Let’s talk computers for a second.  What makes a good computer?  Most likely, it’s the speed, the size of the hard drive, perhaps what bells and whistles it has (a camera, built in mic, lots of USB ports).  A less likely answer though, is how easy it is to use.  While this is not necessarily is defining decision factor of computers, it is undoubtedly a fundamental necessity.  This is why you never see “intuitiveness” as an option when picking computers.  You just don’t.  It’s a given that it’s in there (but very often, it’s lacking).

We’re done talking about computers.  Switch gears with me.

Let’s talk about magazines.  Take Paste Magazine for example, an online magazine about who knows what.  It really is like a virtual magazine – two vertical pages that flip from right to left.

Sure, the two-page vertical approach works for physical magazines that you can hold.  However, when a magazine is online it becomes completely idiotic to have the orientation this way.

You cannot read anything without zooming in, and even then you can only see one quarter of the page.  This leaves you scrolling all over the place.

How can we fix this?

• Be intuitive. Perhaps blinded by the traditional model of what a “magazine looks like”, we must break out of the blinders and produce something actually worth using.
• Design from scratch. Why doesn’t Paste Magazine design the site in a way where each page is the size and orientation of a computer monitor?  This would optimize screen real estate, increase content per page, and ease user experience.
• Be flexible. Intuition changes.  What is intuitive today will not be intuitive tomorrow.   You get in your car and intuition tells you to stick the key in the ignition.  Shortly, intuition will tell you to speak to your car to turn it on.  Make sense?

Why make things harder for your customers?  Just some thoughts.