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This is the 2nd of 5 short posts about Octabox’s approach to simplicity.

One of our main guidelines during development is that the user’s information comes first. Nothing should stand in the user’s way to his information: not banners or alerts, not screen-blockers or any other graphical distractions.

We apply this principle by designing the UI to be as focused, simple and clear as we possibly can.

(click the image to view full size)

The main work-area is centered and white – hovering above the darker background, making it feel closer to the user. The navigation is placed on the top and the sides, not taking the eye’s focus from the main area – but still – remaining noticeable, quickly and easily accessible.

We try very hard to stay true to our principles while dealing with issues like:

• Different screen resolutions (yes, some still have those 17″ CRT monitors running with 1024×768 …)
• Fluid UI (yes, some work with that history bar docked to the left)
• Cross-browser support (unfortunately, some still use Internet Explorer 6)

We don’t think minimalistic design takes the place of an aesthetic, modern design and the feedback we got so far on the UI has been confirming our believes.

We use less detail, graphic elements and visual load on the user’s eye to make the user feel the application revolves around him and his info, making it easier on the user to consume his relevant data easily and in a focused, productive way.

In my next post in this series, I will cover our simple approach to structure and logic.