January 20, 2005

Choice

Continuing on the simplicity theme:

From the Good Experience Blog, 'Interview: Barry Schwartz, author, "The Paradox of Choice"'

Q - How then should a store be designed?

There's no general answer except "restrict options" - though in what way depends on what you're selling.

For example, e-commerce sites should be designed so that the complexity is hidden, so that people who really care, or know a lot, can find their way to the complexity, and the rest of us who can't be bothered to find it, won't have to. That's how software, websites, and retail stores should be designed.