Before I talk about our last game, I’d like to touch on the concept of user experience as it relates to the game of dodgeball.  Often abbreviated as UX, user-experience is a set of three basic elements that makes a website happy – Information Architecture (IA), Aesthetics and Usability.

Information architecture is pretty straight forward – websites operate under the same governing principles as buildings.  It doesn’t matter how cool the observation deck of your neo-gothic high-rise is going to be if the first three stories are made out of shoe boxes and staples.

Usability and aesthetics make up the front end of user experience, and go hand-in-hand. They determine the way you, the end user, interacts with the site.  Good usability means that the site takes as little contemplation as possible to operate. Being able to know what text is a link, what a given button will do, where you’ll find the information you’re looking for, etc. are all part of a highly-detailed science incorporating equal parts programming and psychology.

Aesthetics ensure that the site is as easy on the eyes as on the mind.  Done well, graphics, photography and color can be used to enhance the site’s overall UX as well as increase the credibility of the website.  Usability and Aesthetics perform a sort of balancing act together – too much one way and you’ve got a glossy art piece that’s impossible to use.  Too much the other direction and people are liable to be turned away or to lose trust in your site.

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It was a long shot, to say the least.  When I first read the mass email suggesting we form an Active Website dodgeball team, I’ll admit I had my doubts.  While I’m lucky enough to be working with some of the most dedicated and talented programmers and designers in the business, the idea of us uniting to compete in some physical task made me alternately laugh and cringe.

I’ll start by telling you that I’m a designer at Active Website.  I have an art degree, which is pretty much a signed denouncement of athletic ability.  And I don’t want to speak out of turn about my co-workers, but the fact that some of our best jokes involve SQL statements leads me to believe that most of us boast little physical prowess outside of being able to hit Ctrl and F5 with the same hand (I use my thumb, which I’m told is cheating).

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