ROI in UI

By Andrés Zapata, D.Sc. \ July 24, 2006

Mike Padilla from Digital Web Magazine wrote a great (and courageous) article on the compromises that we often make as UI designers.

In “User Interface Design – Taking the Good with the Bad” Mike writes about the impossible decisions we often have to make. I found this read very interesting for several reasons. Mainly because some of the issues covered we all know to be true, but never really feel like we can talk about them freely.

For example, it turns out there is no such thing as a “silver bullet” or the “killer design.” These things are for sales guys to promise and for designers to improve their poker face when they have to stand behind their designs as “perfect.”

The truth is that in an imperfect industry, governed by imperfect constraints, design becomes a point of analysis, and yes, compromise.

There is a pro to every con to every design decision we make. The pros and cons stack up to cost – both financial and cognitive. Mike gives us a good discussion about these decisions, and the framework to develop your own ruler to measure your designs decision’s ROI.