eBay graphic designers?
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- unknown0
My Mother helps
- jpowell0
gravityroom and ser have some very good points... ebay does want to look "cheap" so users think they are getting a good deal. it is also true that most users could care less about design.
it is our role as designers to increase the level of design regardless. we should want that much from a multi-million dollar online company.
- lovaboy0
you guys are really looking at it the wrong way. graphic design succeeds (or fails) insomuch as it succeeds in drilling the message it intends to convey into the brain of the consumer. A good web site not only conveys the company's message, but the visual design should help you quickly and easily get what you want from the site. when i go to ebay.com, my eye is instantly directed to the highlighted search box to the right of the screen. if i'm looking for something specific, i enter a term there. the second place i look is to the left, where a clearly delineated directory of items for sale greets my eye. i can see all my options at once, so that if i'm looking for, say, a DVD player, i don't have to take the time to think about what category the designer would have put it under. if that doesn't help, the central content of the page offers further help with current bargains and special deals to further entice me into the site. compare this to the ebay digital.com mockup. the search field, the most important feature of the page, is placed similarly, but is now so visually quiet that it hardly draws my attention. the directory function is relegated to a small collapsable menu where i can't see all my choices at once. the colors are drab and safe, rather than evoking the excitement of consumerism. the pixel font is hard to read and will - sorry, already does, look outdated. sorry, but given a choice as a consumer, i'll take the original ebay site.
- GooseAss0
well said lovaboy...
i would say this: ebay's graphic design is not strong, but the information architecture certainly is. in their case, information architecture is far more important than visual appeal.