Design lessons: The KISS Principle

I had to do a video post on this to really drive the point home:

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1:05 – I read some nonsensical passages from the manual (not as boring as it sounds).

2:18 – How stupid you make a person feel while using your product or website is directly in proportion to how much they’ll hate you.

3:20 – We look at the laughable design of the remote.

Denon did a terrible job with their design, and they desperately need to implement the KISS principle into every facet of their users’ experience.  In fact, most businesses need to do that.

Apple, of course, is known for their great design.  They take into account the amount of joy a user will get in setting up their products.  What’s usually the most painful part of the process is turned into a delightful experience.   That’s why they have so many evangelists — they remove the pain from industries that are ripe with painful experiences.

What’s painful for your customers when they’re using your website? Is your color scheme visually offensive?  Is there unexpected sound?  Do your links lead to dead-ends?  Do you have too much text?  Is your call-to action missing on some pages?  Are your images lame?   Do you force your visitors to sit through annoying flash?  (Sidenote: if you have any flash at all, it’s probably annoying)

Most importantly, is your web designer on methamphetamines?

It astounds me how few companies have actually tried making their site fun and intuitive to use.  Small design tweaks can make a huge impact on your bottom line, no matter what industry you’re in.

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For website inspiration: click here.