Letters Remain

Tag: design

  • Infographic Inspiration

    There’s not much I can say about this collection other than giving you its accurate title: 50 great examples of infographics. via @mikaarauz

  • What Design Is

    Design is 70% dealing with people, 3% the idea, 2% selling the idea, 2% the brief, 2% being pig headed, 1% printing, 3% eye for detail, .6% invoices, 2% coffee, .7% tracking, .1% warm glow, .6% panic, 1% 4am, .6% staring, .2% checking, 1% letting go, .8% keeping hold, .7% estimates, .3% checking, .4% proofs,…

  • Unintuitive Interfaces

    Expanding on Jared Spool’s thoughts on learning cycles and so-called ‘intuitive’ interfaces, Vicky Teinaki discusses the ‘knowledge matrix’ and makes this interesting point that I feel almostĀ embarrassed to have not thought about previously: Digital devices can never be inherently ‘intuitive’, as the fact that they deal in abstraction automatically means that actions must be arbitrary.…

  • Call-To-Action Buttons

    Call-to-action buttons are the buttons that web designers want visitors to click when interacting with their site (Signup, Purchase, Download, etc.). Tips on how to design theseĀ abound on the Internet, but David Hamill’s overview on how to design good call-to-action buttons and the difference they can make is one of the best I’ve seen recently.…

  • 10 Design Commandments

    The 10 commandments of design , as set forth by Dieter Rams: Good designā€¦ is innovative makes a product useful is aesthetic helps a product to be understood is unobtrusive is honest is durable is thorough to the last detail is concerned with the environment is as little design as possible As Jason points out,…

  • Design Patterns for Errorproofing

    Persuasive technologies are those which are designed to change the attitudes or behaviours of users. Errorproofing, on the otherhand, is concerned not with behavioural change, but in ensuring certain behaviours are met. Errorproof technologies, then, are those which “[make] it easier for users to work without making errors, or [that make] errors impossible in the…

  • Evolution of Art and Design

    Flickr user 802.11 has created a lovely flowchart depicting the evolution of art and design between 1845 and 1980. The chart depicts art movements and design groups and how each are connected. You should take a look at some of her other visualisations, too. I particularly like the depiction of character interactions throughout Shakespeare’s Romeo…

  • Typography and Design (Two Free Ebooks)

    Getting Real is the undisputed bible of agile software developmentā€”a manifesto that can change your view in a single reading. However when it comes to typography and design, the closest I have ever come to such a document was Mark Boulton’s Better Typography presentation. Now there’s a contender: The Vignelli Canon (pdf) I can’t do…

  • Web Design Marketing Checklist

    Once again I’m put in mind of Seth Godin’s call for ‘web podiatrists’: this comprehensive web design checklist is perfect for not just designing a usable site, but a marketable one. [This] master website marketing checklist [covers] over 400 specific items over 23 topics. These topics include things such as website development, SEO, usability, accessibility,…

  • Usability Tips for Your Website/Blog

    Tom of I’d Rather Be Writingā€”the ‘technical communication’ blogā€”has just written-up twenty usability tips for your blog. I’ve been doing research on what distinguishes good blogs from poor ones, especially by reading “lessons learned” posts by bloggers. I’ve come up with 20 principles I think are worthwhile. Encourage comments Include an About page Keep posts…