This topic is something I’ve had on my “to write” list for a while, and it is mostly just some conjecture about living spaces and how they are arranged. While this isn’t directly related to web design or programming, it is very applicable, as interior design still requires many similar considerations (albeit via a more physical media).
I live (right now) in a dormitory suite setting: a “common room,” with bedrooms accessible through a hallway off of the common room. When I first moved into this suite with my suitemates, the inevitable topic comes up: “How do you want to arrange the room?” As I’m sure you can guess, everyone has a different opinion and taste when it comes to interior design.
Personally, I’m a minimalist. Organize things smartly, increase the amount of empty space, but without making the space seem unwelcoming – zen-like, if you will. Other people, though, tend toward the cluttered side of arrangements. This is when something really became prominent to me - spaces need to—not just should—be “intentional” as opposed to “accidental.” The way in which a room is arranged is important to the image it portrays, as well as the way in which people interact with the room; that much is very obvious to most everyone. What isn’t necessarily as obvious is that the space, especially smaller spaces (as my common room is), need to be arranged purposefully, where parts of the room are set out for specific reasons.
Having the furniture arranged in a certain way just “because it looks good,” without considering purpose or function, is what happened initially; I call this an “accidental living space.” It may have been assembled with some internal reasoning, but without enough actual consideration to the way in which the spaces and the room will be used.
Eventually, I rearranged the room myself (you can only trip over the sofa so many times before it becomes a problem), with consideration about how each part of the room will be used, and what purpose each part of the room serves. This is an “intentional living space.” It has been designed with function and elegance, as opposed to simply elegance.
I wish this would be applied to web design more often (and we are beginning to see this, slowly), as often, designs are created with less consideration about how the space on the page functions and more about how it looks. That simply doesn’t work.
