There is a phrase “Jack of all trades and master of none”. To me this is a sort of gentle reminder that you shouldn’t try to do everything with a website. Of course, this depends on the scale of that site. It’s sort of automatic that you will cover the basics of usability when designing - a small amount is of course common sense. The problem I have really is that as designers we complain a lot about people doing it for themselves and assuming they don’t need to go to a designer to get a great site. So, why do we assume that the sites we designer or develop don’t need a usability expert?

We use spell checkers for spelling so why not get a usability expert in when it’s something people will use?

At thoof, one of the things that has been brought in is having an outside party come in and do a usability study / test on the design. Often it’s left to the web designer to do this role in many companies, this I think is the wrong decision. The value of that unbiased experienced eye really shouldn’t be played down. I love the fact that my design work is being checked and this non-pixel fixated eye is looking at it to see ways to improve for a user. Having that gentle reminder that does not have the emotional attachment you have to the design or the tunnel vision you can only gain form having worked at something for hours upon hours and days upon days; this is something so valuable.

Usability is just about making it work for someone who is disabled

I think I breathed a sigh of relief as usability has become more and more wide spread over the years. It’s seeped out of the hard face application development and is now something even the most basic designer has to consider. That is the point though we consider it but to truly make something ‘usable’ there is a whole lot more to it than simply validating or offering alt tags. Usability is a mind boggling wide subject and as such this is the primary reason you should get someone to check your design.

All good things in moderation

Ultimately, you aren’t going to get every site you work on run over by a usability expert. As a designer you should educate yourself to the most basic fundamentals and then build up from there. However, if you are working on a large project that has the potential funds to get someone in even for a few hours - then you won’t regret it. Even if you are not a designer but you want to get a usability expert to work with a designer - it’s a good idea. Developers have testers and designers as far as I’m concerned need usability checks.