We've chosen this example because it quickly dramatizes the difference between effective and ineffective Web design. In the case of Narcotics Anonymous, it could mean the difference between life and death. But this is equally true for any business or organization that requires an online identity-except that what's at stake is not the reader's life, but the survival of the business itself. Sites with strong concepts and solid, intuitive architecture will live. Sites lacking those things die.
Web design is communication.
It says specific things to specific people. It does this by offering meaningful content in the context of focused digital architecture. Navigation and interface are the doors to that architecture. In a consumer society, communication is a function of time. Traditional designers and art directors are trained in the art of instant communication.