News flashes - hand-picked since 1997

For suggestions, contact Peter J. Bogaards (pjb at BogieLand dot com).

You should follow InfoDesign on @BogieZero.

February 8, 2010

The Synaptic Web

"The purpose of this document is to present a straw man overview of emerging trends on the next generation web. We encourage participation and conversation about these proposals so that we, as participants in this ecosystem, can come to a communal understanding our current and emerging opportunities for the web." (Khris Loux, Eric Blantz, and Chris Saad) - courtesy of ruurdpriester

PJB @ 3:05 PM | Classification: Information design - Social Web | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Hierarchical Task Analysis

"As UX professionals, we have a great many analytical and descriptive tools available to us. In fact, there are so many that it can sometimes be difficult to decide which tool is most appropriate for a given task! Hierarchical task analysis (HTA) is an underused approach in user experience, but one you can easily apply when either modifying an existing design or creating a new design." (Peter Hornsby - UXmatters)

PJB @ 12:41 PM | Classification: UCD | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Browse Is The New Black

"Search, search, search. Everyone is talking about search these days. Bing, semantic search, site search. That's all you hear. Don’t get me wrong: search is wildly important to our daily experiences on the web. I’ve written a bit on search on this blog. (...) But at the same time were seeing a lot of new products and interfaces that offer enhanced online browsing experiences. Browsing it totally underrated, I believe. What's more, looking broadly across human information behavior, we see that browsing is more than an accident, impulsive activity–it's not just aimless surfing." (James Kalbach - Experiencing Information)

PJB @ 11:43 AM | Classification: Information architecture - Search | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

iPad Interesting Moments

"The use of real world style transitions (flipping bookcase over, flipping pages, spreading stacks, rotating orientation, collecting selected elements into stacks) work extremely well with a multi-touch interface. I am using my physical body not a mechanical mouse so the response should feel more real world. This is also what Apple mentions in their UX guidelines." (Bill Scott - Looks Good works Well)

PJB @ 10:35 AM | Classification: HCI - Technology | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

February 7, 2010

Live at Interaction’10

"The first day of Interaction 10 in the wonderful city of Savannah, Georgia, kicked off without a hitch. Though eventually everyone was plagued by spotty, windy rain storms, the general pulse of the conference was positive and uplifting. Attendees were still talking about some of the great workshops from the day before, and they carried that energy over into today’s sessions. If one thing had to describe the overall theme of the first day it would be the importance of providing meaning in the work that we do. Below are recaps of the opening and closing keynotes, as well as some of the sessions from the day. (...) After a night of some great parties, and even better conversation, the second day of Interaction 10 began with a preview of the new IxDA.org website redesign. The team doing the redesign covered all the great new features that are coming, and went into detail on how local groups will be able to leverage the new site for their own networks and events. The excitement from yesterday was easily carried over, and people were pumped to see what the presenters had in store for us today." (Niklas Wolkert & Brad Nunnally - Johnny Holland Magazine)

PJB @ 3:49 PM | Classification: Events - Interaction design | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

February 4, 2010

Workshop on Search and Social Media

"It is my pleasure to report on the 3rd Annual Workshop on Search in Social Media, a gathering of information retrieval and social media researchers and practitioners in an area that has captured the interest of computer scientists, social scientists, and even the broader public." (Daniel Tunkelang)

PJB @ 12:06 PM | Classification: Search - Social Web | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

February 3, 2010

Design the stakeholder experience

"To get the stakeholders on track for a successful UX project, use your skills and design the stakeholder experience." (Phil Barrett - Front to back)

PJB @ 2:06 PM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Attending to Performance

"As information architects, we have the opportunity to learn when our constituents are thwarted by information structure. If possible, we should observe actual performers doing actual work in actual work contexts. We should understand what performers need to know, what is better referenced and what is best supported. We should understand the pressures, activities, accountabilities, interruptions, relationships and consequences of good and flawed performance. And we should measure." (Thom Haller - ASIS&T Bulletin February/March 2010)

PJB @ 9:24 AM | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

February 2, 2010

Content Is King

"Just because content is king doesn't mean, however, that the designer's job is any less important. How seriously would people take the King if his suit was poorly made? It has to look good." (Paul Boag)

PJB @ 4:46 PM | Classification: Content strategy - Podcasts - Writing | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

February 1, 2010

Search Patterns

"Search is among the most disruptive innovations of our time. It influences what we buy and where we go. It shapes how we learn and what we believe. This provocative and inspiring book explores design patterns that apply across the categories of web, e-commerce, enterprise, desktop, mobile, social, and real time search and discovery. Using colorful illustrations and examples, the authors bring modern information retrieval to life, covering such diverse topics as relevance ranking, faceted navigation, multi-touch, and mixed reality. Search Patterns challenges us to invent the future of discovery while serving as a practical guide to help us make search applications better today." (Peter Morville & Jeffery Callender)

