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Information design

Information design is the skill and practice of preparing information so people can use it with efficiency and effectiveness. (source: Wikipedia)

How to create great UX documents

‘Document’ is so much better than ‘deliverable’ as a label. UX documents are information objects and need to be designed as such: comprehensive, attractive and understandable.

“Like all good usability professionals I’m sure that you’ve previously carried out usability testing on a design, or perhaps watched usability testing sessions taking place. But have you ever usability tested a document? Why not? In the same way that usability testing will give an indication of how usable and appropriate a design is, it can also do the same for a document.”

(Neil Turner a.k.a. @neilturnerux ~ UX for the masses)

What is a card?

My C5 design law of cards: Cards contain content chunks and code.

“(…) when we talk about cards in digital products, it’s important to understand that there are actually two, interrelated concepts at work that some people conflate as one. I’ll use some grossly simplified language to label them as cards as presentation and cards as third-party content. (…) A card is a single unit of content or functionality, presented in a concise visual package. More advanced cards use that form to surface content or functionality from other apps, and allow users to interact with that content or functionality directly in the context of where a user encounters the card.”

(Khoi Vinh a.k.a. @khoi ~ Subtraction)

Deciphering data through design

That’s why the byline of this stream is ‘Understanding by Design’.

“Understanding problems are common when trying to visualize data. Designing a layout to effectively communicate complex or even simple data can be a challenge. If the visualization isn’t immediately apparent to a user, it requires a level of understanding to get the most out of their experience. (…) In this podcast with Jared Spool, Stephen outlines what he calls the 7 Problems of Understanding. These range from problems of comprehension to problems of discovery and more. Each of these problems is usually brought about by a design or display decision. Looking further at these issues, simple changes can greatly increase the experience for users.”

(Stephen Anderson a.k.a. @stephenanderson ~ User Interface Engineering)

Provide meaning with motion: Why motion design is now a required skill for designers

Another step to use cinematography features into digital design for understanding.”

“Carefully choreographed motion design can effectively guide the user’s attention and focus through multiple steps of a process or procedure; avoid confusion when layouts change or elements are rearranged; and improve the overall beauty of the experience.”

(Paul Stamatiou a.k.a. @Stammy)

Analyzing Minard’s visualization of Napoleon’s 1812 march

Learning about the history of your profession is the best thing you can do.

“There are some similarities to designing print data graphics and modern interfaces for mobile and web. When we need to translate numbers into graphics for users, we need to focus on communicating lots of information without overwhelming the users with extraneous content. Both Playfair and Minard created effective graphics to turn numbers into a narrative, but Minard was able to tell a much more detailed story with his design techniques.”

(Joanne Cheng a.k.a. @joannecheng ~ thoughtbot)

The container model and blended content: A new approach to how we present content on the Guardian

The container model published on a Freitag. Re-usability of a content design concept.

“This way of thinking and curating our content became known as ‘blended content’. Each container is then filled with content containing a blend of verticals, a blend of tones or both. A container full of blended content can aggregate content from across the whole of the Guardian. Rather than pigeonholing and presenting content on the basis of how it was commissioned, blending frees it to appear anywhere in any combination.”

(Nick Haley a.k.a. twobobswerver ~ The Guardian beta)

Exploring the phase-space of information architecture

Finally, some deep thinking based upon reading the relevant sources again regarding the properties of information and how it effects information architecture.

“(…) I introduced the phase-space of information architecture, a mapping of the semantic neighborhoods created when we run through all the permutations of the two flavors of information: perceptual and linguistic. (…) Here we will look in detail at the facets of each flavor of information. Now that we’ve detailed the facets of our stuff of design, let’s situate ourselves in a design problem and visualize how we may engage the phase-space of information architecture to strategically turn the dials of perceptual and linguistic information.”

(Marsha Haverty a.k.a. @mjane_h ~ Praxicum) ~ courtesy of @resmini

An extended interview with John Maeda, Design Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Always a treat to read John Maeda speak about design, Design and De$ign. Even though it’s briefly in this interview.

“Technology has matured. We don’t buy things because they have better technology; we buy them because they’re better designed. People in technology generally don’t understand what design is. I think there’s an opportunity and responsibility for designers to play a larger role in economic development and leadership. I call it moving from lowercase design to capital D Design to dollar sign De$ign. It’s going to be important for design to take a larger role in the technology economy.”

(Tina Essmaker a.k.a. @tinaessmaker ~ The Great Discontent)

Forms: The complete guide

Capturing data online has been a field of design and implementation for many years. Also, designing the best paper forms has been around for more than half a century. A different medium doesn’t necessarily mean different design principles.

“Forms are one of the most important parts of any site or app – they are the most common way for our users to give us the information that we need to help them do what they want to do.”

(Martin Polley a.k.a. @martinpolley ~ Boxes and Arrows)

State of Design: How design education must change

Schooling versus learning. Formal education of a field becomes significant if the demand for a profession exceeds the supply. But how to find the proper pedagogy, didactics and curriculum? Instructional design revisited.

“Design is the practice of intentional creation to enhance the world. It is a field of doing and making, creating great products and services that fit human needs, that delight and inform. Design is exciting because it calls upon the arts and humanities, the social, physical, and biological sciences, engineering and business.”

(Donald A. Norman)

InfoDesignPatterns: A design pattern taxonomy for the field of data visualization and information design

Pattern thinking can by applied to every field and practice. Information is an obvious application for patterns.

“Written by Christian Behrens and originated as the companion website for his Master’s thesis The Form of Facts and Figures in the Interface Design program at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. Its goal is the development of a design pattern taxonomy for the field of data visualization and information design. The project core consists of a collection of currently 48 design patterns that describe the functional aspects of graphic components for the display, behavior and user interaction of complex infographics. The collection is part of a 200-page book that additionally includes a profound historical record of information design as well as an introduction into the research field of design patterns.”

(Christian Behrens a.k.a. @c_behrens)

Wearable technology: Designing the fashion of the future

Fashion gets enriched by information technology, therefore information design must be incorporated.

“A lot of people in the mobile industry were surprised that mobile happened as fast as it did. Once the iPhone was released, within two years we saw companies like Motorola and Nokia go from top of the mobile phone world into basically junk stock. And I think a lot of people see wearables as sort of that next big tidal wave. People don’t want what happened in mobile to happen again, so they’re interested in wearables.”

(Laura Kudia a.k.a. @laurakudia ~ Why this way)

Managing website accounts in cross-platform contexts

Functionalities and features across touchpoints. Compare and contrast.

“So you want to extend your website’s account management features to mobile devices. Well you’re not alone; most major websites today have cross-platform accounts and profiles that make for a more engaging and cohesive user experience. And many sites enable account management features on mobile devices.”

(Will Hacker a.k.a. @willhacker ~ Boxes and Arrows)

Does the Internet shape a disciplinary society? The information-knowledge paradox

Adding French philosophers to the equation mostly complexifies things.

“In the post-modern era, knowledge is being understood as information. In reality, knowledge is commoditized and objectified as decontextualized representations. More information may mean that the society is drawn into a critical phase where loss of knowledge occurs with the unlimited flow of information. Such ubiquitous information could lead to less understanding, less trust and less truth, which would erode rationality in the governance of the society. Using a framework based on Michel Foucault’s archeological methodology, i.e., unearthing how information and communication technologies came to be viewed as a source of truth/knowledge, this paper explores the question: Do ICT contribute information that can be construed as knowledge? Does this knowledge contribute to truth or to power? Do ICTs push an information society towards Foucault’s disciplinary society, where the so-called knowledge speaks truth to power?”

(Indhu Rajagopal ~ First Monday)