Usability Views Article Details  home | timeline | recent | popular | e-reports | userati | books | about  Designing User Experiences for Applications Versus Information Resources on the Web (09 Jan 2006) Application design is about tools - the more robust and rugged, the better. When a user wants a specific function, she expects it to be where she left it, for it to behave the same way each time, and for it to remain available no matter from which direction she approaches it. A tool’s primary value is not as an element in a landscape. Users measure a tool’s value by its appropriate usefulness within a current context. In highly utilitarian environments, highly graphical attractors become superfluous. Instead, the goal of visual design is to minimize competition for user attention by creating integrated work environments that enhance the utility of each function or tool. Add this article to Del.icio.us Article URL: http://www.uxmatters.com/MT/archives/000063.php Read 25 more articles from User Experience Matters sorted by date, popularity, or title. Next Article: Local Authorities in Britain meet e-Service Delivery Deadline          Books about Usability | Information Architecture | Information Visualisation | Technology History This site is a labour of love built by Chris McEvoy

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