Importance of Style
People, for the most part, like to see very cool websites.
A website is a content delivery device above all else. This is why accessibility and usability are important concerns. Without these attributes a website, any website, will not fulfill its purpose. It may as well be kept on a local computer. This is logical thinking, right? So why is style important? Where does this seemingly emotional aspect of design fit in?
Web accessibility and usability are all about utility. Elements placed where people look for them in a universally-understood way. Using Contact, for example, instead of Holla! Little common-sense things, actually. Utility can be boring. It can be the anti-style. And sometimes this works, while other times it falls short. Not addressing style is chancy. Take a look at the world of automobiles. Some vehicles speak only of utility. Sometimes this utility can catch on as popular style. Look at the Jeep, for example. It’s all about utility over style, yet it’s a vehicle many people love — for its style. It tugged at the heart-strings of US Servicemen originally. From there it seeped into the mainstream. For Jeep this worked, but the real hot sellers will have great paint jobs and nice fabrics in their interiors. And, don’t forget those coveted cup-holders. Why? People like style with their utility. And they also like utility with their style.
This is no different on the web. People, for the most part, like to see very cool websites. But they insist on being able to understand the underlying organization so they can negotiate the site and extract from it what they seek. Accessibility and usability. They want Jeep-like utility, but they want it to look good and need to have convenient cup-holders in all the right places. People are like that. We cling to familiarity, but we seek the exotic, all at the same time. We’re emotional and in love with colors and imagery. It’s nature’s appeal, if you will. So, fellow developers, this is just food for thought, but get out there and add fur-lined cup-holders to your next project. And keep submitting those sites!
