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Design is exceptionally important, in fact I'd say that the importance of the design scales exponentially as the object becomes more complex.
In interface design, the end-user experience can go two ways: a complex maze of trial and error, or an orderly and esthetically pleasing array of tools and possibilities.
Posted by benr on April 24, 2009 at 04:17 PM PDT #
Your example isn't really anything to do with "eye candy", which is, by definition, gratuitous.
Most people would be more inclined to click the button on the right because it looks more like something clickable, not because it's any nicer to look at.
Posted by 78.16.242.86 on April 24, 2009 at 05:12 PM PDT #