World Usability Day 2011
Posted by Michael Gaigg
Today is World Usability Day. Check out online events.
It's about making our world work better!
This is a reminder that we must develop technologies and experiences in a way that serves people first!
Lot's has been said about Steve Jobs and how he was an innovator and leader of easier to use software and hardware. I think he was just somebody that asked the right questions and had the power to translate them into consumer products (well, impressive enough I guess).
The questions we all should ask more often - and we cannot be afraid to ask over and over again if we didn't understand - are WHY and WHAT. Only after figuring these questions out we are able to design, improve and innovate the HOW.
With that: Happy Usability Day!
Highlights of Week 22/2011
Posted by Michael Gaigg
- User-interface, user-experience & usability explained (by Bernard Schokman) - I think the title is misleading, it's more about "Practical design principles for UI/UX/Usability Design"
- 10 Important UI Design Considerations for Web Apps (by Marc Gayle) - try polishing the little things to make your app truly awesome
- Tools for Facilitating Feedback on Prototypes and Wireframes (by David Leggett) - What's your favorite? Why?
- How to Identify the Best Design Problems (by Joshua Porter) - About the importance of prioritization.
- A Guide to CSS Colors in Web Design (by Alexander Dawson) - Once again a great guide by Alexander; contrast, shades, hues, transparency and co.
- 40 Beautiful and Elegant WordPress Themes of May 2011 (by Madalin Tudose) - very nice collection, wordpress has come a long way and so did its front-end designers
- HOW TO: Add the +1 Button to Your WordPress Site (by Christina Warren) - if you like it or not, here is the +1 Button integration...
- Why You Should Buy Your First 5000 Twitter Followers (by Rohit) - ethical or not... love or not love... with a little help from your friends
- So you think you can build a website? (by Vitamin in Talent) - a really handy flowchart to determine if your idea will result in a great website
- The ultimate HTML5 resource guide (by Cameron Chapman) - what else to say? ultimate resouce guide!
- (More) Useful Web Usability Testing Tools (by hongkiat) - What are your experiences with these tools? Which one is your favorite? Why?
Highlights of Week 21/2011
Posted by Michael Gaigg
- HOW TO: Get Started With Google Analytics (by Meghan Peters) - Helps you monitor and analyze visitors, traffic sources, content, goals, e-commerce,...
- Usability Testing: What You need to Know? (by hongkiat) - read about how to structure tasks and questions
- 30 Inspiring “About Me” Pages (by Stephanie Hamilton) - yes, get inspired!
- Designing Effective FAQ Pages (by Mohammad Moradi) - use them as a last resort, but most important: make them helpful and not require another FAQ page to decipher
List of UX Conferences in 2011
Posted by Michael Gaigg
Here a list of interesting User Experience/Usability Conferences in 2011 (thanks to Sooria for sharing):
- CHI: http://chi2011.org/
- Nielsen Norman: http://www.nngroup.com/
- UIE: http://uiconf.com
- IXDA: http://www.ixda.org/conference
- IA Summit: http://2011.iasummit.org/
- HFES: http://www.hfes.org/web/HFESMeetings/2011annualmeeting.html
- Web 2.0: http://www.web2expo.com/
- Web App Masters Tour: http://www.uie.com/events/web_app_masters/2011/
Do you have any past experiences you'd like to share? Did I miss one? Tell me in the comments!
World Usability Day 2010
Posted by Michael Gaigg
Today is World Usability Day. Check out online events and all the other events worldwide.
Why?
So many things are broken nowadays. We learned to live with it, blame ourselves and just fit in. But it doesn't have to be like that!
What?
Raise awareness for making things (and by things I mean pretty much anything that surrounds us, not only technology) easier, more self-explanatory, working. Technology has to serve us not the other way around!
How?
Teach your children to solve problems! Teach them to understand what they are doing, saying, arguing, using. Teach them to make educated decisions, to be critical about anything shiny, fancy, to not follow a hype blindly. Teach your children to think in the people they work with and to communicate well.
