INTERACTIVE AXIOM #1: THE GRAND INTERACTIVE ORDER
THE USER IS YOUR KING.
YOU ARE THE SUBJECT.
Like it or not the User is in control. The User is the ultimate master. The User is King.
Those of us who create interactive experiences must accept our lowly positions in the Grand Interactive Order, serving, amusing, and satisfying; ready and able to wield every ton of technical prowess and creative ingenuity we can muster to completely conform to each user’s unique interest, desire, whim and disposition. To delight the user when she grows bored. To shuttle the user to the very thing she needs or wants instantly- with nary a second spent indulging interests of our own. Don't bow to this Axiom, and you will fail...
INTERACTIVE AXIOM #2: THE INTERACTIVE TRADE AGREEMENT
EVERY INTERACTIVE CONSTRUCT MUST PROVIDE REIMBURSEMENT OF VALUE EQUAL TO, OR IN EXCESS OF, THE USER’S SELF-APPRAISED INVESTMENT OF TIME, ATTENTION AND EFFORT OF ACTION.
All the rules of economics apply to this system- though nothing physical is exchanged. In this economic exchange the User must perceive being the inordinate beneficiary, where time, attention and action are His currency. Whereas, promise and (not "or") payoff of value are the currency of the Interactive content creator.
Ultimately value - and not the communication of value - is the light that attracts the moths in this system.
INTERACTIVE AXIOM #3 : EMBRACE THE LIMITATIONS
EMBRACE THE LIMITATIONS OF THE TECHNOLOGY
Arguably more commandment than axiom, this was, and still is, the most often repeated, most useful, and most practical axiom to come out of my years in interactive development. One might’ve called it “Embrace the way of the medium” but that does not honor the challenge in interactive where the technology - the very medium itself - constantly changes.
Embracing the limitations of the technology - as a fundamental part of your creative concept and execution - will make your work look, behave, and function better than the vast majority of the world's web sites, apps and other digital executions. Its quality will be on par with the best work in any medium.
INTERACTIVE AXIOM #4: USABILITY'S EQUIVALENT EXCHANGE
THE EASIER YOU WISH TO MAKE IT FOR YOUR USER THE HARDER AND MORE EXPENSIVE IT WILL BE FOR YOU TO CREATE.
This is a natural law in Interactive development; an equivalent exchange. And there is a point in the development of every project I have ever engaged in that this axiom hits the table.
It's ironic on some level that you, the developer and client, have to endure quite a lot of complexity, difficulty and cost - more than beginners initially expect - to make the user's experience conversely simpler and more effortless. But it's a fact.
INTERACTIVE AXIOM #5: THE DIGITAL CREATOR’S TRAP
TECHNICAL ADVANCEMENTS ARE NOT CREATIVE CONCEPTS
Ongoing advances in technology always open new possibilities for creatives and developers. It’s a way of life in digital media.
But do those exciting new advances make us better or worse at what we do? How do they challenge our inventiveness and our range of skills?
I hate to report, but the most exciting technical advancements in our medium today are a trap of a sort that critically limits how creative most of us are. And many are blind to it.
In fact you could be doing significantly better work than others in your field if you just change your mindset. And I want to help you do that.