I'm in the process of doing a Heuristic Usability Evaluation of a software product for a potential client. The software product is a tool that enables non-programmers to build web applications... pretty cool stuff.
As part of the review, I'm doing a comparative study of some other sites. As I was capturing some screen shots, I realized that in addition to attractive design improving usability, so can language.
I know, obvious, right?
With the web today, it's best to make a site task-based. Navigation for a task-based system should follow the Verb-Article-Noun naming convention: e.g. Add to Cart, Proceed to Checkout, etc.
As I was capturing some of these screen shots, I noticed some good examples of that naming convention and some that were outstanding.
In the user interface of Coghead, for example, the main action is "Build an Application".
In the user interface of Typepad, one of the main actions is "Create a Post". They could have named it "Write a Post", but "Create" is better, isn't it? Writing is work. Creating is expressing. It's a subtle (semantic) difference that I think makes all the difference in the world.
I'm not picking on Coghead here, please don't think that or flame me... but they should rename "Build..." to "Create...". Building is hard work, what frame of mind am I going to be in when I know I've got to Build something vs. Create something?
Another example I like is "Discover" instead of "Learn". Discover implies being first to find something, learning requires effort.
What do you think? Do you think that language improves the usability of things? What are some examples you can think of?
Hey Jon,
First off... love the pic!! Nice to finally put a face with the friendly name... :-)
Language is such a powerful force. I'm reminded of a marketing colleague who was approached by the Republican party a few years ago, when they were having trouble passing a bill in California. They called it "The Defense of Marriage Act." My colleague said, "Change one word... make it 'Protection,' not 'Defense.'
The bill passed by a landslide.
Good, bad or ugly... words make a difference.
Posted by: Michele | October 29, 2006 at 08:04 PM
Michele,
Thank you! Been meaning to add a pic for a while, finally got around to it... ;-)
Yeah, great example!
There is a great quote that I heard Fouro say once and have since heard it elsewhere: "Language is like fire; it can heat your house or it can burn it down".
Very powerful stuff!
Thank you for the comment!
Jon
Posted by: Jon Strande | October 29, 2006 at 10:03 PM
Jon,
I see that you grew the obligatory Usability Expert facial hair. Good work!
Fouro had it right about language. The trick is that everyone has experiences and perceptions associated with specific words. Some are cultural and thus you may be able to inductively reason what they will be. But others are individual and that's where you can get burned. For example, employees at American Express might not like the word 'Discover' because they associate it with a competitor! However, I think that in most cases people don't put a copywriter's eye to the language in their application, but could certainly benefit from doing so. I know I'll be paying more attention in the future!
Mike
Posted by: Mike | November 01, 2006 at 12:32 PM
Mike,
Oh yeah, got to look the part, right? ;-)
Great point about the Amex/Discover thing.
Perhaps I could great a presentation that discusses this using images of Noam Chomsky and George Lakoff... oh wait, I'm not smart enough to read those guys. DOH! ;-)
Jon
Posted by: Jon | November 01, 2006 at 05:12 PM
Touche! because neither am I. Reading the Pinker/Lakoff exchange made my head throb incessantly until I made appropriate malty chemical adjustments!
Posted by: Mike | November 01, 2006 at 11:58 PM