December 2007
Viewing 10 Posts
Dec 06, 2007

Image-ine a Site Without Images

What is it about some websites whose makers think that having MORE imagery makes the site MORE usable? Can I just set the record straight here: number of images != amount of usability. They are not directly proportional.

Dec 04, 2007

The Handy Dandy Kitchen Helper : Site of the Future!

Ah, the Honeymooners. And ah, multi-faceted websites. I wish that someone would invent a household utensil that would do the work of all of these (said, of course, in the Art Carney accent). Ever find yourself staring at an application that has virtually no functionality and a completely overcomplicated interface to cover it up? You look at it and say "ooh pretty" and then realize "wait, what does it do?"

Dec 11, 2007

Design is an Experience

What is design? Is it the graphics we use? The colors? The fonts? Yes, those all have some effect on the end experience, but I'm talking about something bigger. Something more encompassing. Design is the whole experience. It's the fusion of technology with humanity and the arts that makes good design.

Dec 13, 2007

Recognition to Expectation in Interface Elements

As computer users, we've grown accustomed to various interface elements. We can recognize what action to take when we see certain things. For example, we know that a right arrow usually means if we click it, we will get some list of options that will drop down. Additionally if we see something that looks like a tab, we know our content will change if we click another. If we see a slider, this tells us we can adjust something to be more or less.

Dec 15, 2007

From Architecture to Web Design

Your step-by-step guide to creating the foundation and all the little details. An Architecture Analogy Again? Yeah well, architecture is very similar to interface design. Let's think about some of the steps to building a house. You've got the floorplans, then you actually build the frame. Then you fill the frame with all the wiring and heating, etc. Then you cover up all the walls and start painting, adding trim, etc. And once you buy the house, you bring in your own furniture. So what does this have to do with web design? Well, you need a floorplan for your site, a mapping of the user flow from how they start engaging in your site to how they move around. You can think of all the piping/wiring as the functionality associated with a website. You build the HTML frame and you embed PHP or another scripting langauge to make everything work together. Let's add the CSS, or interior design. Pick your colors, fonts and other styling elements to make things pretty. Finally, if you're building a dynamic site, let the users "move in" and add their own content. You've provided them with a free, empty house with all the functionality they need. Now it's time they made it theirs. So, here are your steps: Step 1: Design your floorplan; your ergonomic flow, how you want the users to move around your site Step 2: Build the framework to allow this flow Step 3: Fill out your functionality to make everything work together Step 4: Add your interior design; do some CSS work to define colors, fonts, borders, etc. Step 5: Let the users "move in"

Dec 17, 2007

Recipes for Innovation

When it comes to computing, our goals are always to complete some task. We have some idea of how to do it, but we need help. That's why we've developed so many new tools to help us accomplish our tasks better, faster and more efficiently.

Dec 23, 2007

It's the Marketing that Matters

I'm sure there are plenty of neat websites out there with some nifty functionality, however basic or complex. But it's not about what you have, it's about how you get it known. Marketing your website is the real hurtle once you've created your project.

Dec 25, 2007

User Experience Design: A Definition

When it comes to technology, "design" is a long-term engagement between the user and the product. It is the user's whole experience: from interacting with the product to how the product looks and feels to what the user takes away from it.

Dec 27, 2007

Choices: Less is More

How many ways can you eat a Reeses? How many ways can you turn off your computer? People like choices, but they don't like too many. I was reading a bit from Barry Schwartz's "Paradox of Choice" and was intrigued on the things he has to say regarding choices.

Dec 29, 2007

Designers Are Not Artists

Designers are not artists. Most people confuse art with design, but there's a difference. Designers have artistic talent, but they are not required to be experts in graphics, typography, colors, etc. The job of the designer is multi-faceted. Most importantly, it's to understand artistic elements and put them together to make something interesting. Designers have the concept, the idea inside their heads. Their goal is to express it to others, mapping out layouts, describing the vision, innovating.