Design ruining the web? Come on Mr. Naughton

I recently read an article by John Naughton (Article) – Which claims that graphic designers are ruining the web.

There are so many issues with this blanket statement that at first I thought it was a joke. Clearly Mr. Naughton was poking fun at something else or trying purposefully to raise the amount of people who would read his article. (Job well done Mr. Naughton). I then began to rethink this initial thought and believe that Mr. Naughton actually believes this notion. He really believes that designers are ruining the web.

Engaging layout

The first time i sat and observed a usability test on a CDROM application I designed was back in 1996. I watched while people were asked a series of questions to locate information on the screen.