Usability

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How to Become a UX Leader: Understanding the Psychology of Users: Dec 29, 2015; UX is a lot more than checkboxes and radio buttons. UX is psychology applied to design. For so many reasons, it’s high time everyone else finds that out too, as Robert Hoekman explains in this chapter from Experience Required: How to become a UX leader regardless of your role.

Steve Krug Explains Several True Things about Usability Testing: May 1, 2014; In this excerpt from Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd Edition, Steve Krug share three true things about usability tests.

Steve Krug on Why Nothing Beats a Good Tagline!™: Apr 30, 2014; Taglines are a very efficient way to get your message across, because they’re the one place on the web page where users most expect to find a concise statement of the site's purpose. In this excerpt from Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd Edition, Steve Krug shares some attributes to look for when choosing a tagline.

Steve Krug on Creating Effective Visual Hierarchies: Apr 29, 2014; In this excerpt from Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd Edition, Steve Krug explains that the appearance of the things on the page should accurately portray the relationships between the things on the page.

Steve Krug on Things that Make Us Think: Apr 28, 2014; Don't make people puzzle over stuff on your website! In this excerpt from Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 3rd Edition, Steve Krug shares some examples of things that make us think, so you'll begin to notice all the things that make you think in the sites and apps you use. And eventually you’ll learn to recognize and avoid them in the things you’re building.

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral? Steve Krug on Why Users Like Mindless Choices: Jan 27, 2014; We face choices all the time on the Web. Steve Krug explains that making those choices mindless is one of the most important things you can do to make a site easy to use.

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.

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.

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.

Project Objectives and Approach for UX Designers: Know Which Star to Navigate By: May 1, 2012; This chapter covers forming objectives for your project and offers some questions that will help you solidify those goals. You'll also learn some common project approaches (or methodologies) and how they may influence the way you work.

Top 10 Content Strategy Mistakes to Avoid: Apr 20, 2012; Melissa Rach, coauthor of Content Strategy for the Web, Second Edition, sees far too many organizations making similar mistakes in their outreach attempts. The "throw it together" approach that most people employ tends to create havoc, rather than useful information for potential customers and clients. She shares 10 of the most common (and dangerous) pitfalls that everyone should learn to avoid.

The Elements of User Experience: The Scope Plane: Functional Specifications and Content Requirements: Feb 17, 2011; There are two main reasons to bother to define requirements: so you know what you're building and so you know what you're not building. Jesse James Garrett examines the importance and process of defining the scope of your website, including defining requirements and functional specifications.

An Interview with Jesse James Garrett: Dec 21, 2010; Russ Unger interviews Jesse James Garrett about the new edition of The Elements of User Experience, what's changed since the first edition was released in 2002, why client work is still important to him, and the relationship between UX and the video game industry.

What Do You Test, and When Do You Test It?: Why the Hardest Part Is Starting Early Enough: Jan 14, 2010; If there’s one thing that usability professionals agree on, it’s that you want to start testing as early as possible. Steve Krug shows you how to do it.