etailology

A slight tangent, but a good example.   “South of Here” places some pretty tall constraints on this No Parking sign. (Not to mention that because its a separate sign, it’s not clear whether it’s part of the other communication or some other indicator.)

Which way is South? This point of reference is a difficult one for the user to interpret (without a compass) and creates a fair amount of skepticism in the sign. Side effects include disbelief (is this sign a joke? or simply invalid?) as well as stunned confusion at what do do next. Lastly, I’ve never seen a sign like this before (or since) which further calls its validity (or verity) into question.

Online stores do this to users all the time.  Why?  Because they often don’t test their sites on anyone other than their own CEO.

Decisions, notifications, and decorations are made on web sites all the time — and many only confuse the user and confound the purpose of the site and the process of selling.  The cost of confusion is too high..  Make a user feel stupid, and their sure to never come back.

Make your points of reference relevant to the customer and they’ll find you an easy partner for their purchasing.