Spaces

Interaction Design November 27, 2007

Define spaces in your application.

Too many websites and desktop applications jumble everything else. Again, like a house floorplan, divide everything into spaces and figure out the 'transition functions' between them.

Think of traffic flow as it relates to kitchen design or general house design. Which are the important/most-used rooms? How many paths are there from one room to another?

Seriously - ever go into a house that has only one entrance to the living room? Personally, I feel blocked in. You should always have at least two entrances/exits to/from public spaces.

Okay, let's relate this to websites. Don't make a page that's only accessible from a series of clicks. Users should be able to view nearly every page through a small number of clicks. This means all the most-used pages need to be accessible from EVERY page. Smaller sub-pages should be only two clicks away. Once you pass three, you're on thin ice. You can easily lose your audience's attention this way.

That's why having search capabilities is great. Wouldn't it be neat if you could jump to any room in your house? You have that power with the Internet - so use it!

Confusion leads to abandonment. If your user is lost, he/she will probably just close the window and go to another site. Or buy another house.

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