Joel Spolsky attempts to deconstruct the winning characteristics of of what he terms Blue Chip products (iPods, Julia Roberts etc.). Spolsky hypothesises a 'Formula' for good products and services - making people happy, creating an emotional connection and obsessing over aesthetics
- Reddit.com - the cartoon mascots and karma points creates an emotional bond with the user.
- Motorola's PEBL - this phone's surface is highly 'fondle-able', like a real pebble :)
Spolsky cheekily highlights three trends in web design over 2005 - ugly ugly and ugly! Berating designers for seeking to emulate Google with the pastel Arial aesthetics - essentially copying the wrong part of Google's design. Google's design only makes sense as an aesthetic statement when contrasted with older cluttered portal layouts. He's not impressed :)
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