February 2010
19 posts
1 tag
Are Companies That Deliver Great Customer... →
The result of a 3-year stock market experiment “points to a resounding YES.”
In November, 2006, Teehan + Lax, an experience-focused agency in Toronto, invested $50,000 in companies they felt deliver a great user experience. Companies like Apple, EA, Jet Blue, Netflix, etc.
This investment, dubbed the UX Fund, closed in November, 2007 with a gain of 39.3%, beating all the major...
January 2010
13 posts
1 tag
Remember the Milk’s microcopy helps save me from... →
Two good points here: I too hate when login forms ask for a “username” when they really mean “email address,” and it’s very nice that Remember The Milk senses when you enter an email address in the username field, and tells you what you’re doing wrong in a nice way.
“It’s a small example of the importance of thoughtfully-written microcopy that shows that...
1 tag
Realism in UI Design →
Really interesting read on the use of symbols and the addition of realistic details. Contains some excellent illustrations that convey the point perfectly.
“UI elements are abstractions which convey concepts and ideas; they should retain only those details that are relevant to their purpose. UI elements are almost never representations of real things. Adding too much realism can cause...
1 tag
Lost Garden: Ribbon Hero turns learning Office... →
Interesting read about UI designers incorporating game mechanics into their designs to teach users how to use interfaces.
1 tag
Too many anecdotes, not enough data - Bokardo →
Very good point. I think we all have been guilty of designing around a story as if it were hard data. “While anecdotes can help guide us toward the right questions, the answers we ultimately use should come from data.”
The UX Design Process for the Boxee Beta →
Really interesting case study on the process of designing the new Boxee interface by one of the designers. Nice job, Whitney!
2 tags
UX Case Study: Designing a user-focused web app →
Interesting notes here about the iterative design process of a product. Enjoyed reading about how he asked users for ideas, then compared the requested features with his business strategy and current resources. Very realistic (and often overlooked) part of the design process.
His interpretation of progressive design as hidden functionality is one I don’t completely agree with (without any...
1 tag
LukeW: Primary & Secondary Actions in Web Forms →
Very interesting conclusions based on user studies on form completion with regards to design of the Primary (Submit) and Secondary (Cancel) actions. All of Luke W’s form design articles are great, but this is the one I’ve referred to most often when designing complicated forms.
1 tag
How we read online. - By Michael Agger - Slate... →
In this article, Michael Agger hits readers over the head with his points about reading online by formatting his points in the short, bulleted, hyperlinked format readers are known to prefer. He manages to do it humorously, intelligently, and artfully.
1 tag
“Don’t bore the public with mysterious designs.”
– Bob Noorda, an internationally known graphic designer who helped introduce a Modernist look to advertising posters, corporate logos and, in the 1960s, the entire New York City subway system. NY Times Obituary
1 tag
Pathfinder Development - Web 2.0 context menus vs.... →
A web 2.0 trend: mysterious icons appear on hover. Similar to the old “mystery meat” navigation trend. Why, Twitter, why hide the favorite icon?
1 tag
The Web Without Words →
“Web Without Words” is an interesting exploration that takes websites and reconstructs them, replacing their words and images with wireframe-like blocks.
1 tag
Web form design survey results →
Part of a very interesting survey on the sign-up forms of 100 popular web sites.