Category Archives: Design
Design is so much more than just the graphics. A lot of thought goes in to how something looks, where elements are placed, what does and doesn’t appear and when. You’ll find that information here.
Design: Usability, Trust and the iPad
June 9, 2011
Apple are known for their beautiful design and their “it just works” mentality. It’s one of the things I love about my own Apple products. My parents, on the other hand, are known for not being me.
The only computers my parents have ever used are Windows machines and English is their third language.
I wanted to see how easy it would be for them to set up an iPad 2 for themselves.
Tags: Accessibility, Apple, expectations, iPad, usability
Design: Details Prevent User Paralysis
January 4, 2011
User paralysis is a horrible side effect of lack of attention to detail. Recently I saw a TED Talk by Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman for the Ogilvy Group in the UK. In it he describes how it’s the small things that make all the difference.
I saw, first-hand, how simple it is to both bring on and avoid user paralysis.
Tags: details, user experience, user interaction, UX
Design: Poka yoke UX design
November 15, 2010
There’s a theory of Japanese car construction called poka yoke. It was described to me as meaning a form of idiot-proofing but it really means “mistake proofing”. Pieces of the car are manufactured in such a way that they can only be used on one particular part of the car. We need to apply this theory to website design.
Design: Use Experience to build Experience
August 12, 2010
Real world experience counts for a lot when developing for an online world. Sure, it sounds trite but it’s frighteningly true. Working on redesigning the user interface for an online store, I found myself digging deep into my own experiences to be able to anticipate the needs of the customer.
Tags: experience, online stores, process flow, retail
Design: Designing a User Interface with Caveat Emptor
July 6, 2010
There are lots of elements that go into making a good online store. One of the most important is that customers have access to all the information they need to make an informed decision.
Tags: amazon, communication, ecommerce, expectations, kindle, shopping, usability
Design: Web 1.5
June 16, 2010
The brief for Big Red Tin and its redesigned sister site, Soupgiant, included the note “We haven’t got an exact style in mind, but something relaxed and modern without going over the top – Web 1.5 if you like“
Tags: Content Strategy, Design, Web 2.0
Behind the Websites, Business, Content Strategy, Design: The “D” Word
November 24, 2009
To call oneself a ‘Web Designer’ is about as accurate and explanatory as saying ‘I work with computers’.
Tags: graphic design, web design, web production