July 2002

Interface Hall of Shame: Lotus Notes

"Lotus Notes 4.6 contains almost every example of inefficient design illustrated thoughout the entire Hall of Shame site." (Isys Information Architects)

Posted by PJB on July 30, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

What an IA Should Know About Prototypes for User Testing

"There are several important factors to consider when you are planning to do prototyping for user testing. You will want to make careful choices about fidelity, level of interactivity and the medium of your prototype." (Chris Farnum - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on July 30, 2002 | Classification: Information architecture | Comments (0) | Permalink

Why Free Software Usability Tends To Suck

"(...) the vast majority of open-source projects are also volunteer projects; and it seems that the use of volunteers to drive development inevitably leads the interface design to suck." (Matthew Thomas)

Posted by PJB on July 29, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

Website Structural Navigation

"The structural navigation bar is becoming a ubiquitous element on many websites. (...) This experiment tests whether this type of navigational reference is truly valuable." (N. Lazar and M. Eisenbrey - SHORE 2000)

Posted by PJB on July 26, 2002 | Classification: Navigation | Comments (0) | Permalink

Is Branding Compatible with Web Usability?

"Visual branding is typically based on the use of large graphics, text that is set as graphics, and special effects such as frames, image maps, custom navigation icons, and animated text and graphics." (Roger C. Parker - GraphicsIQ)

Posted by PJB on July 26, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

The Interface in the Environment

"(...) always be on the lookout for the unexpected." (Frank Long - frontend.com Usability InfoCentre)

Posted by PJB on July 26, 2002 | Classification: HCI | Comments (0) | Permalink

Getting Established: ED for the Enterprise

Presentation at the 5th AIGA Advance for Design Summit (Louis Rosenfeld)

Posted by PJB on July 25, 2002 | Classification: Information architecture | Comments (0) | Permalink

Diagrammatic Reasoning

"(...) a central repository for information pertaining to the investigation of reasoning with visual representations." (Michael Anderson - University of Hartford, CT, USA)

Posted by PJB on July 24, 2002 | Classification: InfoViz | Comments (0) | Permalink

Talking with Terry Winograd

Convergence, ambient technology, and success in innovation (ACM Ubiquity)

Posted by PJB on July 24, 2002 | Classification: Interviews | Comments (0) | Permalink

Reading Online News: A Comparison of Three Presentation Formats

"(...) this study addressed the question of how information should be presented within a news-style web page." (SURL Usability News)

Posted by PJB on July 24, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

Information Ecology: Bayer's Book of Maps

"One of the purposes of information design is to realize a vivid experience of content." (Nate Burgos - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on July 23, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

You Are Here: Maps 101

"Maps are one of the most basic (and informative) infographics." (Lee McCormack - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on July 23, 2002 | Classification: Information graphics | Comments (0) | Permalink

Depth vs Breadth in the Arrangement of Web Links

"The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of depth and breadth of web site structure on the user response time." (P. Zaphiris and L. Mtei - OTAL University of Maryland)

Posted by PJB on July 23, 2002 | Classification: Information architecture | Comments (0) | Permalink

The Shape of Information

Information design isn't just a textual exercise. Today, it's a basic component of all good design. (Paul Makovsky - Metropolis Magazine)

Posted by PJB on July 23, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy

"(...) copy can address some of the most pressing challenges facing your business online." (Nick Usborne)

Posted by PJB on July 23, 2002 | Classification: Writing | Comments (0) | Permalink

Content and Complexity

The Role of Content in Information Design (Michael J. Albers (ed.) and Beth Mazur (ed.) - Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.)

Posted by PJB on July 22, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

Web Style Guide - 2nd Edition

"From its inception in 1994, the principal aim of Web Style Guide has been to provide a thorough and accessible guide to Web design for developers around the world" (Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton)

Posted by PJB on July 21, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

Thom's Story

"I wasn't born an information architect." (Thom Haller - Info.Design)

Posted by PJB on July 19, 2002 | Classification: Information architecture | Comments (0) | Permalink

The Elements of User Experience

"The aim of the book is to give readers the big picture of Web user experience development, focusing on ideas rather than tools or techniques." (Jesse James Garrett - coming in September 2002)

Posted by PJB on July 19, 2002 | Classification: User experience | Comments (0) | Permalink

The Culture of Usability

"How To Spend Less And Get More From Your Usability-Testing Program" (Janice Fraser - New Architect)

Posted by PJB on July 18, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

An Introduction to Usability Testing

"The concepts and ideas I discuss in this article are not earth-shattering and many of you will already know all of this information." (Matt Gullett - The Code Project)

Posted by PJB on July 18, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

What on Earth Happened to the Computer Revolution in Education?

A Conversation with Professor Seymour Papert (MIT Media Lab Events)

Posted by PJB on July 18, 2002 | Classification: Interviews | Comments (0) | Permalink

Designing a Solid Information Architecture

An Interview with Peter Merholz of Adaptive Path (Jared M. Spool - User Interface 7 East Conference)

Posted by PJB on July 18, 2002 | Classification: Interviews | Comments (0) | Permalink

An Interview with Cooper's Kim Goodwin

"She uses and teaches a design methodology known as Goal-Directed Design, which emphasizes identifying goals of users before doing any formal design." (Jared M. Spool - User Interface 7 East Conference)

Posted by PJB on July 18, 2002 | Classification: Interviews | Comments (0) | Permalink

AIGA Experience Design Summit #5

"The theme this year: integrating our values, processes, and insights into the business community." (Erin Malone - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on July 17, 2002 | Classification: User experience | Comments (0) | Permalink

