Bits and PCs: Designing Icons for Software Interfaces  

When creating icons for internationally-marketed software products there are many factors that the icon designer should consider. Whilst the users' needs are paramount, other considerations will influence the final designs. These include the technical requirements and established visual design style of the operating system, legal issues and the avoidance of culturally sensitive images. The process for gathering information, designing, and building icons is also important. To assist the icon designer there are many valuable resources available, these range from reference books, to web resources maintained by the major platform providers, and published International Standards addressing software icons and symbols.

Hodgkinson, Richard N.P. STC Proceedings (2003). Design>Graphic Design>International

Black and White and Red All Over  

Color is a powerful motivation and selling tool. We can also use color to improve people’s performance. Color is comprised of hue, value and saturation. When selecting a color scheme for a web site or slide presentation select a pastel background, then a complimentary or contrasting secondary color for accents. Select black or neutral text. Avoid the jelly-bean syndrome of contrasting, saturated, adjacent colors that fatigue the eye. Instead, use bright colors only for accents, not for major areas.

Lisberg, Beth Conney. STC Proceedings (1998). Presentations>Graphic Design>Design

Blah-Blah Text: Keep, Cut, or Kill?

Introductory text on Web pages is usually too long, so users skip it. But short intros can increase usability by explaining the remaining content's purpose.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Usability

Blasting the Myth of the Fold

There is an astonishing amount of disbelief that the users of web pages have learned to scroll and that they do so regularly. Holding on to this disbelief--this myth that users won't scroll to see anything below the fold--is doing everyone a great disservice, most of all our users.

Tarquini, Milissa. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Web Design>Information Design>User Centered Design

The Bleach Wars  

Blank paper...could anything be more basic and uncontroversial? Who'd have thought those innocuous white sheets could cause such a ruckus? Learn what the fuss is about and why paper mills and environmentalists are lining up on either side of the presses.

Sidles, Constance J. Adobe Magazine (1998). Design>Document Design>Prepress>Paper

Blind and Low Vision Users

When we come to accessibility of web design, we will say that accessible web design is a sign of good web design. A lot of the information on the Web is not accessible to people with disabilities because of poor design. While many web site managers and developers accommodate various browser constraints, most of them do not realize that they are developing sites that people with disabilities have difficulty in navigating, or in many cases, cannot navigate at all.

Hung, Edward. Universal Usability. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual Rhetoric

The Blind Leading the Blind: Theorizing a Web for the Visually Impaired  

An examination of government websites (those required to adhere to Section 508) revealed no common practices or themes.

Moore, Jessica and Joseph Matthews. IAsummit (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508

Blind to Users' Needs

Making the web accessible by disabled people doesn't necessarily make it usable. Does simplicity always make for ideal usability - or are there instances where an innovative website might be difficult to use, but also hold usability dividends for users prepared to meet the technology halfway?

Starr, Sandy. Spiked Online (2002). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Block vs. Inline Elements

HTML elements can be displayed either in block or inline style. The difference between these is one of the most basic things you need to know in order to use CSS effectively.

Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Design>Web Design>HTML>CSS

Blog 101: An Overview of Weblog Technologies  

A weblog or 'blog' is a Web site with content consisting of a series of discrete postings added sequentially and presented in reverse chronological order. Historically used for personal Web sites, blogs in fact represent a form of lightweight content management that can be adapted to virtually any topic, including technical communication. The recent explosion of blogs is in part a result of the availability of publishing tools that simplify their creation. These tools vary significantly in capability, setup, and ease of use, and each offers advantages and disadvantages.

Berry, Robert R. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Content Management>Information Design>Blogging

A Blog on Usability in India

This Indian usability blog attempts to bridge the gap between user requirements research and UI design.

Pillai, Muthu. Blogspot (2004). Resources>Usability>User Centered Design>Blogs

The Blog Realm: RSS, Aggregators, and Reading the Blog Fantastic

The content management capabilities of blog software and the search options from Daypop provide incentives for information professionals to be aware, at least, of blogging. But for every blogger out there, there are probably a dozen or more others who prefer reading to writing.

Notess, Greg R. Online Magazine (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging

Blog Survey: Expectations of Privacy and Accountability

Reports the findings from an online survey conducted between January 14th and January 21st, 2004. During that time, 486 respondents answered questions about their blogging practices and their expectations of privacy and accountability for the entries they publish online.

Fernanda, Viégas. MIT (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging

Blog Voice: How to Command Attention

With over 4 million distinct blog voices in the blogosphere, how can you differentiate yourself? By being an interesting voice. Interesting voices are made, not born, and now you can learn some ways to become more interesting and influential in blogdom. CAUTION: not for boring blah blah blah bloggers who are smug and self-satisfied.

Streight, Steven. Blogger.com (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging

Blogging as Social Activity, or, Would You Let 900 Million People Read Your Diary?  

