An idea isn't worth that much. It's the execution of the idea that has value. If you can't convince one other person that this is something to devote your life to, then it's not worth it.
Joel SpolskyRead
Usability is not everything. If usability engineers designed a nightclub, it would be clean, quiet, brightly lit, with lots of places to sit down, plenty of bartenders, menus written in 18-point sans-serif, and easy-to-find bathrooms. But nobody would be there. They would all be down the street at Coyote Ugly pouring beer on each other.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Usability is important but it shouldn't overshadow the experiences that draw people in.
This quote by Joel Spolsky highlights the distinction between usability and the engaging atmosphere that attracts people to a venue. While usability engineers focus on creating functional and efficient designs, they may overlook the essential elements of enjoyment and social interaction that make places like nightclubs appealing, emphasizing the need for a balance between utility and experience.
Themes
UsabilityDesignExperienceNightclubAtmosphere
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a presentation about user experience design to illustrate the importance of balancing functionality with engagement.
More from Joel Spolsky
All quotes →There's a subtle reason that programmers always want to throw away the code and start over. The reason is that they think the old code is a mess. [...] The reason that they think the old code is a mess is because of a cardinal, fundamental law of programming: It's harder to read code than to write it.
Joel SpolskyRead
A user interface is well-designed when the program behaves exactly how the user thought it would.
Joel SpolskyRead
Similar quotes
LISP has jokingly been described as "the most intelligent way to misuse a computer." I think that description is a great compliment because it transmits the full flavour of liberation: it has assisted a number of our most gifted fellow humans in thinking previously impossible thoughts.
Edsger DijkstraRead
I never felt that the naming issue was all that important, but I was obviously wrong, judging by how many people felt. I tell people to call it just plain Linux and nothing more.
Linus TorvaldsRead
Our goal is to make the best devices in the world, not to be the biggest.
Steve JobsRead
I like technology, but 'Black Mirror' is more what the consequences are, and it doesn't tend to be about technology itself: it tends to be how we use or misuse it. We've not really thought through the consequences of it.
Charlie BrookerRead
The fact that a task cannot be computerized does not imply that computerization has no effect on that task. On the contrary, tasks that cannot be substituted by computerization are generally complemented by it. This point is as fundamental as it is overlooked.
David AutorRead
So what used to fit in a building now fits in your pocket, what fits in your pocket now will fit inside a blood cell in 25 years.
Ray KurzweilRead