Asymptotic Perfection
Remember way back to high school when our algebra teachers would send us home to graph asymptotes? (Ah, those were the days) In case you don’t remember what an asymptote is, it is essentially any math equation in which it’s result will continually approach a value, without ever reaching that value. My software development process follows this same phenomenon. Continue →
Simple user interfaces are not always easier to use
Earlier this week I spoke at the Cleveland Web Standards Association on the importance of thinking before building. The talk included a walkthrough of my UX design procedure, and why I feel it is a superior way of designing for interaction.
I’m frequently asked how to make interfaces simpler, as if we all already have pristine, usable interfaces buried inside of our current cluttered interfaces. Removing elements from your interface makes them simpler and easier to understand… right? Wrong.
Photoshop Kung-Fu: Evenly spaced columns and rows
When mocking up a web design or creative of some kind I often find myself dividing areas into equal spaced rows or columns. This is a simple task when dividing into 2 parts, since your guides snap to the center of a selected object. Dividing into 3’s is a little more difficult. Dividing into 4’s isn’t too bad since you can just divide by 2, then subsequently split the divisions by 2. There’s got to be a better way, and alas… there is.
Note: This applies to Photoshop CS2. There may be a more prominent way to do this in newer versions.
Why You Should Outsource Usability Testing
Small companies should consider outsourcing their usability testing instead of doing it in-house. On the surface, it makes perfect sense to have a designer/developer who has a deep understanding of the project be in charge of usability testing, but in fact this can cause serious problems.
A developer will always look at the product you are testing from the inside out. They have internalized the entire product and know it inside and out. This has negative connotations on the evaluation of a test.
It may be appealing to delegate usability testing to a graphic designer on the project, but this also has issues. Artists minds are naturally focuses on aesthetics and many usability problems arise from confusing visual elements.
50 Tips To A User Friendly Website
Here is a list of 50 things that I keep in mind on every website that I build. Some of these are secrets I have acquired from the best designers in the world, and some of them are standard every day practices. Either way, these tips will improve your visitors experience on your website.
Why we need another CMS
Every design agency needs a content management system. They are a solid business need. But, does every agency really need a custom solution? Especially when it comes to small business, the CMS is causing more problems than it’s solving.
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.
Sharing the Grid
When it comes to design, I’m a firm believer in simplicity. Occasionally I’m criticized for being overly simple, but I take that as a compliment. In my design, typography, grids, color, imagery and especially whitespace all stand for themselves. They don’t need any fancy treatment or “web 2.0″ effects. They work because they are simple and beautiful in their natural state.
Grids are foundational to all my designs. I always sketch out ideas on a Behance Dot-Grid Book, (thanks to Garrett Dimon for sharing this a few months ago). While these square grids are perfect for sketching idea’s and concepts, they don’t work for fine-tuning your design.
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.
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Latest Comments
- Nate Klaiber → “ The design industry is plagued with the misconception that product manuals are evil. These designers believe that your product should be intuitive enough to use without a manual. While there is a certain truth to this, there are many viable reasons for product manuals to be used. There needs to be a certain…”
- Joe Fiorini → “ The design industry is plagued with the misconception that product manuals are evil. These designers believe that your product should be intuitive enough to use without a manual. While there is a certain truth to this, there are many viable reasons for product manuals to be used. There needs to be a certain…”
- Roger F Carver → “ The Google Charts API is an excellent way to add high quality charting to your web application. We first started working with the API as part of the Simpli5 dashboard development, and were quite impressed with its functionality and ease of use. Wrapper classes were developed and added to our Sandstone Application Framework to make…”
- Nate Klaiber → “ The “I agree” checkbox has become an interface standard on registration forms. “I agree to the terms and conditions.” While it’s purpose is generally understood by the consumer, it is a key source of frustration for people registering for accounts. eBay's Registration, as an example Why it’s overlooked: Checkboxes are small, particularly ones which aren’t grouped…”
- Josh Walsh → “ Most of the value you gain from a usability testing session comes from the analysis after the session is complete. I have been involved in a few sessions recently where no formal analysis has been conducted. I believe this is a mistake. Traditionally, the analysis portion of a usability session takes quite a long…”