'Blogging' is a Web-based form of communication that is rapidly becoming mainstream. In this paper, we report the results of an ethnographic study of blogging, focusing on blogs written by individuals or small groups, with limited audiences. We discuss motivations for blogging, the quality of social interactivity that characterized the blogs we studied, and relationships to the blogger¡¯s audience. We consider the way bloggers related to the known audience of their personal social networks as well as the wider 'blogosphere' of unknown readers. We then make design recommendations for blogging software based on these findings.

Nardi, Bonnie A., Diane J. Schiano and Michelle Gumbrecht. Comcast (2003). Articles>Web Design>Blogging>Social Networking

Blogging Goes Legit, Sort Of

Despite the timeliness of the issues, many bloggers are wondering whether their craft can be taught in journalism school.

Shachtman, Noah. Wired (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging

Blogi: Ujęcie Psychologiczne

W znaczeniu społecznym blog jest czymś więcej niż tylko narzędziem: jest wirtualnym miejscem skupiającym ludzi, gdzie można przebywać i realizować się społecznie, nawiązując relacje z innymi ludźmi. Blog jest tzw. Trzecim Miejscem zgodnie z teorią Oldenburga, który uznaje, że dopiero w trzecim najważniejszym miejscu (po Domu i Pracy/Szkole), człowiek może tworzyć "prawdziwe" relacje społeczne, które nie są zbudowane na hierarchii emocjonalnej lub strukturalnej (jak w przypadku rodziny i firmy) lecz powstają dzięki posiadanym cechom charakteru, zainteresowaniom czy stylowi życia w grupie.

Cywinska-Milonas, Maria. Onet (2004). (Polish) Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging

Blogs, Podcasts and All That Stuff

I think podcasting is powerful because it gives us the opportunity to reach people in ways we cannot with blogs and websites. Don't get me wrong, blogs and sites have their place. But let's face it, people have information overload! It's often a choice between reading your blog and the 15 other things they need to read. But with podcasts, people tell me that they listen via their iPods while in the gym. They burn them to CD and listen in their car during their commute. They listen on their computer with a headset or speakers.

Morley, Catherine. Creative Latitude (2005). Design>Web Design>Multimedia>Podcasting

Bloom's Taxonomy in Technical Content Development

Technical writers provide information enabling users to learn and apply various technologies. In the endeavor to enable users, technical writers often need to use different strategies of classification, presentation, and structuring for the different types of information. However, in most cases such classifications or decisions about the best method of presentation and optimum structure are guided by instinct and are rarely heuristic. In this article, we present an established classification of information called Bloom’s taxonomy (of educational objectives), which can help technical writers make decisions about content classification.

Robbani, Wasique. KeyContent.org (2006). Articles>Document Design>Academic>Contextual Inquiry

Blurbs: How to Write Them for Web Pages

On the web, a blurb is a line or short paragraph (20-50 words) that evaluates (or at least summarizes) what the reader will find at the other end of a link. A good blurb should inform, not tease. Usability testing will help you determine the best way to lay out your blurbs, but this document will help you write the content.

Jerz, Dennis G. Seton Hill University (2001). Design>Web Design>Writing>Usability

Blurring the Boundaries  

For years, the desktop-publishing landscape has been characterized by sharp boundaries - PC vs. Mac, vector vs. bitmap, page-layout vs. illustration, and so on. But Illustrator provides the perfect example of how that is changing.

Kvern, Olav Martin. Adobe Magazine (1997). Design>Graphic Design>Software>Adobe Illustrator

Bobby: the World Wide Web Accessibility Tool and Your Web Site

Bobby tools can help you know some real touches you can give to your web site to enrich its accessibility. Since the Bobby document is the generalization of strategies and techniques to further web site usability concern, you can selectively and optimally adopt them to serve your purpose the best way.

Azam, Rahbre. Amateur Writerz (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Assessment

A Body of Criticism  

The nature of hypertext challenges many underlying assumptions for traditional literary critics. Literary critics frequently like to think that they have objectively looked at the lexias of the work, thoughtfully considered them, and constructed a solid interpretation or analysis of the work based on those lexia. Hypertext, however, presents the possibility that two critics who are reading the same work may have differing sets of lexia from which to work. Thus, even if critics objectively consider the lexia before them, they cannot free themselves from the subjectivity of the reading performance that made those lexia (and not others) appear. This raises the concern that, if hypertext critics can only present subjective views of the text, there may be little or no benefit to reading or writing those critiques.

Higgason, Richard E. Journal of Digital Information (2003). Articles>Information Design>Hypertext>Theory

Book Design

An overview of the typical components of a printed technical book and the typical content, format, style, and sequence of those components.

McMurrey, David A. Illuminati Online (2001). Articles>Document Design>Publishing