User Experience
How To Use Status to Style a List
As computer programmers we often get stuck thinking in binary. Things are either true or false, black or white, on or off, good or bad, pass or fail. Although computers think this way, the people who use the software typically do not. We can use our skills as human beings to create a better user experience for our customers.
Can a Great Product Trump Bad Customer Service?
I will be the first to admit that I am an Apple addict. It is probably an unhealthy obsession at some times, just ask my wife. In other words, I am a typical Apple customer. I own more Apple gear than most high schools (but less than Al Gore). My MacPro, MacBook Pro and iPhone make me especially happy and productive.
However, I cannot quite understand how a company like Apple, who can successfully focus so much time and energy on the User Experience, can fail so miserably at servicing their customers.
Blurry, Colorblind and Brilliant
“Design is in the details.” - We hear it every day and it is absolutely true. However, details without a blueprint to tie things together can lead to problems. We are passionate about details, perfect grid alignment, perfect color combinations, gradients, reflections and textures. These visual details have a major aesthetic impact on the website, but they can’t replace the content – The reason the website exists in the first place.
Designing Data Collection Forms
When designing a new web application, I wrongfully turn my brain into data collection mode. I determine what data entities I need to collect (people, orders, products, etc…), what fields I need to collect (name, sku, weight, etc…) and how to most logically group everything together into a usable interface. This process is all wrong.
Often I ignore, or worse… neglect, to account for the business procedure that is in place to actually collect and account for that data.
Designing the User Experience
When we think about the development of websites, we think of the back-end development, graphic design and semantic markup that are coded and combined into the finished website.
The user experience design is often overlooked. It is intangible, naturally vague and difficult to understand. However, making this user experience comprehendible is crucial to the design process.
It is very tempting to skip over the experience design and straight to designing in Photoshop. Perhaps our ego gets in the way, or we are scared of spending hours that, in the end, don’t return a tangible product.
In the end our user experience notes and research are transformed into wireframes, design comps and ultimately the finished website.
Welcoming Constraints
As software developers we often find ourselves running low on time, money or patience. While these constraints often cause frustration, they are actually good things.
Constraints are simple solutions in disguise. When you find yourself working hard on a problem and seem to be progressing slowly, take the constraint as a sign to step back and examine the problem again.
The simplest answer is usually the correct answer.
Occam’s Razor
Ignoring Constraints
It’s natural to ignore constraints. After all, they cause us pain and we are taught to keep emotions out of our business. However, ignoring these constraints will lead to software which is counter-intuitive to use.
Resist the urge to throw more money/people/time at the problem to fix it. People under pressure do not work faster and additional funds just provides an excuse to deliver late.
Exceptions
There are times when constraints are caused by other situations. You may have a more serious problem to deal with if the constraints are caused by:
- Poor planning
- Lazy people
- Bad project management
- Counter productive working atmosphere
- Distractions caused by Twitter
Functional Favicons
Traditionally favicons are used for branding. A tiny icon which represents who you are and is displayed in the browsers address bar, in your bookmarks and (in Firefox) in the tab of the page your are currently viewing.
For most, the favicon is purely aesthetic. However, in others it has become a useful piece of functionality.
Flip3D vs. Expose
I’m trying to get my brain around the concept of Microsoft Vista’s Flip3D interface. Someone put a lot of time and energy into the concept to add value to their Operating System. In fact, Microsoft calls it a “Productivity Addon.” My question is: What is the value added?
Target’s Way off Target
Way back in 2006 a blind student at the University of California-Berkeley, Bruce Sexton Jr., filed a lawsuit against the national retail giant, Target. Bruce, in conjunction with the National Federation of the Blind, has accused Target.com of having an inaccessible website.
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Latest Comments
- George → “ also make sure that the non www version is always redirected to the www version of the website.…”
- faheem → “ Thanks for the nice tips,…”
- Adobe → “ The problems you are talking about are not Flash issues they are design issues . The problem is not Flash, the problem is that there are very few real designers around anymore. As for the plug in every browser for every platform save iOS has it installed when you download it. I am amazed how…”
- هتل → “ great list of ideas. Without a doubt, you are exactly right. As with all design, there is a time and a place to break every rule.thanks for posting…”
- Randy Cox → “ If you suddenly decided to put stop signs on the side of a barn instead of a metal post on edge of a road, a lot of folks would not stop. If there is a really good reason to change the link color then change it, but there will be a cost to your communication. Henry Ford…”