The Greatest Secret in Web Design

Alright I cheated, this isn’t really a secret. Or an open secret. Or whatever. It’s that web design is a process. Good web design is an ongoing endeavor…

Post from December 1, 2008, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Updating a Definition of Art

When I once tried to define art, design, and decoration, I described art as: “Art hides. Art has a meaning, and it hides it, on purpose. Art delivers a message, and that message is hidden, on purpose. It is an art to create art. Art is unusable, by definition.” Continued.

Post from July 29, 2008, filed under Art and Design.

Compared to What?

…is probably one of the most important questions there is. “Compared to what?” is the question that should be answered every time it is about data, be it through charts, in newspapers, on websites, or in conversations. Yet it is rarely asked, rarely answered, and people end up with less or even false information.

Post from July 3, 2008, filed under Art and Design.

Web Design: 10 Additional Research Findings You Should Know

Following up on last year’s post on web design research, here’s another collection of research findings, this time featuring further reading. I still watch the work of Association for Computing Machinery, Human Factors International, and the like…

Post from June 5, 2008, filed under Art and Design.

The 10 Design Theses of Dieter Rams

Moving up industrial design on my agenda and studying the work of German top designer Dieter Rams (who was responsible for the great design of Braun products for about 30 years), I deemed it useful to emphasize his design theses…

Post from March 25, 2008, filed under Art and Design.

Qualities of Design: It Works and It’s Durable

Attempting to improve my simplified definition of design—“design reveals”—I identified another important attribute beside functionality, namely durability (or robustness). This means that a design—be it physical or intangible—that works may nonetheless be bad…

Post from October 13, 2007, filed under Art and Design.

7 Additional Ways to Focus on Users

Smashing Magazine just published my article on “20 (Alternate) Ways to Focus on Users,” and not only may I point out the article but even extend it with a few additional methods. A quick bonus level, so to speak.

Post from September 10, 2007, filed under Art and Design.

The Art of Dancing in 1910 and Narratives of Time and Space

Information design time travel with several photos of Zorn’s ancient “Grammar of the Art of Dancing.” Featuring craftsmanship, “small multiples,” and, surprise, “narratives of time and space.”

Post from August 28, 2007, filed under Art and Design.

Are You a Web Designer or a Web Decorator?

This has bothered me for for a long time, it popped up when I thought about art and design, and it had to get out when Roger asked whether we were designers or developers…

Post from August 24, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Requirements for Website Prototypes (and Design Systems)

Best practices for HTML, CSS, and DOM scripting based website prototypes, covering essential requirements from accessibility to universality, and including definitions, pros, and contras. Derived from a recent presentation.

Post from June 9, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Principles of Art, Design, and Decoration

Much thinking on design lead me to the conclusion that defining the terms art, design, and decoration can be pretty simple. Outlining their principles, at least. Simpler than I thought in school (anyone remembering these “what is art” questions?) …

Post from May 12, 2007, filed under Art and Design.

10 Steps to Create a High-Quality Website

A valuable source of information does not fall from the sky, and it’s impossible to create in a few easy clicks. In setting up a website, one needs goals, content, structure, design, programming, and maintenance. What one needs is expertise…

Post from May 10, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

On Updating a Book (Webdesign mit CSS, 2nd Edition)

I’m still working on the second edition of Webdesign mit CSS. And I can say: I like this work, though updating a book’s more challenging than starting from scratch. It looks like less work at first, but that work’s different.

Post from May 3, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Revitalizing SUS, the System Usability Scale

About 20 years ago, John Brooke published the concept of a “System Usability Scale,” a “reliable, low-cost usability scale that can be used for global assessments of systems usability.” SUS is based on a Likert scale questionnaire…

Post from April 23, 2007, filed under Art and Design.

25 Excellent Usability/UX Articles and Resources

Today I thought I’d share some of the most valuable usability and user experience articles and resources I know, in a somewhat wild mix. Since there’s presumably enough to read and talk about later, please just welcome some great articles and research papers…

Post from March 30, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Photos Make Websites More Credible

An important finding of Stanford University’s work concerning web credibility is that “photos [can] make websites more credible.” A prior study of B.J. Fogg et al. again revealed that “a photograph of an author had significant effects on how people perceived the credibility […]”…

Post from March 28, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

Hire Only Web Designers with a Website

…is a good rule of thumb when you need a web designer or developer. Though it’s not necessarily the most important criterion, the benefits must be obvious. Web designers who also own websites are more likely to be close to the medium…

Post from March 6, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.

1 + 1 = 3: Explaining Busyness and Background Noise on Websites

“1 + 1 = 3 (or more)” is an important design effect described by Josef Albers and Edward Tufte. It means that two elements in close proximity cause a visible interaction…

Post from January 18, 2007, filed under Art and Design.

Web Design: 15 Important Research Findings You Should Know

A small selection of web design, usability, and accessibility related results of research, most of them derived from Human Factors International. Some of them are relatively known, while others may enrich our professional self-understanding…

Post from January 13, 2007, filed under Web Development and Art and Design.