Design and UI

by

Reading Time: 6 minutes For the past few months I’ve been developing three different web-based tools.  All three are things that I started as tools for me, and it was after talking to other folks that I learned they might ultimately be useful for them, too. When my user base shifted from just me to a whole lot of

by

Reading Time: 3 minutes I’m in a CSS mailing list and this morning, Vince over at Ghodmode Development shared a fun little experiment showing that an em isn’t an “m” in CSS. I, along with others, more or less responded with “d’uh”. We’ve seen this phenomenon for years and didn’t totally understand the purpose. In fact, I attempted to

by

Reading Time: 2 minutes So in a follow-up to my post on layering the feedback with CSS, I’ve created a simple starting point with styling our forms: a form feedback boiler plate.

by

Reading Time: 4 minutes I hated Mac for years. Approximately 27 of them, if I recall. Then my wife twisted my arm and we bought an iMac. Then, two work-issued Macbooks later and I’ll admit that I like designing and developing with Apple’s OSX interface. But I’m not a fan of the iP/hone/ad/od.  Why? Usability isn’t user experience, and

by

Reading Time: 4 minutes Feedback Matters Long gone are the days where all we did was stare at a website and absorb content. We fill out contact forms, buy stuff, hold chat sessions, Tweet this and unlike that. These website interactions become more complex as they slowly get better at mirroring real-world interactions. One of the steps in mirroring

by

Reading Time: 4 minutes support rapid updating of content, changes in Search Engine Marketing, and syndication of content. One of the core indicators of a well-architected CMS, in fact, is the separation of Design, Content, and Information Architecture. Put another way, the layout of a page is independent of the content on it, which is independent of the organization of pages. While there is much focus on getting the CMS to support the content strategies of now and the future, next to none goes into supporting the Brand strategies of the future.

by

Reading Time: 2 minutes After a project was laid on me in the eleventh hour which had to be delivered in the twelfth, I found myself madly trying to educate myself on a foreign subject. The project and the subject doesn’t really matter. What mattered to me was collecting enough data for me to deliver it on time. Google performed beautifully; but a lot of the sites failed. Why? Pop-ups.

Of course, they aren’t the pop-ups of years past, they’re “modal windows” or “lightboxes”. You’ve all seen them. You visit a page, the background fades to grey, and a simple little window automagically springs into existence. Sometimes they asked me to register. Sometimes it was a sales pitch. The reason didn’t matter. I was there to get content. And now you’ve covered it up and forced me to click on something to get to it.

by

Reading Time: 3 minutes I’m beginning the first in a series of posts call the CMS diaries. I’m a contractor for a very large and reputable organization which is launching a new website very soon.I was brought in specifically to serve as the business analyst for the web content management system. As exciting as that might sound, it isn’t. In the wonderful, wide, world of the web – the CMS is the dullest part. The guy who does your CMS is the accountant for Greenday. There’s no chance of being hip, cool, or creative. At best, he can say that he’s the reason American Idiot was 99 cents a song. Regardless, I will sexify the incredibly boring and forgotten part of your web redesign: The Web Content Management System.

by

Reading Time: 4 minutes Not too long ago I had a conversation with a graphic designer who was tasked with designing a website. Web Design was out of her area of immediate expertise, and she asked me if I had anything that I could share with her. After I sent her my email, I realized that I’ve said this before — and I’ll probably say it again. So, in case my mother, or anyone else, asks my thoughts on how to design a website, here are seven rules that I’ll mouth off.

by

Reading Time: 4 minutes Designers and clients come from two different worlds. Two very different worlds; they speak different languages, have different cultures, and can easily get into a fight with each other. Usually, the only thing they’ll have in common is that they both own businesses. With completely different languages, experiences and areas of expertise, it’s hard to make sure you can both walk away from a project completely happy. So let’s talk about four questions you can ask each other to make sure that you get the job done well.