Game-day: your clutter is not my clutter
>> 01 September 2008
37Signals' Ryan Singer joined the controversy over the TripLog/1040 iPhone app's UI. Critics have faulted it as cluttered and, not to put too fine a point on it, ugly. Ryan points out that the designer made a concious tradeoff in order to meet user requirements for fast access to the two most common actions.
TripLog/1040 is a model of concision compared to real-time game trackers now common on professional sports Web sites such as the NFL Game Centers, the PGA shot tracker, and MLB Gameday. These applications provide a dynamic dashboard that gives direct access to scores, lineups, play-by-play in text and graphics, individual and team stats, and all manner of other information depending on the sport. Although they aren't mobile apps like TripLog/1040, they do illustrate that sometimes a UI needs to have a lot going on if it's going to meet users' expectations.
These applications are targeted at the needs of serious (read motivated and engaged) fans, whether of a team or a sport. They assume the viewer has a certain minimum of domain knowledge, enough to expect certain kinds of information. Furthermore, sports have long-standing conventions for representing game data with which they viewer may be assumed to be familiar. Event viewers are accustomed to processing several streams of information as they watch a game or event - at minimum the action and the scoreboard, with additional information that varies with venue or medium. Many also have their own collection of facts, stats, and other contextual information at the ready, either in their own memories or their co-viewers'. Some watch multiple events at the same time, through premium broadcast packages or using picture-in-picture, or simply timeslicing their attention to various broadcasts.
Game-tracking applications reproduce this rich information context on the Web. As a standalone experience, the applications re-create the suspense, anticipation, and armchair analysis parts of the sports-watching experience. They can also supplement individual or shared viewing experiences as information resources. Because the user doesn't have to navigate a page stack, the user can enjoy the experience rather than hunt - or wait - for hidden information. On the other hand, supplemental information is available on demand. Fans can explore it at will, for example, during breaks in the action, to get context for the next action, or to try to anticipate a team's next strategic moves.
If these applications were less "cluttered" they would also be less useful, possibly to the point of failing utterly to achieve their purpose. Game-day applications intentionally create a rich information context that match the needs and characteristics of the audience, and masterfully leverage the existing cultural context in which sports are played and experienced.
TripLog/1040 is a model of concision compared to real-time game trackers now common on professional sports Web sites such as the NFL Game Centers, the PGA shot tracker, and MLB Gameday. These applications provide a dynamic dashboard that gives direct access to scores, lineups, play-by-play in text and graphics, individual and team stats, and all manner of other information depending on the sport. Although they aren't mobile apps like TripLog/1040, they do illustrate that sometimes a UI needs to have a lot going on if it's going to meet users' expectations.
These applications are targeted at the needs of serious (read motivated and engaged) fans, whether of a team or a sport. They assume the viewer has a certain minimum of domain knowledge, enough to expect certain kinds of information. Furthermore, sports have long-standing conventions for representing game data with which they viewer may be assumed to be familiar. Event viewers are accustomed to processing several streams of information as they watch a game or event - at minimum the action and the scoreboard, with additional information that varies with venue or medium. Many also have their own collection of facts, stats, and other contextual information at the ready, either in their own memories or their co-viewers'. Some watch multiple events at the same time, through premium broadcast packages or using picture-in-picture, or simply timeslicing their attention to various broadcasts.
Game-tracking applications reproduce this rich information context on the Web. As a standalone experience, the applications re-create the suspense, anticipation, and armchair analysis parts of the sports-watching experience. They can also supplement individual or shared viewing experiences as information resources. Because the user doesn't have to navigate a page stack, the user can enjoy the experience rather than hunt - or wait - for hidden information. On the other hand, supplemental information is available on demand. Fans can explore it at will, for example, during breaks in the action, to get context for the next action, or to try to anticipate a team's next strategic moves.
If these applications were less "cluttered" they would also be less useful, possibly to the point of failing utterly to achieve their purpose. Game-day applications intentionally create a rich information context that match the needs and characteristics of the audience, and masterfully leverage the existing cultural context in which sports are played and experienced.
