Back to basics 26 Feb 2007

Jonathan Nicol reminds designers to make links look like links:

"An article on the importance of making hyperlinks stand out might seem like an exercise in stating the obvious. I would have thought so too, until I came across the portfolio site of a reputable web design firm last week and found myself playing a game of link hide-and-seek. On the site in question, headings, links, and emphasized text are all set in identical font face, size, weight, and color, making them indistinguishable. The only way for me to recognize a hyperlink was to roll my mouse over it, causing an underline to be applied to the text. If a snazzy firm of self professed web design 'experts' (who I won't name and shame) can make such an obvious user interface blunder, then perhaps it's a topic still worthy of our attention."