A Lesson to Learn from Web Design

I make this complaint every single time I watch a DVD. Why do I have to skip through all these advertisements? I paid for this, don’t advertise to me. I understand when I watch network TV. You watch ads because the content is free. Understood. When you drop $20 for a DVD though, why should you have watch any ad at all involuntarily? And when the skip forward button is disabled, the steam coming out of my ears just grows thicker.

The same is true in video games. Every time I fire up Guitar Hero III, I have to click through every stupid intro for every company that threw a little money at the project. And that game cost me $50. Even less excusable.

And it happened in web design. Flash intros. We all remember them. They seemed like a cool idea. Everyone had them. But we all learned our lesson there. They are a waste of time, no one wants to watch them, and they quickly lose viewers. And because feedback is so much easier on the web, the trend died. Rarely ever will you see a flash intro anymore. And that’s a beautiful thing.

So why does it continue with offline media?

Well the answer I see is this: They already have your money. You paid for that DVD, you’re not just going to take it out of your DVD player and throw it in the dumpster. You’re going to grin and bear it, pushing yourself through the previews and ads until you finally get to the content you paid for.

Hopefully we won’t have to put up with it much longer though. With platforms like iTunes, where you can buy your content digitally, the idea of seeing an ad in a video you paid for is almost unheard of. Would you ever buy an episode of The Office if you had to skip through previews of every new show on NBC first? I would hope not. And I think the answer is a big no. Especially with 30 seconds previews before you buy and a blogosphere that can keep us so well informed.

And whether digital sales will kill offline media slowly or quickly, I just hope they learn their lesson sooner rather than later. Design your media like you would for the web. Design like your customer will leave if they’re unhappy, and you’ll have a happier customer. Why would you ever want someone to greet your product with frustration? Remember, design what you know they want. Everyone wants less frustration.