8th
@Percolate is a fun new RSS reader that bubbles up content from my google reader in a concise and timely manner. Every afternoon at 4pm I expect my little brew. The metaphor really works here – I love it!
This morning I was pleasantly surprised by a Percolate email reporting someone was “following” me. I logged in to check out these newly implemented features but found myself taken aback by the typography.
Beautiful typography is not legible typography. This is a reader, you guys. Take it easy. Combining multiple @font-faces renders your product illegible. It’s disorienting to have a slab serif with a condensed sans-serif and a serif all in one segment of the feed. There’s also a whole set of light and bold weights and obnoxious kerning! How am I supposed to read ANYTHING? It may look beautiful but the design needs to be tempered with the user in mind.As designers, we need to be tuned in to the user and their needs. How do they interact with the product or space? What do they take away? There are numerous ongoing studies on how people consume text and products being developed in light of those results. Readability is a bookmarklet dedicated to helping people read lengthy articles on the web. OmmWriter is software that allows you to concentrate on writing by blocking extraneous windows from your screen. These products are telling – users need clarity, information in digestible bits (moderation), and focus.
