Douglas Bowman from Stop Design comments on “Public Design” and the interesting ways in which public comments during development is helping commercial and non-commercial websites better develop, consider and design usability and accessibility.
Two websites which are currently doing this are, Jeffrey Zelman and Macromedia.com
The trend of opening up the design process to public scrutiny among online content producers and software developers, shifts focus of the design process in 2003. Independent designers like Jeffrey Zeldman and commercial entities like Macromedia are engaging users early in their design processes, sharing progress, challenges, and soliciting feedback.
Zeldman’s public redesign involves sharing techniques and addressing feedback, while Macromedia’s beta redesign faced criticism for browser compatibility and accessibility but responded with fixes, as outlined in their progress report.
Similarly, Apple’s Safari team, led by Dave Hyatt, actively incorporates user feedback to refine their beta browser. This public approach, likened to usability testing, fosters transparency, improves products, and is expected to grow, leading to more user-centered websites and software.