GUI Joe and the Animated Doll

When I was a kid I played with GI Joes and my little sister played with dolls. That’s the way it was. If you were a boy that you wouldn’t be caught dead playing with your sister’s dolls. Likewise if you were a girl it was practically a sin to play with GI Joes. It seems like the internet it the same way. The internet is divided into two halves. The first I affectionately call one part an animated doll, and the other I call GUI Joe (that’s Graphical-User-Interface).

These categories might need a little explanation. Dolls are typically pretty. Girls spend hour dressing the dolls, doing their hair and having tea time. I compare web pages created by graphical artists that are rich in art and animation but low in content to an animated doll. GI Joes are tough and dirty, they get the job done and they get it done fast. They blow the other guy out of the water and they always win. GI Joes or GUI Joes as I like to call them are those web pages that serve a useful purpose and are high in content but have no visual appeal.

The animated doll approach favors visual design above all else. Sites like these tend to have lots of Flash Animation and stunning artwork Animated doll sites are so gorgeous to look at that you have to sit there and look at them for several seconds to decide where to go next. They take a long time to download but they are worth the wait.

GUI Joe sites on the other hand favor functionality above design. They are simple, sometimes so simple that they are stark. They have a simple graphical-user interface that is easy to use and not very pretty. They are heavy on content and light on graphics. GUI Joes generally download very fast and have a meaningful purpose.

So which is better? That’s easy. Neither. A web page is not strictly an animated doll or a GUI Joe. Most are a blend of both. That’s right, now you can play with dolls and GI Joes. In fact, if you create a web page that is strictly a GUI Joe or an animated doll you are probably missing the point. Visual appeal and functionality should go hand in hand. A successful web page will combine both in varying degrees, according to its purpose. Think of it as a marriage of my sister’s doll and my GI Joe.

Deciding how much you want you site to be like a GUI Joe or an animated doll is a matter of purpose. If you are selling something you want to make it easy to buy your product or get the information. So you will lean towards the GUI Joe design. However, if you want to show off your talent you will want to adopt more of an animated doll approach. Only careful consideration of your purpose will allow you to decide how much to play with dolls and how much play with GI Joes.

Justin Grover is a client account specialist for 10xMarketing – More Visitors –More Buyers –More Revenue, if you are looking for an animated doll or animation services please visit Cartoon Solutions