‘Bred Crumbs

At a McDonald’s on Market, above the counter hangs an electronic sign, like the kind you see in post offices that flash old sports scores or unhelpfully vague news headlines at you. This one scrolls a message. It says:

WE DO NOT OFFER SINGLE LINE SERVICE. PLEASE FORM A LINE BEHIND ANY OPEN REGISTER.

You can read the sign easily — if you’re bored enough to resort to it — as you stand in the single line that the customers always form at this McDonald’s.

The customers aren’t stupid, or insolent. They’re just doing what they’ve become used to at every other fast-food place, customer-service counter, or coffee shop, because it works so well, because it’s so efficient. Sure, at the supermarket or the Target you have to endure that separate-line folderol, on account of all the giant merchandise-handling stations in the way. And bars? Don’t get me started. Unless you’re buying.) But just to order fast food? Please. It’s one line and next, next, next, baby.

The term "user interface" is usually thought of regarding websites and computer applications and maybe appliances, but here’s an instance of real-life UI. And the store is trying, and failing, to force a bad one on the store’s users. The bad UI has two key components: ill-conceived concept and ineffective presentation. It’s hard to fathom a reason for the desire to force multiple lines; the store’s square footage and shotgun layout only make the single line make more sense. It’s easier to imagine what goes on in a manager’s head that leads to the rule on the post-office sign: It’s red! It moves! That’ll make them pay attention! The same thing that goes through the head of the web design "expert" from marketing who demands that you put scrolling logos on the home page, or a marquee with news headlines, or anything blinking, or even a giant paragraph of text for every form field. At worst, these things annoy. At best, they are ignored. Just as web marketers have surely taught us, through their pushy ad tactics, that we can safely ignore the top inch and right third of the web page, government buildings have taught us that the box with the red moving text contains no information of importance. We gloss right over that bad boy.

Maybe one day, the management will notice this, and take down the sign. They’ve clearly already given up on the arbitrary rule. You’re not refused service if you stand in the single line. When one of the burgeristas finishes an order, she looks toward the head of that handy, handy line, and bids the visitor come. The sign means no more to her than it does to you. The good thing about this bad UI is that it is easily, utterly, wholeheartedly ignored.

What’s All This User-Interface Crap, Anyway?

This study of real-life UI is by way of introducing a topic that’s going to come up more on this blog. Because it’s what I do in the daytime. And, suddenly, it’s what I’ve been doing for years. In the past, I’ve hesitated to blog about it. Part of the reason is that I lumped it in, incorrectly, with all the detailed aspects of my job that I sensibly don’t talk about on the wild wild Web. But, I’ve realized, the confidential details of my duties are different things from the principles I apply to and discover in my job, and just as I depend on the views and solutions of other UI manipulators and website builders that I find when I research a problem, so too can I and should I share my knowledge.

And that knowledge is real. The other reason I’ve hesitated to blog about website building was insecurity, and a fear of superfluousness. With plenty of genuine experts holding court, what could I offer? The answer: confirmations. New angles on the questions. Additional pieces of the puzzle. This space may not (and by "may not," I mean "does not") carry the authoritative ballast of your Lists Apart and Berea Streets, but it could yet help someone solve a problem someday, and at the very least help me get my thoughts in order.

What does this mean for you, the reader? All one of you? Well, do the words "version targeting" get your blood boiling, or at least ring a bell of recognition? My opinion on the version-targeting controversy is forthcoming. You may be surprised how strong it isn’t.) Then you’ll want to keep an eye out here for entries with the tag "Web Building." Others will probably find joy in skipping these entries, but don’t worry, I’ll still make sure to take lots of breaks to complain about TV shows, or whatever it is I’ve been doing.