Understanding the difference of Beers on a Restaurant Menu

January 4, 2007

This is the first post in a new series called “The Design of Everyday Things.” There is a book by this title but I have not yet read it yet. It is probably the next book I will buy.

Last night I ate dinner with some friends at the RockBottom Brewery in downtown Denver. The waitress came over to explain the menu, focusing on the beers that they brewed in their own brewery.But the waitress said that the menu page with the beers was confusing because they were not arranged in any order (Figure 1).

Vertical menu at RockBottom arranged circularly around logo of brewery
[Figure 1]

The restaurant had made a second separate piece that displayed the six beers were horizontally with their unique branding logo and a description/teaser underneath. The waitress explained that the beers were in order from lightest to darkest. (Figure 2).

Rough Sketch of Rock Bottom menu
[Figure 2]

But it left me wondering if they went to all this trouble to come up with a separate sheet to explain their beers, why didn’t they go an extra step and put a gradient at the bottom with labeling lightest to darkest (Figure 3). That would have made this piece be able to stand alone without any explanation and given the information graphically.


[Figure 3]

My other thought is if they know that the way the beers are presented in the menu are problematic, why not change the menu instead of having to have a second stand alone piece?

A Little Lonely??

January 3, 2007

I saw this law office is a lone building in a sea of parking lots. It is wild to see this two-story building in this wide open space that is flanked by tall office buildings and hotels in downtown Denver.

I was really struck by how “alone” it seemed and not something I expected in the middle of a “concrete jungle.”

Getting out and Taking Pictures

January 2, 2007

I got out today and took several pictures of the Denver Public Library (by Michael Graves) and the new addition to the Denver Art Museum.

My Web Design Superheroes

January 1, 2007

One of my favorite talks at Refresh 06 was Andy Budd’s, How to be a Web Design Superhero. At the end of the talk, he listed his web design superheroes. I liked the idea. Here is my current list:

  • Jared Spool – Usability and Experience Design
  • Josh Porter – Social Web
  • Andy Budd – CSS
  • Kelly Goto – Web ReDesign Process, Persona
  • Gerry McGovern – Killer Web Content
  • Steve Krug – Usability
  • Kathy Sierra – Creating Passionate Users (Experience Design)
  • Andy Clarke – Transcending CSS (I have only read a chapter of Transcending CSS and it is great). Simon Collison referred to it as “era-defining.” From what I have read I think this is an important book.

Slides of Presentation of Andy’s talk at SXSW 2006

Off to Denver

January 1, 2007

I am heading to Denver today to attend the Denver Christmas Conference. This is a gathering over about 1000 students from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and other places.

I am going to be interviewing students at the conference to help me guide me in future improvements to GodSquad.com. I am taking the first steps toward creating user personas.
I first read about personas in Kelly Goto’s Web Redesign 2.0 and have heard lots of good things about them from Jared Spool. I believe creating personas will help me to better design and develop sites that equip students to reach their campus.

Steve Moudler’s book, The User is Always Right has been helpful in preparing me to ask the right questions to get the information that I want and need. It is the first really practical resource that I have found that guides you through the process of creating useable personas.

I am looking forward renewing relationships with Campus Crusade for Christ staff that we served within this region of the country when we were field staff at Kansas State.