PJB @ 1:57 PM | Classification: Patterns - Search | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Bringing User Centered Design to the Agile Environment

"I am not anti-Agile although I’ve been bitten a few times and feel trepidation when I hear someone singing its praises without having much experience with it. Over the last eight years, I’ve seen Agile badly implemented far more often than well (and yes, it can be done well, too). The result of this is mediocre product released in as much time as it would have taken a good team to release great product using a waterfall approach. In this article, I will describe Agile and attempt to illuminate a potential minefield for those who are swept up in the fervor of this development trend and want to jump in headlong. Then I will present how practices within User Centred Design (UCD) can mitigate the inherent risks of Agile and how these may be integrated within Agile development approaches." (Anthony Colfelt - Boxes and Arrows)

PJB @ 9:53 AM | Classification: UCD - User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 29, 2010

Better User Experience With Storytelling (Part One)

"Stories have defined our world. They have been with us since the dawn of communication, from cave walls to the tall tales recounted around fires. They have continued to evolve with their purpose remaining the same; To entertain, to share common experiences, to teach, and to pass on traditions. Today we communicate a bit differently. Our information is fragmented across various mass-media channels and delivered through ever-changing technology. It has become watered down, cloned, and is churned out quickly in 140-character blurbs. We’ve lost that personal touch where we find an emotional connection that makes us care." (Francisco Inchauste - Smashing Magazine)

PJB @ 3:58 PM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Stephen Anderson on Seductive Interactions

"How can we design systems that encourage the behaviors we want? One of the bleeding edge ideas we’ll be talking about at the UIE Web App Masters Tour is adding motivation to web applications. How do you encourage user behavior through the design of your web app? It may initially sound a little far-fetched, but there’s an industry that's been shaping its customer’s behavior since the beginning: the gaming industry." (UIE Brain Sparks)

PJB @ 9:29 AM | Classification: Podcasts - User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 28, 2010

Thoughts on Apple's iPad

"The iPad is not a laptop nor is it a smart phone. It is a couch device, a bedroom device (don't read that the wrong way), and a kitchen device (swivel it to cook from a recipe you find online). In all these places, a laptop always felt wrong. The iPad is optimized for surfing the Web, reading blogs/news/books, watching TV shows, playing casual games, listening to music, managing personal productivity (calendar, contacts) and looking at photos. Expecting it to do what a laptop does is the wrong frame of reference." (Luke Wroblewski)

PJB @ 10:05 AM | Classification: Information design - Interaction design | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 27, 2010

UX Case Study: Designing a user-focused web app

"I wrote this article to give you insight into the complete design process for the redesign of Nearby Tweets. Web app developers and entrepreneurs will hopefully gain some ideas or reinforce their own processes. Users may find it interesting to see what goes into the design of a complex UI. I'd love your ideas, feedback, and thoughts at the end of this article! Enjoy." (Brian Cray)

PJB @ 1:10 PM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 26, 2010

Writing for the Web: The Right Strategy

"When it comes to designing a website, content is often overlooked, but why? Very rarely do users browse the web looking for a good design or decent experience. Users come for the content. Not giving them what they want with poorly written content will frustrate users. Not only does it waste their time, but your time as well." (Shay Howe - letscountthedays) - courtesy of destrywion

PJB @ 12:00 PM | Classification: Content strategy - Writing | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

What Makes Design Intuitive?

"Using examples of web sites, applications, devices, and more, guest lecturer Jared Spool tackles factors that contribute to counter-intuitive design, and narrows down when design is intuitive." (Jared Spool - MFA in Interaction Design)

PJB @ 9:38 AM | Classification: Interaction design | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 25, 2010

The Differences between Usability and User Experience

"Usability refers to the ease with which a user can accomplish his or her goals using any tool. (...) Somewhat in contrast, user experience refers to the way a user perceives his or her interaction with a system. User experience design encompasses both interaction design and visual design and seeks to promote an interface that is pleasing to the user." (RJ Owen - InsideRIA)

PJB @ 2:28 PM | Classification: Usability - User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Testing Expert Users

"It's more difficult to conduct usability studies with experienced users than with novices, and the improvements are usually smaller. Still, improving expert performance is often worth the effort." (Jakob Nielsen - Alertbox)

PJB @ 11:24 AM | Classification: Usability | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 22, 2010

Preso: UX Strategy as told by the paintings of Jan Steen (and friends)

"UX strategy lacks strategy, it is usually just a glorified waterfall process, even agile processes are just incremental waterfall. This presentation tells the current state of UX strategy in pictures while it outlines a real UX Strategy in words." (Jonathan Arnowitz)

