Removing ego from design

One of the most difficult aspects of any web design project is reconciling the goals of the designer with the goals of the audience. (And by "designer," I am including everyone involved in the design process, including the client, the design agency, etc.) This is so difficult because the goals of the designer include so many facets -- the client wants to get more money coming in, the agency wants to please the client to get more work in the future, the creative director wants to wow other creative types with his/her vision and maybe win an award, etc. And amidst all of that as well are political power plays, internal arguments, and some "selective hearing" when it comes to research and statistics that don't support their individual goals. (I speak of no particular agency or experience here -- these are accumulated observations.)

The whole rigmarole can be a bit exhausting and it is very easy to get caught up in the "designer" side of things. It all seems quite serious - to step back and think about the fact that people can get into shouting matches over a single word on a website (I've seen it happen) - I don't know, it seems like the perspective is off. People take these battles very personally, and fight for things because they want them, or because it means something to them, and it's easy to forget that all that really matters is whether or not somebody going to your website is going to have a good experience.

This is why I've found it so valuable, in my own work, to start viewing the work I do as completely separate from who I am. Much of what I design is based on research - knowing what works and what doesn't - but there is not enough research in the world to make every decision foolproof. If something was a subjective call, or I designed based on a hunch, and someone takes issue, I'll explain my viewpoint but recognize that if I don't have an empirical study to back it up, it's really just an opinion.

In addition, when working in a group environment, letting go of ego can make the brainstorming and overall creative process a lot more open. An idea prefaced with "this may be stupid, but..." could end up being the best idea of the day, while one that someone thinks is surefire could be quickly tossed out as the details are thought out further. When ego is involved, the initial "stupid" idea might never be brought up for fear of a negative reaction, while the "surefire" idea might be fought for tooth-and-nail to the detriment of better options. Letting go of ego - where you perceive comments about your idea as a comments about you - switches the emphasis to the ideas, not the people.

This ends up being quite liberating in the long run, because not only does it make it easier to edit and adapt your design as more learnings come in, it also makes you focus more on what will best serve the end user. And in the end, that's really the truest measure of a successful design.

The best restaurant site I've seen in a long time

I live not too far from a little pizza place called Emilio's. The other day I was looking through the handful of delivery menus I have and realized I didn't have one for Emilio's, so I figured I'd check online to see what they had.

It took a few clicks to find their site (Google didn't surface it to the top like I'd hope), but once I did, I practically jumped up and down for joy. This one page is their whole website:


(Click to enlarge it, or just visit it here: www.emiliospizzaboston.com)

Okay, so, obviously this is not the prettiest website, but from a usability standpoint I was so happy to see an eatery get it right for once. There are pretty much three main reasons why you'd want to visit a delivery restaurant's website:

-What's on their menu? (And how much does it cost?)
-Where are they located?
-What's the phone number to place an order? (Or for fancier restaurants, to make a reservation)

What does the site for Emilio's offer? A direct link to the menu, their address, and their phone number in large text. No marketing gobbledygook statement from the owner. No pages about atmosphere. No unintuitive naming conventions (everyone knows the word "Menu," so calling it "Food" or "Cuisine" or something cutesy like "Tasty Nibbles" just ends up being confusing).

And furthermore, finding the menu didn't require me to click a location, then click a time of day (brunch, dinner, etc.), then click further into another sub-set of pages for "appetizers," "entrees," etc. I just got the whole menu right away, which is exactly what I wanted.

There are definitely more things the site could offer that would be helpful - hours, a link to a map next to the address, maybe a picture or two of the place (and if it was a fancier restaurant, probably information about reservations and maybe some press reviews), but the essentials were right there. It could also certainly be more visually appealing, but the fact is I found exactly what I was looking for within a split second of landing on the site, which is worth so much more than looking pretty.