Archive for ‘Articles’

Here’s an interesting (albeit brief) dissection of how rich autocomplete is used in some high profile online retail websites.

Trendspotting: Rich Autocomplete in Site Search | Get Elastic

Here is a short, sharp article that explains the difference between user research, usability testing and how they both fit into the design process - The difference between User Research and Usability Testing?

I recently came across a couple of lists of design principles. Whether we realise it or not, all designers work to their own set of values. They are an essential part of the design process. Therefore it’s important to remind yourself of these once in a while and check your work against them.

The first example is the “Ten principles for good design”. I like these because they are universally applicable. You can apply them to almost any type of design in any market. I think this is a great set of values for the individual designer:
Good design: Dieter Rams’ ten commandments

The second example is Facebook’s Internal Design Manifesto. This resonates a lot of the values from the first list but repackages and refocuses them so they are specific to Facebook:
Facebook’s Internal Design Manifesto – Thomas Crampton

Does anyone know of design principles for other organisations?

UPDATE: Here’s a fantastic round-up of principles by fellow designer James Mansfield

UPDATE: The Principles of Good Web Design (with real world examples): Part 1: Layout, Part 2: Navigation, Part 3: Colour.

UPDATE: Carsonified » 10 User Interface Design Fundamentals

Late last week we rolled out a significant update to Citysearch.com.au. The first thing you’ll notice is the revised header which now sports a much cleaner, lighter design with a prominent search box. Once you start a search you’ll really begin to notice the changes. The search results page has been completely redesigned for better scanability. You can also clearly see what other users are voting for and commenting on.

When you click on a result for more information you’ll find the details page has also been redesigned. The new, cleaner, lighter design makes it easy to find the information you need. You can read what other users are saying and leave your own comments. We’ve hooked up Citysearch with Facebook Connect so you can now sign in to Citysearch using your Facebook account. This makes leaving comments on Citysearch much easier and it also gives you the option of publishing the stuff you’ve found on Citysearch to your Facebook wall for your friends to see.

We hope you’ll enjoy using the new features as much as we do.

CAPTCHAS invoke a number of reactions amongst both designers and users. They are a common source of frustration, consuming screen real estate and more importantly the user’s time spent deciphering and completing them. Studies have shown that they are generally bad for business.

However they are still widely used as they are considered a necessary evil in protecting websites against bots by generating tests that humans can pass but current computer programs cannot.

As you may have heard Google recently purchased ReCAPTCHA to accelerate its massive efforts to scan tens of millions of books and periodicals.

What you may not know is just how Google is utilising this technology to actually use the (re)CATPCHAS you’re filling out. By completing a reCAPTCHA you are directly helping Google in their quest to digitise the world’s books.

Here is a surprisingly interesting presentation on what is a generally dull topic: Why Nerds Rule: Luis Von Ahn and reCAPTCHA

UPDATE: CAPTCHA’s: Tough on Sales & Common Way to Test User Tolerance | UX Booth