“Form follows function – that has been misunderstood. Form and function should be one, joined in a spiritual union.”  – Frank Lloyd Wright

Here’s a great blog post explaining that good design focuses on meeting the needs of the user not just decoration and aesthetics. Many highly successful websites today (Google, Craig’s List, Apple) have few aesthetic embellishments. So are these utilitarian sites really “undesigned”? Or are they fulfilling users’ needs in by quickly providing easily readable information?

The author (Yaron Schoen) astutely argues that these sites are actually successful because they are “based on the essence of design” – they are uncluttered, easy to read, and full of white space which makes for an enjoyable reading experience. Schoen says, “This is good design, not undesigned. What may seem obvious for our print counter parts, we web folk (especially myself) are finally starting to understand what content design truly means and I think we should embrace this as a better evolution of web design.”

While it may look easy, it’s no simple task to plan and design websites that simply and quickly present information to users. Most websites you see today include unnecessary details, too much information, poor organization, and decorative ornamentation that decreases usability, confuses users, and negatively impacts the business success of the site.

When web teams focus first on meeting the user’s most pressing needs, then they can create a comprehensive and cohesive plan for a website where every element has an obvious purpose. Navigation, layout, and content (copy, graphics, etc) should steer users to readily get the information they are seeking and quickly accomplish tasks on the site. During design reviews with the web team and client, it’s important to keep asking “how does each element in this mock-up enhance the user experience and direct the user through the website?” If the element is just a decoration without a purpose, then it’s not necessary and probably shouldn’t be there. In this way, form will enable function, and the end result will accomplish its intended purpose.

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