Pretty is a feature

Posted by richard on February 1, 2012

Spending most of my working life in a terminal window, editing configuration files and reading logs, I am duped into believing in "function over form".
I would like to believe that this is always the case. In reality, first impressions count and what something looks like and how people feel about something are often more important than how it actually works.

This is a shame and I often complain that we should be more critical and judge products and services on their delivered merits rather than the hype that surrounds them.
I think I have kicked back against prettiness but it is not something that can be dismissed.

This is a new website and one which I want to do well. I have been asking people, for feedback. I was expecting comments relating to spelling errors, the topics covered, how the site was laid out and so on.
Without exception, all feedback has been about the design. It is evident to me that the appearance is a bigger factor than the actual content.

This goes against my view of things but there is no escaping that I will have to work harder on making it pretty too.

If you have any comments about this site, I would really like to hear them.

UPDATE: 1st February

This evening I have switched to an existing theme from the Concrete5 Market Place.

Now the site uses Boldy theme. The least I can do is to encourage you to visit Michael Krasnow's website. He has done a fantastic job.