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Usability

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Author Talk: Maggie Macnab on Improving Your Designs with Universal Forms and Principles
Nov 23, 2012
Publisher Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel interviews author Maggie Macnab about her latest book, Design by Nature: Using Universal Forms and Principles in Design. They discuss how many of the fundamental principles of nature can inform good design. Maggie also talks about her experiences growing up in scenic northern New Mexico, and the ways the landscape shaped her aesthetic.
Author Talk: Paul Adams on Influence and the Social Web (Podcast Transcript)
Nov 7, 2012
New Riders Publisher Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel interviews Social Media Expert Paul Adams about his new book Grouped: How Small Groups of Friends Are the Key to Influence on the Social Web. This book pulls together the latest research from leading universities and technology companies to describe how people are connected, and how ideas and brand messages spread through social networks. It shows readers how to rebuild their business around social behavior, and create products that people tell their friends about.
"The Best Design Advice I Ever Got" with Giles Colborne
Nov 6, 2012
Giles Colborne, author of Simple and Useable Web, Mobile, and Interaction Design, recalls an important book that shaped his career early on and reminds us that communicating effectively, above all else, should be the goal of great design.
Tips for Writing Content For Mobile Users
Oct 31, 2012
Jakob Nielsen and Raluca Budiu explain that while there are many other points to consider, the main usability guideline for mobile content is this: When you’re writing for mobile users, focus their attention on the essential content.
Should Mobile Design Principles Be Applied to the Desktop?
Oct 24, 2012
Usability experts Raluca Budiu and Jakob Nielsen discuss whether mobile design principles can and should be applied to the desktop.
Author Talk: Alberto Cairo on the Functional Art of Infographics (Podcast Transcript)
Oct 16, 2012
New Riders/Peachpit Publisher Nancy Ruenzel talks with Alberto Cairo, professor of information graphics and visualization at the University of Miami and author of The Functional Art: An introduction to information graphics and visualization. Alberto names some of his favorite designers and data visualizers working in the field today, and discusses the complex relationship between function and form.
Author Talk: Tim Kadlec on Implementing Responsive Design (Podcast Transcript)
Oct 11, 2012
Peachpit publisher Nancy Aldrich-Ruenzel interviews Tim Kadlec, author of Implementing Responsive Design, about why he wrote the book, the Breaking Development conference, and how anyone can start applying responsive design to their site.
The Infographics Complexity Challenge: Presentation and Exploration
Oct 3, 2012
An information graphic is a tool for the designer to communicate with readers, and a tool for readers to analyze what’s being presented to them. It doesn’t matter if you see yourself as an engineer or as an artist: If you create infographics and visualizations, the balance you achieve between these two dimensions will define whether or not your work is good.
Working with Smart Objects in Dreamweaver and Photoshop
Oct 3, 2012
If your websites use a lot of images, you've probably spent plenty of time jumping between Dreamweaver and Photoshop to make changes, and then trying to keep track of which files are current and which need to be synched. Now you can cross that nightmare off your task list. Tom Negrino, coauthor of Dreamweaver CS6: Visual QuickStart Guide, shows how using Smart Objects in Dreamweaver CS6 can keep your images in sync automatically.
"The Best Design Advice I Ever Got" with Jakob Nielsen
Sep 25, 2012
Jakob Nielsen, coauthor of Mobile Usability, reminds us that anything you think is easy or good might be terrible for the target audience.
Custom Search Filtering with jQuery Mobile
Sep 24, 2012
Search functionality is often a necessary piece of functionality for a website, especially when your website has a lot of content. In this article, Kris Hadlock, author of Ajax for Web Application Developers, explains how to use the search filter bar to create search functionality in the listview component, and how to create a custom search filter in case the default search functionality doesn’t meet your needs.
Corral Your Styles with Dreamweaver's CSS Visualization Tools
Sep 13, 2012
Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) with Dreamweaver provides detailed control of the design and display of your web pages, but hidden rules underlying the styles might prevent you from getting the effect you really want. Fortunately, Dreamweaver offers some powerful tools for working with CSS. Tom Negrino, coauthor of Dreamweaver CS6: Visual QuickStart Guide, explains how to use Dreamweaver's visualization tools to make CSS behave.
Bringing Infographics And Visualization to the Mainstream: Not Just the Tools, but the Ideas
Sep 10, 2012
Alberto Cairo, author of The Functional Art: An introduction to information graphics and visualization, explains that the democratization and commoditization of infographics is a wonderful trend, but it will get even better if it is informed by a solid understanding of certain universal guidelines.
An Interview with Tim Kadlec on Responsive Design
Sep 6, 2012
Mat Marquis talks with Tim Kadlec, author of Implementing Responsive Design: Building Sites for an Anywhere, Everywhere Web, about what makes a web design 'responsive,' how some responsive sites develop bloat, and why his hair is so luxuriously soft.
WordPress 3.4: Making Your Theme Compatible with the Theme Customizer
Sep 3, 2012
Use the WordPress 3.4 Theme Customizer for fast, easy, nearly code-free editing of your custom WordPress themes! Jessica Neuman Beck, coauthor of WordPress: Visual QuickStart Guide, Second Edition, shows how to update an existing theme with the WordPress 3.4 Theme Customizer.
Implementing Responsive Design with Media
Aug 28, 2012
It takes careful consideration and planning to give our users the best of both worlds: a beautiful experience that loads as quickly as possible. In this chapter, learn why performance matters, how to conditionally load images, what responsive image solutions are available, and their limitations, how to swap out background images without downloading multiple images, how to conditionally load web fonts, what’s ahead for responsive images, how to make embedded video scale while maintaining its aspect ratio, and what to do with responsive advertising.
Adding Text to Your Pages in Adobe Dreamweaver CS6
Aug 22, 2012
In this chapter, you'll learn how to get text onto your page and apply structure using headings and lists. You'll also learn how to use basic HTML text styles to change the look of your text.
Game Mechanics: How to Design an Internal Economy for Your Game
Aug 15, 2012
Internal economy is one kind of mechanic you might find in a game. Designing a game's economy is the core of the game designer’s trade: You craft mechanics to create a game system that is fun and challenging to interact with. Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans, authors of Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, explain how to do it.
WordPress 3.4: Using the New Theme Customizer
Aug 13, 2012
Preview changes to a WordPress theme before launching them to your site! In just a few steps, Jessica Neuman Beck, coauthor of WordPress: Visual QuickStart Guide, Second Edition, shows how to use the new Theme Customizer introduced with the WordPress 3.4 core update.
Building Better Websites with Dreamweaver Site Definitions
Aug 9, 2012
To set up a new website with Dreamweaver, you have to begin by creating a site definition. Though Dreamweaver makes setup easy, it has some pitfalls that can trip up the unwary. Tom Negrino, coauthor of Dreamweaver CS6: Visual QuickStart Guide, guides us step by step through the process of site definition.

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