[Web4lib] Paradox of Choice

[Jonathan Rochkind]

At 1:43 PM -0400 8/2/06, Hankinson, Andrew wrote:
>So, yes, users get more freedom over choosing how their content is
>presented with a liquid layout, but really they don't care if the page
>is 800px wide or 2000px wide - they just want the content.  The

They care if the page is 2000px wide if their monitor is only 1000px wide.

So-called 'liquid layout' is as much about making the presentation 
work under the user's constraints as it is about giving the user 
choice.

A good liquid layout will still put in it's own constraints. I agree 
that the practice of good design is about making choices, not just 
providing the user with choices. A good layout, in my opinion, will 
for instance keep a column of text from getting so WIDE that it's too 
dificult to read, even if the user has their window at 2000px.  Even 
better than limiting the column size to pixels, you should make the 
limit based on the font-size (using 'ems'), becuase some user's 
require a larger font, and the maximum readable column is more pixels 
with a larger font.  There are guides on the web for doing all these 
things, although unfortunately inconsistent browser implementation 
makes them more trouble than they should be. But a good liquid layout 
does all of that. For example.

Whether in print or on the web, good design means making choices, 
implementing your own constraints.  I agree. But on the web, unlike 
in print, you can't be sure what constraints the user is operating 
under (or maybe it's just that the web has the potential to 
accomodate more constraints). It just seems obvious to me that good 
design on the web means a design that will work if the user has a 
small window, or if the user has a big window; or if the user is 
vision-impaired and needs to increase the size of the font; or use a 
screen-reader or a voice-input device.  Much of this is not about 
letting the user change things---it's about making the page work 
under the settings the user operates under and probably rarely or 
never changes (size of monitor, increased size of font, etc.).   Most 
of this is not about abdicating the designer's responsibility, in 
fact it gives the designer even greater responsibility to make sure 
the design works in a greater variety of environments.

Jonathan



>benevolent dictator part comes in where we give optimal environments
>based on research and understanding of information presentation, but we
>don't force the user - if they want to change it, they can.  I would be
>willing to bet 99% of users won't.
>
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