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by John Topley.
Original Post: Design 102: Don't Punish The User
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I wrote previously about how white space is just as important in good user interface design as the content itself. Whilst booking some concert tickets recently using the TicketMaster website, I came across another example of bad design. In this case all I had done was opt for standing tickets to be sent to me via normal post (not registered delivery). This is what happened:
Click to enlarge.
—The problem here is that the user is being punished for making a perfectly legitimate choice. It's better to prevent the user from getting into trouble in the first place than berating them when they inevitably do so.
If the website was clever enough to recognise that I'd made an invalid selection, why did it not only let me but also tell me how to correct the mistake, instead of just preventing it from happening in the first place? And there was really NO NEED TO SHOUT AT ME.
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