Examples in good design: HPs Retail Site and Gilt

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I saw two examples in good design today:

HP Retail site.

When a product makes it much easier for you to do something than you expected (in the process delighting you!) that's good design!

Simple lesson from HPs retail site: When I went back to the site, I did think about checking out a printer I'd seen earlier and right there (well-placed on the right towards the middle of the screen) the site made it easier for me to do so. Good for business; good for the user.


Gilt Groupe.

The illusion of scarcity is a great way to make people feel like they're getting something special. Today when I wanted to test this retail site, they made me sign up and get on a wait list. Tastefully, getting back to me a letting me know within a day (just quick enough so that I don't lose interest) that I'd been "selected" to join.

In general I'd have expected to be annoyed by the pretentiousness, but given the positioning of the site (secret discounts on high-end retail) my take is: Nicely done. They get bonus points for a really well-designed site.

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