The Data Store
The way that we store data is very unappealing. If our data storage and management techniques were retail stores, they would be a visually unappealing and frustrating shopping experience. We would probably find ourselves in the wrong section in the wrong store all the time. The thing that great retail experiences do is to make things easy to find, accessible and appealing to look at. It plays right into human psychology. Of course, you are thinking to yourself that much of the value of information is in finding things that you didn't know you needed that give you an edge (like this blog). While the retail experience analogy is not perfect, it does a provide a different perspective on presenting data. We are all information consumers so it makes sense to design a data experience that empowers discovery and delight.