[erikpukinskis]

I think MySpace is a great study. It's obviously terribly, horrifically designed... but it was at one time one of the most popular sites on the web. Not because it was pixel perfect, but because the social mechanics were designed very well.

Now look at Facebook. It's better designed from a visual and usability standpoint, and I think that gave them a little bit of an edge. But again, what really seems to have driven Facebook's growth is incredibly well designed social mechanics. Photo tagging is huge, for example. The News Feed is a huge engine for growth.

So, I think the answer is that it depends what you mean by "site design". A clean visual design, or even good usability may not be as important as a clean social design, or a clean API design.

As a designer you need to understand what are the key bottlenecks in meeting your goals, and design the heck out those.

Once you're Apple and you have a bajillion dollars, you can afford to polish the insides of your battery cases. But as a startup, you only get a few chances, and you have to spend your design effort where it really counts.

[bryanh]

I think this really hits the nail on the head. Make sure your product's core function is well designed and the rest falls into place. Because that, my friends, is where it really counts.

[kimfuh]

"Once you're Apple and you have a bajillion dollars, you can afford to polish the insides of your battery cases"

hilarious. and spot on. thanks.