[IxDA Discuss] product SUITE design

[Wilson, Russell]

Exactly (regarding similarity versus the same)!
I've been saying that internally for some time!



-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Tuminello [mailto:mt at motiontek.com] 
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2007 11:53 AM
To: Wilson, Russell
Cc: IXDA list
Subject: Re: [IxDA Discuss] product SUITE design

Hi -

I would say that a particularly important place to be consistent  
would be where the applications share any sort of a common task - at  
the very basic level this extends to certain things that all  
applications have in common like copy and paste, which have  
consistent and expected behaviors and shortcuts (command/control c,  
command/control v)

I would first look at all the things the apps do in common (maybe  
browse for and load a file, or register online, for example) and make  
sure they happen the same way unless there is a good reason to make  
it different (in which case I would say you want to make it very  
noticeably different).  Finding all the commonalities and designing  
them first will make things consistent and will also save you work,  
as you will have "modules" for certain tasks.

The main thing I would try to avoid is to make things similar but not  
the same.  Then people think they know what they're getting and end  
up with something else.  If you can't make something like the  
navigation work the same, then differentiate it clearly enough that  
people do not expect it to act the same.

If it is, as you say, "so different", then I assume there is a good  
reason for it to be that way, and you are probably doing the right  
thing.

MT


On Aug 3, 2007, at 11:47 AM, Wilson, Russell wrote:

> I'm struggling a little with the design of a product suite.
>
>
>
> The products perform very different functions, but they do
>
> makeup a suite of tools that can be used in conjunction.
>
>
>
> The struggle is:
>
>
>
> 1)      What design elements (banners, navigation, interaction  
> patterns,
> etc.) should be the same?
>
> 2)      What can be different?  Can I have different navigation
> mechanisms for two tools in a suite?
>
> 3)      What is key (from a design perspective) to presenting a
> connected suite of tools?
>
>
>
> I tried at one point to fit all the products into one navigation  
> style,
> but for at least one
>
> of the products, I was sacrificing usability for the sake of
> consistency.  So, I can create "optimal"
>
> designs for each product, but how do I make them come together?
>
>
>
> My current gameplan involves making several mechanisms within the
> products consistent (the
>
> way a user expands a window, visual elements and icons, etc.), but the
> overall navigation is
>
> different.  To me, this "threads" the products together.  But I'm
> concerned that navigation is
>
> so different...
>
>
>
> The best design for a particular function VERSUS consistent  
> coordinated
> design???
>
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Russ
>
> blog:  http://www.dexodesign.com
>
>
>