PJB @ 4:51 PM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 21, 2010

Innovation is Served

"(...) a good model for spreading the word about service design to a lay audience. I’d prefer a bit more detail in the case studies but 31Volts has done an admirable job hitting the design highlights and staying out of the weeds." (Jeff Howard - Design for Service)

PJB @ 9:59 AM | Classification: Service design | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

20 User Experience Books you should own

"These highly recommended user experience books cover everything from user research and interface design, to information architecture and UX strategy. If you're really serious about your career as a user experience professional, these books should be the cornerstone of your personal library." (UXbyDesign)

PJB @ 9:45 AM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 20, 2010

UX design in print media: Designing with the user in mind

"Due to the increasing popularity of usability design and user experience design articles that focus on the internet and web design, you might not be aware that user experience design has been around a lot longer than the internet has. This article will discuss the effects that user experience design has specifically in print design. It is my firm belief that user experience design is important in any design setting and your future success in the design industry depends on how well you can design an experience." (Preston D. Lee - Graphic Design Blender)

PJB @ 2:32 PM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 19, 2010

Preso: Wireframes for the Wicked

"Wireframes beyond the basics, not for the weak at heart. In this panel, three experienced designers will share their tried and true tips for making wireframes really work. We'll talk about how to sketch a wireframe on the fly to demonstrate an idea and how to create a standalone wireframe deliverable; when to show a concept and when to describe nitty-gritty detail; how to make a narrative wireframe and how to make a specification wireframe. And best of all, we'll show you plenty of examples." (Michael Angeles, Nick Finck and Donna Spencer - March 6, 2009)

PJB @ 1:05 PM | Classification: Wireframes | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

What have we forgotten about UX?

"Maybe I'm not very smart (don't answer that!). Possibly it's because I got my Graphic Design degree almost 20 years ago. Or maybe it's because most of what I've learned about UX design is geared toward eLearning, where the overriding goal is to make sure the user has the best possible chance of absorbing whatever content is presented. But I seem to have some concepts about what constitutes good usability that are at odds with what I see demonstrated on websites that are about UX and design or are by people who are using their sites to market their UX design services. Before I get specific about what I'm seeing in these sites, I thought I'd outline what the criteria are for me for good UX." (Amy Blankenship - InsideRIA)

PJB @ 11:34 AM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Apple's Proposed Multi-touch User Interface System

"(...) these proposals outline an integrated interaction model of virtual "floating" controls that are specific to the mode or application the system is in. The controls are accessed and manipulated through touch-based gestures, combinations of mutli-touch inputs, and/or inputs detected through sensors. Users get haptic, audible, and visual feedback when using these input methods to interact with the system's set of virtual controls." (LukeW)

PJB @ 10:32 AM | Classification: HCI - Interaction design | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

Pervasive Information Architecture: Designing information space in ubiquitous ecologies

"Information is going everywhere, bleeding out of we thought was cyberspace and back into the real world: increasingly, many tasks we perform every day not only constantly require us to move between different media, but actually have us move from the digital to the physical environment and back. Computation is everywhere, and so are search and interaction. It's time to move beyond the computer screen to design information space in these new ubiquitous ecologies." (Andrea Resmini & Luca Rosati)

PJB @ 9:45 AM | Classification: Information architecture | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 18, 2010

Embedding User Experience in the Product Development Lifecycle

"All UX professionals, not just user assistance developers, face the problem of integrating their work into the product development lifecycle. At lower levels of organizational usability maturity, too often, the contributions of User Experience tend to be reactive. Usability professionals test the usability of a given product, then designers mitigate any shortcomings they find, and user assistance developers merely document what is already there. This column takes a look at the full scope of the product development lifecycle and how UX professionals can add value." (Mike Hughes - UXmatters)

PJB @ 10:04 AM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

UX Leader as Sales Agent?

"(...) many UX professionals feel a bit frustrated that it is necessary for them to convince their business partners that user experience is valuable—and that our core practices should be a central part of standard business practices." (Jim Nieters - UXmatters)

PJB @ 10:02 AM | Classification: User experience | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design

January 16, 2010

Design Trends across Decades

"Joining Karel on this episode are Keith Instone (Information Architecture Lead, IBM CIO’s Office, IBM.com), Eliane Tozman (User Interface Designer, IBM Media Design Studio), Ben Sykes (UX Design Strategy Consultant at Interactoid), and Shawn O’Keefe (Interactive Festival Producer and Web Developer at SXSW. The panel discusses recent design related news from the last month or two, the biggest user experience design innovations of the last decade, and predictions about what the next decade holds in store." (UXDEsignCast)

PJB @ 10:12 PM | Classification: Podcasts | Permalink

From: InfoDesign: Understanding by Design