[…]

In general, it’s very useful for a usability specialist to have experience with multiple generations of computers, because that allows you to identify bigger trends in human behavior and not be seduced by the latest fads.

[…]

The main problem for response times today is not download delays, but rather server delays, as people stick too many widgets and dynamic objects on their pages.

Remember: 1.0 sec. response time, or users won’t feel that they’re navigating freely. Also remember that direct-manipulation options, such as within-page AJAX controls require 0.1 sec. response times to avoid feeling sluggish.

[…]

The original philosophy of the Web was to emphasize cross-platform design, so that a single site can be used everywhere. But this doesn’t work from a usability perspective, even when one can code the material so that it will display on phones.

Either the site will be too scaled-back for a desktop user or it will be too complex for a mobile user. The two usage scenarios are so different that they require different designs.

[…]

Yes. First, the definition of art vs. design allows you to do anything in an art project, because it doesn’t serve a utilitarian purpose.

Even though there certainly would be a business purpose in something like a portfolio site, the standard usability guidelines still wouldn’t be as critical, for two reasons:

First, the target audience would be people with vastly superior Web skills (other designers, Internet managers, and the like). And second, people typically don’t do much when visiting a portfolio other than browse it and admire it.

Thus, they won’t be as dependent on easily-accessed features as users of, say, a home banking site where it would be a disaster if people transferred money to the wrong account.

[…]

Usability is always relative to two things: who are the users, and what are they trying to accomplish with the UI?

That’s why we can’t just have one recommended design and just replace the logo to create a new site.

[…]

Simplicity is usually the better choice. But if you’re in a situation where your users do demand lots of features, then you need to polish the design through many rounds of iterative usability testing.

You must work harder to solve this more difficult problem, and it’s much more risky to release something complex that hasn’t been tested with users than it is to release something simple.

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Jakob Nielsen Interview.