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.
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.
Usability Review: OldNavy.com
There are only a few examples of top-notch ecommerce websites, but Old Navy.com hits the nail on the head. Here are a few of the key elements that separate them from the rest of the pack.
Cross-Site Header Bar
It is clear that OldNavy is only one of 4 websites operated by The Gap. They promote cross selling between the sites by offering a simple centralized checkout for all 4 stores.
I really dig the reversed tab effect which shows which site you are currently on. Each of the 4 sites has its own background which makes it easily distinguishable.
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.
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.
10 Tips to Increased Ecommerce Profits
We spend many hours a week researching and observing customer shopping experiences and ecommerce websites. During our usability research for Simpli5, we discovered that most small ecommerce websites violate 3 or 4 of these fundamental principles.
Oscommerce and ZenCart users should hang on tight. They are likely to be repeat offenders, but also will see the greatest positive impact once these problems are fixed.
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.
Amazon.com Redesigned for the better?
For many years I considered Amazon.com to be the epitome of great ecommerce design. About 2 years ago, I changed focus. Amazon started to do too much, in my opinion. Cluttering the interface with elements that, as far as I could tell, we rarely used.
A few weeks back Amazon redesigned their site and made a number of dramatic changes. Some were great, some are more perplexing.
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?
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- 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…”