What I learned from Jeff Veen and Hay Net
We design websites for people. Well at least that’s who I thought we were suppose to be designing for. Anyway, when I browse the web I see a bunch of cluttered up web pages and unwelcoming copy text. Somewhere along the road the user has been cast aside for personal agendas, corporate politics, intrusive marketing tactics or some other reason. A lot of sites try and fill every inch of the page with as much information as they can, creating a confusing message that leaves the user unsure of what they need to do or where they need to go.
Where did simplicity go? Jeff Veen provided a brilliant example of good web design by showing us a picture of the old Hay Net website. He said people come to Hay Net for 2 reasons, they either have hay or need hay. So what does Hay Net do? They provide their users with 2 options of have hay or need hay. Brilliant. Perhaps we should keep this in mind when we are designing web sites.
I now present you with Hay Net.
* Update: It’s a shame the new Hay Net site decided to clutter things up.