This is a tumblelog, kinda like a blog but with short-form, mixed-media posts with stuff I like. Scroll down a bit to start reading, or a bit more to read more about me.
Ryan Singer, A shorthand for designing UI flows
Short and one of those that may seem obvious. And/but worth it alone for that reminder.
By Dr. David Travis (@userfocus) over at User Focus articles. In a nutshell: be careful about the words you’re using and some of the other things that you might take for granted (e.g., clicking on the logo to go “home” on your site). These things may be obvious to you but might completely miss your target audience. Also: worth it for the phrase “jargon in-breeding” alone.
At Meng To’s blog. The writing is a little choppy in spots, but this post is thoughtful and the message rings loud and clear: simplifying your interfaces is great, when you’re actually simplifying; but if you’re not careful you wind up just making something that’s sterile and/or confusing. This isn’t just another “skeuomorphism vs. minimalism” bit of navel-gazing — he’s got something worth reading.
Alex Sexton strikes again, right at the heart of why i18n problems only seem easy. It appears that this is the presentation version of the article I linked to back in April. Great treatment of the subject.
By Whitney Johnson, writing for Harvard Business Review. There’s a ton of articles out there like this one, but this one’s good because it’s short.
A decent write-up by Alex Sexton on — when all is said and done — why putting in the extra effort to do proper i18n (and/or L10n) makes a big difference to your customers. (And/but: I’ll split some short and fine hairs on the use of “UX” here — feeling that it’s a bit of a “link-bait-y” usage — but just the same: good piece.)
Theresa Neil provides an easily digestible, visual overview of today’s best mobile UI design patterns (and anti-patterns!) Find out what works (and under what circumstances) and what tanks in mobile UIs.
Jeff Atwood, “The End of Pagination”
As you can imagine, the comment thread is exactly the kind of potpourri you’d expect from this topic.
A piece by my friend Jay Selway on replacing the “user” in “user experience” with “people”. It reminded me more/less instantly of the “Rands in Repose” article (“A Design Primer for Engineers”) that made the rounds in January. This is a discussion point that seems to be making the rounds (again? still?) to quit thinking of “people” as “users” or “target audiences” or similar constructs. And while I agree that this is an important point, it also pays to mind those constructs — they exist for a reason. The question then becomes: do the constructs work for you (e.g., to keep you focused on your critical path objectives?) or against you (e.g., by broadening your scope to the point of distraction?)
At Antrops blogg (Swedish site, but the blog post is in English): An interesting thought experiment with some intriguing ideas and conclusions. Worth a read, even if you don’t agree with all of his points and conclusions. Certainly the inspiration behind the post ought to be enough to get your own thoughts going.
