The web2.0 team spoke about it. The mobile team spoke about it. I see so much of importance given to design and appearance. We are having a few people around us who are studying Interaction Design. They just quoted John Maeda and Edward Tufte and have brought hoards of cool-looking books on design interaction.
I have always ignored so many aspects of good design and thought it to be bullshit, as must be evident from my horribly cluttered blog page. Although I did think that usability was high up in my head and that I quite empathised with users of IT systems, I never did care about the aspect of "look and feel". The stand was almost philosophical! (I am hoping that this statement doesn't annoy certain people :) ) What does appearance have to do with good design and usability, I would say? Now I might just end up being a convert. Or who knows, my interaction with them will only reinforce my belief. From the way things are going, it is likely that I will get converted.
