July 09, 2003
Looks are Everything?
Clun Castle, South Shropshire is a magnificant sight (and site). Currently looked after by English heritage, it occupies centre spot in a pictureseque English village, in the Welsh Marches (border) area.
For some reason I remembered the caption that sits below the keep (from where the photo is taken), which outlines how Clun is built to look good. Despite appearing formidable, it wasn't actually very defensible, it was all show.
When I developed the first intranet within the company, I had this kind of argument all the time - "make it look good", "I want flash", "I want art work."
Okay... Why? What is your site for? How does it help the user? What benefit to me is having flash/art work?
Now I'm not saying things shouldn't be aesthetically pleasing but something has got to have the right functionality otherwise it just isn't going to be of use.
Clun Castle, actually would have been useless a century or so before it was built, but it was right for its time. It is still very impressive and beautiful.
Posted by Paul Goodison at July 9, 2003 11:17 PM | TrackBack