Design: Adobe introduce two new iPad apps but are they useful?
Adobe thinks it is time for us to create wireframes and collages on our iPads, but I am not so sure.
Adobe thinks it is time for us to create wireframes and collages on our iPads, but I am not so sure.
Leigh Howells kicks off a series of posts looking at native iOS app design.
Have you seen the cool new generation of animated gifs? Want to do the same but are worried about download speed? I am here to help!
If the Matrix teaches us one thing its that sometimes the client can make better design suggestions than the professional web designer.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:38 — 2.0MB)
Don’t look now but animated gifs are cool again!
Why the new iPad proves that progressive enhancement and responsive design are still best practice.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 3:46 — 2.1MB)
Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:43 — 2.6MB)
Sometimes the littlest feature takes a disproportionate amount of thought.
Take for example the calls to action tabs at the bottom of this post. @AMcDermott recently asked me:
@boagworld Do you have any post or podcast about the decision to put comments behind a tab? Interested to see the thoughts on that one.
— Alastair McDermott(@AMcDermott) February 21, 2012
It was a good question. In fact it reveals two of the founding principles of my design approach; simplicity and prioritisation.
I made a decision early on that I wanted the new design for boagworld to focus on the content. I wanted to remove other distractions making it easier to read.
This involved making some tough choices about my user interface. Some elements had to go entirely, others fade back when the user stops interacting with them and others had to be hidden.

The toughest of these decisions was prioritising the next actions for those who finish reading a post.
Did I want to keep them on the site? Did I want them to share the post with their friends? Or did I want them to engage with me?
I had ways to achieve each:
On the old site I offered all three. However, because of its physical size on the page commenting dominated. Was that really the right balance?
Making these tough decisions about prioritisation is painful. After all I wanted a user to do all three. However, in the end you have to make a choice. After all its impossible not to. Size, position, wording, imagery and a host of other factors will set the priority even if you try not to. Its almost impossible to make three calls to action equally important.
It also introduces the danger of choice paralysis where the user just decides not to decide. Instead they leave, which is obviously the worst decision of all.
In my case I introduced this tabbed approach. It helped with my goal of simplicity while also providing a clear indication of which my number one priority was. I wanted people to share the post. The other options were still available, but they didn’t clutter up the interface or leave people indecisive.
Admittedly I have seen a drop-off in the number of comments. However, I have seen sharing go through the roof, which was exactly what I wanted.
The question is; are you trying to put off prioritising your calls to action? Are you asking the user to do so many things they are being pulled in multiple directions? Most importantly, are you making a conscious decision about your priorities or are you allowing the UI to make those decisions for you.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 4:37 — 2.5MB)
Colour is not something I have spoken about before on my daily audio tips. However it is something I have blogged about in the past.
Colour is an amazingly controversial subjects and the causes many design projects to be delayed. The reason for this is that colour is so subjective. Our opinions about colour can be influenced by things such as:
In this audio tip I share some ways to deal with colour. I mention subjects like:
Making decisions about colour needs to be more than a personal opinion. Good colour choices are based on solid theory or/and tested thoroughly with the chosen target audience.
Responsive design creates some enormous challenges, not just in build but also in layout and wireframing.
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 thinking process, helping designers to remember and consider that site design should be working at many widths.
Want.
I keep coming across super useful colour tools. Not that this is surprising. Working with colour is notoriously difficult.
Leigh shares some thoughts on why a functional prototype is worth a ten thousand word specification.
So many books so little time! One of the books at the top of my ‘must read’ list is Aaron Walter’s ‘Designing for Emotion’.
I finally got around to reading the sample chapter on A List Apart and it has only increased my desire to find the time to read the book. The whole thing really resonated with me.
A paragraph that particularly made me smile was:
If your website were a person, who would it be? Is it serious, buttoned up, all business, yet trustworthy and capable? Is it a wise-cracking buddy that makes even mundane tasks fun?
It made me smile because we ask every client that question and without fail it causes an interesting discussion. Our reason for asking this question is perfectly explained by Aaron:
Let’s think of our designs not as a facade for interaction, but as people with whom our audience can have an inspired conversation. Products are people, too.
Aaron takes the idea a step further and proposes we produce personas for our site. He gives a great example from his own experience with MailChimp and provides a template any of us can use.
Some worry about the idea of injecting personality into their sites. They fear it may alienate some of their audience. This is certainly possible but as Aaron says:
Keep in mind that when you emphasize personality in the user experience, some people won’t like it. That’s okay, though. Personalities clash, and in the case of businesses, it can actually be a good thing. If people don’t understand your personality, chances are they’re not the right customer for you.
Do you struggle to explain or understand why a website looks different in different browsers? If so, I might just be able to help.
I get excited when I see well considered details like this in web design.
I have been working on a wireframe walk through of an ecommerce checkout the last few days. What has struck me most is how important it is to question the details of your design.
Designers love it, website owners want to fill it. Whitespace seems to be one of the most controversial aspects of design. Why then is it so important and how can we ensure it is maintained?
Working with web designers can be a tricky business especially if you have never done so before. Discover how to get the most from him or her with this handy list.
Google have added an instant preview to its search results that shows a thumbnail of your website. Should this change the way you design?
Most “in-page” imagery on websites suck. Grabbed from random sources and slapped on the website, they lack design and consistency. However, your iPhone can help.
I am fed up with web designers who are seeking mythical perfection in design. Its time to become a pragmatist.
Temporary websites are often the most tricky to build. Their transitory nature and short bursts of high traffic can be extremely demanding on both designer and developer.
While at Web Direction @Media I caught up with Aral Balkan and Christian Crumlish to discuss playful design and whether it is appropriate to add elements of playfulness and humour to any website.