Teach our children what we are doing today and tomorrow will be (even) brighter.
Highlights of Week 44/2010
Posted by Michael Gaigg
- 25 Tools to Improve Your Website’s Usability (by bellefoong) - which is your favorite?
- Book Review — Map Scripting 101 (by James Fee) - exactly what the title says... book review.
- What We Look for in Founders (by Paul Graham) - Determination, Flexibility, Imagination, Naughtiness, Friendship
- SEO for Bing Versus Google (by John Pring) - Google hates Flash... and more!
- Designing Hyperlinks: Tips and Best Practices (by Jake Rocheleau) - the bread and butter of web design, always good to remember.
- Becoming a Better Web Designer (by Alexander Dawson) - this is an awesome resource of resources - reserve some time for reading.
- Announcing the Wijmo Beta! (by Chris Bannon) - Wijmo is an extension to jQuery UI and adds new widgets and features to your arsenal - sweet.
- HOW TO: Optimize Your Social Media Marketing Strategy (by Josh Peters) - Awareness, Interest, Desire and Action + Loyalty and Advocacy.
Highlights of Week 38/2010
Posted by Michael Gaigg
- What Websites Can Learn From Mobile (by Michael Wilson) - funny, but my take-away is that 'constraints improve creative design'
- The Perfect Web Designer Should Not Exist (by Jason Gross) - base your design decisions on your sites' target audience and their goals - nothing else matters... uuuhhhhhhh....
- 97 Things to Know about Usability (by Jeff Sauro) - fantastic, fantastic, fantastic - must read!!
- Top 5 Web Font Design Trends to Follow (by Christina Warren) - WOFF-WOFF, love to hear that dog barking..
Highlights of Week 27/2010
Posted by Michael Gaigg
- Debunking the Myths of Remote Usability Studies (by Corrie Kwan, Jin Li, and May Wong) - some myths might seem obvious, but others - drawn from first-hand experience - are not. Anyway, lot's of good advise to be considered.
- How to Communicate With Your Clients (by Joel Reyes) - In short: Listen, Ask, Consult, Respect, Reason
- Beginner’s Guide to SEO: Best Practices – Part 3/3, Part 2/3, Part 1/3 (by hongkiat) - Search Engine Optimization is a must in all our toolboxes. Excellent three-part tutorial, thx!
- 250 Quick Web Design Tips (Part 2) (Part 1) (by Alexander Dawson) - about Browsers, Styles, Techniques, Marketing and all other good stuff.
- Agile UX and The One Change That Changes Everything (by Anders Ramsay) - Start Building Earlier through Rapid and Rich Communication and Just-in-Time Detail.
As always, send me your link or mention it in the comments. Anything related to this blog is much appreciated by all of us. Thanks!
Highlights of Week 10/2010
Posted by Michael Gaigg
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.
Highlights of Week 06/2010
Posted by Michael Gaigg
Maestros, at this point a quick note that I will be back writing my own content shortly (have quiet some stuff in my queue). So long, the highlights of week 6/2010:
- Paper iPad - you don't have the money for a real iPad? Make one out of paper
- Using a Pre-Launch Checklist for your Website (by Ben Gremillion) - building a website is fun and believe me, it's funnier to follow a protocol. This one is a great start.
- Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy (by Derek Sivers) - Value your first follower, embrace him/her as equal, the rest will follow...
- If 1 of 5 users has a problem in a usability test will it impact 1% or 20% of all users? (by Jeff Sauro) - take observed usability issues serious, there are more than likely critical issues.
- Google Maps Get Labs With 9 Cool New Features (by Stan Schroeder) - nothing fancy when you work in a mapping company like ESRI, but probably a heck-full of work for google.
About Me
I'm Michael Gaigg, Lead UI Engineer at Esri's Prof. Services.
I have over 8 years of experience in designing map interfaces and can't stop thinking about improving them.
Help me by sharing your thoughts, ideas and comments.
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