Design: Wireframing for responsive design
Responsive design creates some enormous challenges, not just in build but also in layout and wireframing.
User experience archive
Design: Responsive Design Sketchbook
I really like the look of this carefully thought out sketch pad: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0064/4612/products/responsive-blueprint_grande.png?100729 I can imagine how this could benefit the…
Design: A prototype is worth a thousand words
Leigh shares some thoughts on why a functional prototype is worth a ten thousand word specification.
User experience: The profit and loss of usability
We have looked a number of times before at user testing but have never really asked why it is important.
User experience: Common mistakes of site structure
Getting a sites’ structure right is hugely important and avoiding common mistakes is a good starting point to achieving that.
User experience: Quick and dirty wireframes
I am currently in the process of wireframing an internal project that we are working on at Headscape. It occurred to me that despite the fact that wireframes are a fundamental tool of web design, they are not something I have spoken about before.
User experience: Bargain basement usability testing
There is a lot written about usability testing both online and off. However, except for “Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug they all seem to make it sound very complicated and expensive. So here is the boagworld guide to bargain basement usability testing.
User experience: Making the most of the footer
The footer is the graveyard of many websites. The place where links are sent to die. However it doesn’t have to be that way.
User experience: A new way to visualize your desktop
Bumptop is a new way to work with files that mirrors much more closing the experience of interacting with your desk in the physical universe. You can stack files, throw them around and even crumple them up in a 3D environment.
User experience: The importance of Undo
An easily available undo function creates a sense of simplicity because it instills in the user the attitude of “what the heck, I can always undo it”.
Design: Keeping your home page clean
In the fight for real estate, usability and design aesthetics are often the first causalities.
User experience: Non hierarchical navigation
By bringing together search, tagging and related links in a relatively automated process I really believe that active navigation provides a viable way of dealing with massive websites.
User experience: Dump your information architecture
Do you run a website made up of thousands of pages? If so, then you may want to consider listening to an excellent presentation by Russ Weakley. He proposes an interesting new approach to the information architecture of large sites.
User experience: Statstastic! Jakob loves his stats
I am currently reading Jakob Nielsen’s new book “Prioritizing Web Usability” and would highly recommend it for any user experience designer. The book is packed with some excellent statistics and I thought I would share a few of them with you.
User experience: Tag your pages
You can’t swing a cat at the moment on the web without hitting some form of tagging. From delicious to flickr, tagging is all the rage, but what about tagging the pages on your website?
User experience: Jakob Nielsen says AJAX sucks?
I know I was supposed to stop posting until after Christmas but I couldn’t resist telling you about this brilliant analysis of AJAX by Jakob Nielsen.
User experience: Don't break the default browser behaviour
Isn’t it fun how sometimes you think you are being helpful when in fact you are making things far worse? Take for example the small piece of JavaScript this site uses to focus the cursor in the search box.
User experience: Using forms with care
Marketers, know your limits! Why is it that so many marketing departments seem determined to make it difficult for people to contact them?
User experience: Can PDF really be used for good?
Yesterday Joe Clark published his long awaited article on PDF accessibility and it did not disappoint. It includes some excellent advice on when to use PDF and dispelled many of the accusations levelled against the format. If you use PDF on your site, you should read on.
User experience: Sticking up for the humble site map
I was working on a site map yesterday and realised how little thought I give them. They tend to be an after thought in the design process. Vowing to repent of this half-assed attitude, I set out to learn all I could about this under appreciated site tool.
User experience: Card sorting
I am currently involved in some usability consultancy for an intranet that is going through a major redesign. One of the tools we will use to decide on the sites new information architecture is card sorting.
Design: Fearing the fold
Its funny how challenging one preconception can leave you totally inspired. I am in the process of reading a book called CSS Zen Garden by Molly Holzschlag and David Shea based on David’s superb site. While reading the book and browsing the associated site I couldn’t help noticing that many of the designs were incredibly long and had little in the way of valuable content above the fold.
User experience: When good shopping sites go bad
I have just finished reading a fascinating article on the BBC web site about the growth of ecommerce. This comes on the sameday that I have watched one of my clients fail to grasp some of the basics of ecommerce.