eric reiss@elreiss

bauhaus university27 january 2011

weimar, germany

a design manifestofor the interactive ageweb dogma

best prac·ticenoun

1 : best way of doing a thing2 : a tested idea, method, or device

in·no·va·tionnoun

1 : the introduction of something new2 : a new idea, method, or device

Three bad reasons to innovate

To differentiate your productTo be differentTo satisfy your ego

Experiment

Invention

Invention

Innovation

15 April 1912

Invention

Invention

to solve a problem!

There is only one reason to innovate…

Invention

Innovation Lifecycle

Innovation

Best practice

Habit

Innovation

Best practice

Fashion

Old-fashioned

Time

Pro

gres

s

best practice vs. innovation

People

Processes

Technologies

dog·manoun

1 : a tenent or code of tenents

2 : a doctrine or body of doctrinesformally proclaimed by a church

Skiing attire today

Walter Gropius, 1932(tie and cufflinks?)

Times change. But we still stand on long boards and carry poles.

And fashions change online, too…“Links should be blue and underlined”“Flash is 98% bad”“Text should be no more than 10 lines”

The questions:

Is fashion avoidable in adesign philosophy?

Does technology always drive design?

The 1919 Bauhaus Manifesto

The 1923 Bauhaus curriculum

Three “modern” lampsPoul Henningsen – 1927 (The “PH” lamp)

“Physics of light”Wilhelm Wagenfeld – 1924 (The “’Bauhaus” lamp)

“Geometry of form”George Best – 1928 (The “Bestlite”)

“Innovative production methods”

Three Danish water pitchersHolmegaard Glassworks – circa 1880Henning Koppel for Georg Jensen – 1956Erik Magnussen for Stelton – 1975

What do they have in common?

Each is a container featuring a handle and a spout!

Do design rules stifle creativity?

NO!

But only when the rules build on generic principles.

(easier said than done)

The concept

Create a set of best practicesthat transcend both technology

and fashion

1. Anything that exists only to satisfy the internal politics of the site owner must be eliminated.

1.

S E

1. Anything that exists only to satisfy the ego of the designer must be eliminated.

2.

1. Anything that is irrelevant within the context of the page must be eliminated.

3.

1. Any feature or technique that reduces the visitor’s ability to navigate freely must be eliminated.

4.

1. Any interactive object that forces the visitor to guess its meaning must be eliminated.

5.

1. No software, apart from the browser itself, must be required to get the site to work correctly.

6.

1. Content must be readable first, printable second, downloadable third.

7.

2006

2008

2010

1. Usability must never be sacrificed for the sake of a style guide.

8.

1. No visitor must be forced to register or surrender personal data unless the site owner is unable to provide a service or complete a transaction without it.

9.

1. Break any of these rules sooner than do anything outright barbarous!

10.

George Orwell

Author: Animal Farm, “1984”

Please visit: www.wordsatplay.com

If we do not demand better websites,we will never get them.

Don’t just prevent bad things from happening,you can make wonderful things happen.

Danke!

Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at:The FatDUX Group ApSStrandøre 152100 CopenhagenDenmark

Office: (+45) 39 29 67 77Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44Twitter: @elreissinfo@fatdux.comwww.fatdux.com