Mashing Brand & Design: The squint test
The squint test is a method of usability evaluation. It’s pretty basic – look at a layout, squint your eyes and assess whether the product has good aesthetic integrity: predictable, organized, definable, clear, and flow-friendly. I’ve often used the squint test to also evaluate whether the GUI differentiates itself, or can be associated to a particular brand.
Brand is important to marketing – but it can also be useful to designers. It sets the tone and the expectations of the interaction between user and product. Google products – for the most part are successful at setting brand expectations: simple entry point, go deeper for advanced functionality. Adobe products also have a long history of GUI/brand consistency – power tools for professionals. In the web 2.0 world 37signals is a great example of GUI/brand identity. I’ve often heard “it’s like a 37signals product” when referring to usability. Business Week is quoted: “Basecamp is so simple you can’t do anything wrong. It’s addictively easy-to-use.â€
There’s that addiction thing again!
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