User Interface design: Google gets it right

The latest google friends newsletter draws attention to why google gets user interface design right, in a world where 99% of interfaces are wrong.

Google posted their list of user experience aspirations to the public. I think they got the order of priority right as well, since their bullets number 1, 2, and 3 are things which you'll regularly hear me lecturing my wife, children & friends about (much to their dismay).

1. Focus on people
2. Every millisecond counts
3. Simplicity is powerful

That's obvious enough - build fast, simple interfaces that work the way the user wants them to. How come only Google (and perhaps Apple) seem to be able to master this?

Flexibility is key, too, but you can provide power while maintaining simplicity through good design. I look at interface design a lot like building a Huffman Tree - you provide the smallest number of steps to accomplish this most frequently required tasks.

I could write a whole series on interface design flaws I observe every day. It's not limited to software, either. It's not even limited to electronics & mechanics. My home builder installed a perfectly smooth spherical knob on the shower exit door, guaranteeing the user no traction when twisting the knob to get out. This is terrible in a location where the users hands are always wet.