Joshua Porter at User Interface Engineering notes:

You’ve got to hand it to MySpace. The designers there have done the impossible: they’ve created a site that tramples on the aesthetic sensibilities of nearly everyone while continuing to grow and be successful.

Then he explains why MySpace is good for design. The reason, in a nutshell, is that MySpace actually provides value to its users:

The conversations that I’ve had with MySpace users has really changed the way I think about design…as well as the entire value proposition of social software.

In other words, MySpace is good for design, because it forces us to re-evaluate our own views. It forces us to question the very concept of “good design.” Good design isn’t necessarily pretty, but it’s always effective. It may offend our sensibilities, but it caters to our customers’.

MySpace has already grown into a major force on the Internet. And they still ignore the graphic designers. How much more so for a small-business website to do so? Throw away everything you think you know about how your website should look. And ask your customers, because they’re the ones who will make it work. Or not.

Or at least that’s what I tell my clients. What do you think? Is there anything to this advice?

-TimK

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