AIGA Experience Design

"Our mission is to build an interdisciplinary community of professionals who design for a world in which experiences are increasingly digital and connected." (American Institute of Graphic Arts)

Posted by PJB on July 17, 2002 | Classification: User experience | Comments (0) | Permalink

The GUI Gold Standard

"The GUI of certain operating systems seems to be determined not so much by general usability standards but by understanding the quirks and desires of its users." (Elizabeth Milard - NewsFactor)

Posted by PJB on July 16, 2002 | Classification: HCI | Comments (0) | Permalink

Thackara's Law

"Smart Tech + Pointless Product = Stupid Product" (John Thackara - Interaction Design Institute Ivrea)

Posted by PJB on July 16, 2002 | Classification: Interaction design | Comments (0) | Permalink

The New CHIplace Interactive Discussion Forum

"We are constantly adding new content and features to the new CHIplace (...)" (contact CHIplace)

Posted by PJB on July 15, 2002 | Classification: HCI | Comments (0) | Permalink

Ontologies Come of Age

"Ontologies have moved beyond the domains of library science, philosophy, and knowledge representation." (Deborah L. McGuinness - Stanford KSL)

Posted by PJB on July 15, 2002 | Classification: Metadata | Comments (0) | Permalink

Information Architecture Concepts: Misconceptions Explained

"An information architect is a vital member of a Web development team, playing a critical role in how content is organized on a Web site." (Thomas Myer - IBM developerWorks)

Posted by PJB on July 12, 2002 | Classification: Information architecture | Comments (0) | Permalink

Nondirected Interviews: How to Get More Out of Your Research Questions

"In order to remove our personal biases, expectations and opinions from the questions asked, I practice a kind of questioning technique called the nondirected interview." (Mike Kuniavsky - Adaptive Path)

Posted by PJB on July 10, 2002 | Classification: UCD | Comments (0) | Permalink

After the Dot-Bomb: Getting Web Information Retrieval Right This Time

"Suggestions are made for improvements in the design of Web information retrieval (...)" (Marcia J. Bates - FirstMonday 2002, Vol. 7 Num. 7)

Posted by PJB on July 10, 2002 | Classification: Search | Comments (0) | Permalink

Emotion & Design: Attractive Things Work Better

"Advances in our understanding of emotion and affect have implications for the science of design." (Don Norman)

Posted by PJB on July 09, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

A Photo History of SIGCHI: 1982 - 2001

"Explore annotated photos of CHI conferences and related events from the beginning of SIGCHI through today." (ACM SIGCHI)

Posted by PJB on July 09, 2002 | Classification: HCI | Comments (0) | Permalink

Information Architecture: Defining The Damn Thing

"Defining information architecture is a re-occuring theme in all IA forums, and frequently leads to re-naming efforts as well, from information therapist to experience designer." (IAWiki)

Posted by PJB on July 08, 2002 | Classification: Information architecture | Comments (0) | Permalink

The Cranky User

"Everything I need to know about usability, I learned at the arcade." (Peter Seebach - IBM developersWork)

Posted by PJB on July 05, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

Apple Guide Complete: Designing and Developing Onscreen Assistance

"With Apple Guide, you can produce guide files that actually lead users, step by step, through complex tasks and concepts." (Apple Developer)

Posted by PJB on July 05, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink

Applying Usability Techniques to Deadline-Driven Projects

"People have known for some time that getting users involved right at the start of the design process has a number of business benefits." (Allison Tynan - System Concepts)

Posted by PJB on July 04, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

Managing the Ecology of Interaction

"Many studies and many areas in HCI and CSCW emphasise the rich ecological setting of human-computer interaction (...)" (Alan Dix)

Posted by PJB on July 04, 2002 | Classification: Interaction design | Comments (0) | Permalink

Where the Wireframes Are: Special Deliverable #3

"A wireframe (...) describes the contents of a web page by illustrating a mock layout." (Dan Brown - Boxes and Arrows)

Posted by PJB on July 03, 2002 | Classification: Wireframes | Comments (0) | Permalink

Weblog Kitchen

"The Weblog Kitchen explores current research in weblogs, wikis, and other hypertext systems." (Mark Bernstein)

Posted by PJB on July 03, 2002 | Classification: Hypertext | Comments (0) | Permalink

XFML Wiki

"The eXchangable Faceted Metadata Language is an easy language to exchange metadata between websites." (Also: XFML.org)

Posted by PJB on July 02, 2002 | Classification: Metadata | Comments (0) | Permalink

International Standards for HCI and Usability

"Standards related to usability can be categorised as primarily concerned with the use of the product (effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction in a particular context of use). (Usability Net)

Posted by PJB on July 01, 2002 | Classification: Usability | Comments (0) | Permalink

Architectures for Adaptive Mobile Systems

"(...) the application of adaptive architectures to maximize the user-defined utility of mobile devices within the limits of their available resources." (Rick Kazman - news@sei interactive)

Posted by PJB on July 01, 2002 | Classification: User experience | Comments (0) | Permalink

Formal Definitions of User-Centered Design

"When rigorously applied, a UCD approach meets both user needs and the business objectives of the sponsoring organization." (Charles L. Mauro - TaskZ)

Posted by PJB on July 01, 2002 | Classification: UCD | Comments (0) | Permalink

Practical Design of Outlines and Site Maps

"My goal with this site is to make electronically delivered documents far easier and more practical and faster to work with, by expanding beyond the "help topics" design paradigm." (Hypertext Navigation)

Posted by PJB on July 01, 2002 | Classification: Information design | Comments (0) | Permalink