37signals at MIMA
November 17, 2004Return to blog homepage
This morning I had the pleasure of seeing Jason Fried of 37signals present at a MIMA event at the JJ Hill Library in Saint Paul. A beautiful setting for a great presentation!
Fried gave an overview of topics covered in their new book, Defensive Design for the Web, and fielded several questions from the audience. Some topics of discussion: handling of Web server error messages (404, etc), properly guiding visitors when errors occur, and consistent labeling of error messages compared to the rest of the site's interface.
Some interesting tidbits I gleaned from the presentation that might benefit others:
- Don't let tech people write copy.
- If you're using tools that make defensive design difficult (shopping carts, etc), provide constructive criticism to the author. It's in their best interest to listen and improve their products.
- Video sessions are invaluable for usability testing
- "Easy things should be easy and hard things should be possible." A great proverb for user interface design!
- 37signals namesake is in reference to the '37 signals' from satelites that are unidentified. (relating to SETI, UFO, etc)
It was a treat to have someone as decorated as Jason make the trek up north; I was very excited to see Saint Paul on his list of speaking engagements. The work 37signals does is a great asset to the Web community as a whole. Their techniques and expertise make the Internet a better place, and it's a great encouragement to witness their enthusiasm for the Web.
An aside: I received a $23 parking violation due to my efforts to park as close to the venue as possible. Needless to say I was out of pocket change. Well worth the dough!
