IT Solutions Blog

• The end of the killer feature (by Scott Berkun) – Scott points out the downsides of upgrades and compatibility; version management across third-party development, huge field.
• The Experience belongs to the User (by Joshua Porter) – about the effects of over-architecting on the actual user.
• How Well Are You Pricing Your Designs? (by Joel Reyes) – usually I consider previous experiences and their workload in hours, plus/minus additional requirments and the client itself (more communication involved, more/less hand-holding required, etc.) and multiply it with a fixed price. That’s my total.
• Apologizing like a human, not a corporation (by 37signals) – we all make mistakes, let’s start recognizing them and learn to appologize right – great example!
• Defining the Designer of 2015 (by aiga.org) – aiga teamed up with Adobe to take a look into the future. Capture the attention span of a user, huh?
• Destroying Designer’s Creative Block and Unleashing Your Creativity (by Aidan Huang) – Watch my caffeine intake?? Are you kidding me????
• There’s no right answer (by Donna Spencer) – Donna mentions some factors for designing the ‘better’ solution, the successful design will take all these factors into consideration.
• UCD info graphic poster (by Pascal Raabe) – information graphic poster illustrating the underlying lifecycle, methods, principles and techniques in a user centred design process.
• Using Charts and Graphs for Content (by Chris McConnell) – comprehensive overview and discussion of charting and graphing content.
• Considering Prototypes (by Andrew Maier) – prototypes generate context and questions and move teams in the direction of meeting business demands.
• The Frankfurt Kitchen (by Harry Brignull) – about design perfection that becomes counter-productive.
• Design Better And Faster With Rapid Prototyping (by Lyndon Cerejo) – another great blog post about prototyping – don’t overdo it and be aware of scope creep – it’s a bloody prototype
• Two Beautiful New Mini Pixel Icon Sets (reported by Paul Andrew) – what more to say, go get them.
• UX Lx Wrap Up (by Theresa Neil) – good wrap-up (with links to material) of the 3 day UX Lx conference in Lisbon last month.
• Master user experience design (by Craig Grannell) – inside UX, well-researched and laid out article, good read.

Another week of fantastic articles! A little digging (or reading my blog ) will save you time and buying books hehe.

• 15 Desktop & Online Wireframing Tools (by Tom Walker) – I use Balsamiq Mockups, what about you?
• User Experience Books Free to Read Online (by Simon Whatley) – yes, free
• The Future of Wireframes (by Nishant Kothary) – in Nishant’s words: holy guacamole!
• Do’s and Don’ts of Usability Testing (by Demetrius Madrigal and Bryan McClain) – my take-away: don’t jump to conclusions, that truly is a beginner mistake.
• How to Increase Conversions on any Website in 45 Minutes (by Andrew Follett) – improvement can happen in less than an hour, keep it down to the top 3 items!
• 43 Essential Controls for Web Applications (by Theresa Neil) – just being able to name them properly (not to mention program them) is a huge communication plus.
• How to Choose Right CSS Frameworks (by Joel Reyes) – a must read for any web programmer. Know at least one css framework really well.
• Why you only need to test with five users (explained) (by Jeff Sauro) – I mean, really well explained.
• Email verification – is your call-to-action strong enough? (by Harry Brignull) – it’s tough to lose customers that WANT to be customers. Consider lazy registration as well!
• “Call to Action” Buttons: Guidelines, Best Practices and Examples (by hongkiat) – Another really important article. Talks about size, color, labels etc.