Action Buttons, Designing for Use
A couple weeks ago my email subscribers received a link for a “new post” that didn’t go anywhere. It’s not that the page was broken, or that the post didn’t exist. Instead the problem was that I was working on…
Designing the Little Things That Make an Impression
The home page of your web site is your online store-front. The inside pages are the equivalent to customer facing insides of your shop. So what kind of first impression are you giving to your customers? Are you a high…
Help Users Choose by Reducing Choices
Let’s face it, you probably won’t be surprised if I tell you that you’re faced with hundreds, maybe even thousands of choices a day. We are all increasingly aware that our lives have become busy messes and decision making has…
SpeedyMarks Background Color Changer
I’m testing out new functionality on Flickr, that allows me to immediately post Flickr photos to my blog. I thought I would test this out by posting a screen shot of a new website I recently stumbled upon (http://www.stumbleupon.com/).
Keep Users Engaged with Motivational Design
Intrinsic motivation, it’s what makes us want to do something because the activity of doing it in and of itself is is enjoyable. Extrinsic motivation on the other hand, is when we are motivated by things outside ourselves, like money. It is…
How does this make you feel?
We are by nature social animals. This is one of the reasons social networking is so huge and has had exponential success. We like to know that others are thinking about us, wondering about us, concerned about our feelings. We…
Visualizing Information: The Netflix Network
Recently I came across the Visual Complexity website thanks to Adaptive Paths signposts for the week ending March 5th. A particular graphic by Christopher Hefele popped out at me called the NetFlix Similarity Map. Having written a paper on the intelligence of…
10 Web Design and Layout Principles Every Designer Should Know
I recently gave a presentation at the South Florida User Experience Meetup on the top 10 web design and layout principles you should know when designing your website. Below is a summary as well as the presentation with some screen…
7 Fantastic Invisible Interactions
What I call invisible interactions are interactions I never really noticed until they went missing. These are the truly usable and seamlessly designed interactions. Features I’ve come to expect without even knowing it. Below is a list of some invisible…
Tools of the Trade: Software for Prototyping
What is the best tool for creating prototypes? This is a surprisingly controversial topic. Just like asking someone whether they prefer Coke or Pepsi, you’re bound to get a reason behind why their choice is best, or why water is…