Website Response Times An Article by Jakob Nielsen www.nngroup.com Users really care about speed in interaction design...A snappy user experience beats a glamorous one, for the simple reason that people engage more with a site when they can move freely and focus on the content instead of on their endless wait. 0.1 seconds gives the feeling of instantaneous response. This level of responsiveness is essential to support the feeling of direct manipulation. 1 second keeps the user's flow of thought seamless. 10 seconds keeps the user's attention. A 10-second delay will often make users leave a site immediately. uxperformanceinteraction
Things that shine and glitter We find it hard to be really at home with things that shine and glitter. The Westerner uses silver and steel and nickel tableware, and polishes it to a fine brilliance, but we object to the practice. On the contrary we begin to enjoy it only when the luster has worn off, when it has begun to take on a dark, smoky, patina. Jun'ichirō Tanizaki & Thomas J. Harper, In Praise of Shadows The dignity of ageThe economic value of old buildings flawsaesthetics