Here you got to the root of the problem on the Israeli web design market. When the person responicble for the design of the major government or financial organisation says you the site is "dull" and suggests to add more colors and a couple of animations - all you can do is either go work in other business or think "I'm going to have so much bad carma that I would be lucky to be a worm in the next life" and go and do it and to hell with all freaks that would not like it. They don't pay your bills - the bored site manager does.
Amen to that. I felt exactly like that last time I had to add a "no right click" javascript to our web site... Ugh, ugh, ugh. I sit and write beautiful PHP scripts with only the bear essentials in Javascript (actually, everything I write myself works even if you have Javascript turned off), and then comes our HTML designer, sticks a lot of Ugly pop-up windows, banner changers and stuff over it, and when he can't find the right instant script on the web, the CEO gets me to do it. Despite my loud pleas. Baaaaad Karma.
Moral of the story: managerial types like gadgets. That's why they have cellphones which sing, dance and take (crappy) photographs, while we use the same old strictly-talk-and-sms blobs until they break. That's why PowerPoint was invented (I can't think of a presentation which would require more than some text and a few illustrations, why on Earth should the next slide morph in and the lines of text fall from the sky into the frame? And it's not Microsoft's fault. These things existed in HyperCard 12 years ago). Managers want to have things that play in the background, a different navigation system on every page (And Flash is there for them always), and so on, 'cause it's cool and shows that we're really technologically advanced.
Do you have a Yes TV box? Try switching to Music Select. Almost a third of the screen is wasted on fluff. There are actual pictures of faces which change as you go from menu to menu. This in an interactive application with much less screen real-estate than we are used to in web design. Somebody made that decision, it's not accidental. It's not some kid adding fluff and then the customers dumbly accepting it. It's the other way around - the managers saw the nice, working prototype. "Oh yes, this is great!" they said. "Now just add some animation there. And colors. Preferably Acid Green and Lime".
We need to help managers focus on usability, by convincing them that it will work for them, too ("Less need to upgrade! And all those additional customers who can use your site! And less technical support calls!"). For some (like the CEO from above) it's hopeless.
Herouth -- EMAIL: [EMAIL PROTECTED] HOME PAGE: http://herouth.port5.com/
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