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No -- I am arguing that alignment, consistency, appropriate typography, non-mediocre use of color are only NOTICED and cared about by 1%.

Overall usability is what the other 99% care about. And should be of primary importance.

Saying that overall usability == "alignment, consistency, appropriate typography, non-mediocre use of color" is just not true.

Usability is one type of design. Those are another. They are not synonymous.

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I would argue that all those things I listed do in fact comprise much of what we understand as usability. Proper layout and good information architecture are built hand in hand with good alignment, consistency, readable fonts, and colors that work well together for the overall design. In order for interfaces to be understandable and easy to use, as well as enable the user to complete the desired objectives, all of the factors I mentioned have to be taken into account.

You may say that these factors aren't noticed by the 99% but have you ever heard somebody utter the phrase, "I don't know what's wrong with this, but I just don't like the way it looks?" That's a "99% phrase" but it comes from a very real place and can be easily avoided.

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