Bauhous and Google products
Actually I like Google products over a lot of others. But there’s something out there makes me not a big fan of it. Eventually I cannot endure it anymore and decide to write something. I think Google, being considered as one of the leading software companies in the world, has the responsibility to make their product user experience not suck, not only in terms of usability, but of aesthetics.
If everybody is using Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Doc, we begin to lose our control over our choices of web applications, just as we have to use Windows OS. So welcome to a software modernism age. Welcome Google’s fast-food web apps. Keep Google Bauhaus design doctrine in mind: “Our Web Apps are so simple, secure and fast, that’s all you need for your Internet.”
Is simple, secure and fast all we want? If design is about the value,not the truth, where can we target our values in this fast-food software culture? When can a piece of software become a form of art, bringing people altimate enjoyment?When can a web Apps functions beyond a tool, behave like a digital being or digital asistant that help us in an interesting and considerate way? Can softare have personalities, catering to their master(user)’s ever-changing needs and interests? Google basically ignores all of those possibilities and proves itself proudly: A group of engineers, make softwares, work hard to make every engineer happy, and change every Internet user to a engineer.
This is just my take on it but I think you’re giving engineers a bad name. I believe google’s “design” is driven by a lack of talent and excessive cheapness rather than a UI designed by engineers for engineers. To put it another way, the original google team had the UE talent of a dead racoon so they made an html 1 web site (thank god they missed the blink tag). Fast forward to today and in a mix of not wanting to admit they sucked and not wanting to spend money on UE they attempt to fabricate value in this craptacular design by claiming they did it on purpose and trying to put some kind of “less is more” spin on it.
Typo:
When can a web Apps functions beyond a tool, behave like a digital being or digital asistant that help us in an interesting and considerate way? Can *softare* have personalities, catering to their master(user)’s ever-changing needs and interests?
*software
Truth??……….. In today’s age the definition of truth has become whatever the majority wants………. And as long as the fast food culture is deemed the highway of life, there will be crappy apps………But the good side of it is these crappy apps have a short life………. If you are any kind of truth seeker at all…… then ye shall win in the long run……
Douglas Bowman, Google’s lead visual designer, just left the company, and his farewell post reminded me of this one:
http://stopdesign.com/archive/2009/03/20/goodbye-google.html
Interesting stuff. I’ve actually generally been a fan of Google’s UX from a purely cognetic standpoint; their interfaces tend to e.g. support undo, prefer non-modal messaging over dialog boxes, and so forth. But their visual design is definitely uninspiring.
Er, by “reminded me of this one” I meant that the Google designer’s post reminded me of Wei’s post. That was worded oddly.