Should users be able to adjust a UI design to their preference?

After I read the following post, it sparked an even deeper thought.

From the Terminally Incoherent Blog:

Should people adapt to computers?
"There seems to be an interesting argument going lately. The topic that spurs this discussions is: “Should we expect people to adapt to complex user interfaces, or rather adapt user interfaces so that they are easy for people to use?”

I believe we need to ask a slightly different question regarding the future of online user experience design.

Just like our freedom to select a favorite Web browser or RSS reader, perhaps the future of Web 2.0 interaction design will allow users to remap any application or Website to their preferred GUI.

Today, content can be separated from form – XML and RSS, for example. Websites and various applications can parse this information and format it according to its own layout and UI standards.

What if UI design for 2.0 applications became standardized? Better yet, what if users demanded that a design adjust dynamically to their preferred layout? We already see a similar approach with customization options in everyday Web browsers, music players, and operating systems.

If we openly allow users to adjust the UI design we provide, are we removing the unique branded "soul" of applications and sites we build? Or would we be enhancing the experience by letting users to modify our designs to a consistent method they are familiar with?

This new demand could open an opportunity for certain brands to gain more market share. Companies focused on building great user experiences, such as Virgin, could provide a branded "standardized skin" that offers superior information management within a visually-rich online environment.

7 User Experience Lessons from the iPhone UX Team

Nice insight into how the iPhone's user experience was conceived.

Good Cultural Explanation of Web 2.0

This well-edited video from the Digital Ethnology Blog describes Web 2.0's popularity as something deeper than innovative technology.

Experimental UI Approach

Not exactly the best user experience I've seen, but it's kind of neat. Reminds me of Surface at bit.

What will Web 3.0 UI design standards be?

There has been a lot of discussion about Web 3.0 being more Web "3D".0, where humans surf virtual worlds instead of the 2D interfaces we use today. My experience has proven that translating the real-world "touch-and-feel" (like Second Life and Habbo Hotel) into practical daily interface usage is a big challenge (I've tried before without much success).

However, I do see Web 3.0 UI design standards governing a more 3D-like feel where movement on the screen mimics the physics we are used to in everyday life. This provides a psychological comfort factor and triggers an intuitive interaction with the UI.

Excerpt From Putting People First:
Second Thoughts on Second Life

"Leaving aside for now the discussion to what extent this is just negative hype, it does make sense to see Second Life as an experimental environment where we can prototype new interaction and communication paradigms. Experimenting in these virtual worlds can also help us understand and imagine a future where a mix of real and virtual worlds will become increasingly prevalent."

I agree that the only way to find out what will work in Web 3.0 is by experimentation. I'm sure we'll start seeing simple, clever UI ideas from innovative designers where we'll slap our forehead saying, "Why did I think of that?"

Google CEO Tries to Explain Web 3.0

Not a bad of a description of what Web 3.0 could be like:

Don’t Let Branding Kill Your Brand

Excerpt from UX Magazine:

I've been saying this for years. Well done.

"User experience IS your brand

Of all the arguments for modifying brand attributes to better suit a digital experience, the most compelling is this: The way users feel about their experience is inseparable from the way they feel about your brand.

This maxim holds true for brick-and-mortar experiences as well as for digital interactions. A restaurant with great food but incredibly long lines and a bad wait staff will experience brand damage. The user experience is bad, and people will look elsewhere. The same thing will happen if your users get baffled by confusing menus, hard-to-read text, and perplexing layouts. The user experience is bad, and people will look elsewhere.

The way a user feels when they come in contact with a brand interaction point will implicitly shape their image of the brand itself. This realization is a powerful tool for user experience professionals and can help snap clients and peers out of static thinking."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

World's Top 10 User Experience Gurus

From E-consultancy.com:

"For those who haven't seen the Usability and User Experience Report 2007, published this week in association with Bunnyfoot, we can now reveal the top 10 experts in this field -ranked by the number of survey respondents who mentioned their names (or their books).

Our Hall of Fame ....

1) Jakob Nielsen
2) Steve Krug
3) Jared Spool
4) Donald Norman
5) Jeffrey Veen
6) Jesse James Garrett
7) Louis Rosenfeld
8) Jenifer Tidwell
9) Seth Godin
10) Eisenberg brothers"

Although I have a great deal of respect for Seth, why is he on this list?

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Goodbye, User Experience Design. Hello, User Integration Design.

Emerging Web 3.0 technologies will eventually change the way users and businesses interact with one another online. But, will "Web surfing" be more intuitive in this new space?

In our current Web 2.0 world, the most compelling Web sites offer information in a fast and easily-digestible manner. For example, the innovative methods of AJAX and Flex applications offers non-refreshing browser windows and quick data calls. As users, we often don't see these subtleties, but we subconsciously appreciate the efficiency and will more than likely return to the site in the future.

So, where is online user experience design heading toward?

I scanned through cluttered MySpace pages, overwhelming Ebay auctions and media-packed news sites. Still, the shining star of user experience is Google's search page. Google has proven to us that a great online brand experience is not the design, but what it provides us when we want something. Type anything into the search field and you pretty much get what you're looking for very quickly – even if you spelled it wrong. Their brand's success is in the technology you don't see and the value it provides us in the moment.

How intuitive is Apple's new iPhone? I think we all agree it's pretty easy to use and beautifully designed, considering the other options in the market. I believe this better integration of hardware and software UI is a clear sign of things to come. More precisely, the UI we design needs to adopt to the environment and situation. To Steve Job's point, it was obvious to use your finger as the sylus for the iPhone because you always have it readily available.

I believe we'll find Web 3.0 will naturally transform User Experience Design into something called User Integration Design. Sites will become less cluttered, simpler and more contextual to us and our intention in the moment. Take for instance the Blade Runner movie. Harrison Ford walks into the kitchen and the lights automatically turn on. He walks out and the lights turn off. Simple, practical and elegant. If we think in this manner while we're designing the next Web, we'll unveil new ideas to enrich the online brand experience surfers will come to rely on.