#29757
Beautiful Evidence is Edward Tufte's fourth and latest book and both follows and diverges from the directions established with The Visual Display of Quantitative Information (Tufte, 1983), Envisioning Information (Tufte, 1990), and Visual Explanations (Tufte, 1997). Visual Display examined pictures of numbers, Envisioning explored pictures of nouns, and Visual Explanations addressed pictures of verbs. Beautiful Evidence foregoes the 'pictures of' approach and instead establishes the role of evidence as the foundation of reasoning. In some ways, this latest book might have been better positioned as the first book because of its efforts to explain interplays of understanding and reasoning.
Penrose, John M. JBC (2007). Articles>Reviews>Graphic Design>Usability
#18740
Cómo Hacer Más Accesibles los Gráficos SVG
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) es un lenguaje de etiquetado que nos permite la descripción con XML de gráficos vectoriales en dos dimensiones. En este artículo se resume brevemente como los gráficos SVG pueden ser más accesibles siguiendo las directrices del W3C.
Fernandez, Francisco Jesus Martin and Oscar Martin Rodriguez. Nosolousabilidad.com (2002). (Spanish) Design>Accessibility>Graphic Design>Usability
#21611
En el número 126 nos preguntábamos ¿existe el color?. Ahora, dos revisiones de la literatura que cubren cien años de investigación sobre el factor humano del color revelan cómo y dónde existe el color, y cómo los diseñadores pueden hacer mejor uso de él en entornos reales y simulados. Jim Wise nos lo explica.
Wise, James A. InfoVis (2003). (Spanish) Design>Graphic Design>Usability>Color
#27442
When the philosophy of the 'skin interface' is applied to other applications, it becomes problematic. There is nothing wrong with that concept as long as it is clear that it only works with highly specialized applications such as Winamp. It is even culturally expected in the Winamp community that skins will be created and made available.
Spillers, Frank. Demystifying Usability (2004). Articles>Usability>Graphic Design
#28668
Seeing the World in Symbols: Icons and the Evolving Language of Digital Wayfinding
Of all the objects that occupy our digital spaces, there are none that capture the imagination so much as icons. As symbols, icons can communicate powerfully, be delightful, add to the aesthetic value of software, engage people's curiosity and playfulness, and encourage experimentation. These symbols are key components of a graphic user interface--mediators between our thoughts and actions, our intentions and accomplishments.
Follett, Jonathan. UXmatters (2006). Articles>Usability>User Interface>Graphic Design
#19325
There was a time when graphic design - or how things looked at least - was regarded as the most central part of the web experience. A 'good' website, in the eyes of management at least, involved little more than the company message accompanied by attractive pictures, ideally animated as often as possible. Nowadays, we are beginning to realise that whilst design remains a vital differentiator in terms of web experience, it is for very different reasons. Users are by now accustomed to the very highest levels of graphic design work online. This means that whilst a professional approach is essential for any organisation serious about their online presence, on it's own a 'good looking' site is not sufficient. It is in its impact on usability that graphic design is now particularly significant in the online environment. Graphic design, or visual communication, is about more than looks. The way site content is presented will have a significant effect on how easy-to-use it will be. This not only includes questions of appropriate images and styles, but also choice of colour schemes and the way different interface elements are represented.
Farrell, Tom. Frontend Infocentre (2000). Design>Graphic Design>Web Design>Usability
#22257
The Tradeoff Between Compactness and Appeal in Icons 
What is the tradeoff between compactness and appeal in icons? While I do not have any firm rules, I can suggest some heuristics or simple principles.
William Horton Consulting (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Usability
#20997
I'd like to point out something that you may not have noticed yet. And though I'm quite sure many of you have seen it by now, its subtlety is worth mentioning here again. Go take another look at the FedEx logo — specifically, take another look at the white space surrounding the logo. There may have been years when you didn't notice this arrow in its negative space. Now you can't stop noticing how the figure and its ground produce an entirely new object. The brand may have even taken on new meaning. Josef Albers describes the arrow's visual effect as 1+1=3 or more, or the creation of an incidental new element from two intentionally placed elements. What has happened here is that you're stopped recognizing the logo, and started to perceive it as having another quality.
Danzico, Liz. Bobulate (2001). Design>Typography>Graphic Design>Usability
#32965
The web design community thankfully seems to be wrapping up the "design vs. usability" argument. In case you missed it, the conclusion was: "Not either/or but both, and it depends."
Hunt, Ben. Web Design From Scratch (2006). Articles>Web Design>Graphic Design>Usability
#32970
Graphic Design can "hijack" usability efforts if the graphic design team is not "on board" with usability. This is probably why these days more and more graphic artists (like the students at the Art Institute of Portland where I am currently teaching a class) are learning about usability and have a sensitivity for its user-centered intentions.
Spillers, Frank. Demystifying Usability (2004). Articles>Web Design>Graphic Design>Usability
#33487
This article introduces the "Sphere of Design", which is a simple conceptual model that illustrates the relationship and trade-offs between 'looks' and 'works'.
Web Design From Scratch (2005). Articles>Graphic Design>Usability
#35593
Usability Testing with User Proxies: When is "Close" Close Enough?
How can we designers get valid feedback from more design iterations in less time? One bottleneck in the design flow is finding a steady stream of usability testers. Between the extremes of the perfect (an actual user, on site) and the unacceptable (the developer who's coding the feature), lies the grey zone of user proxies. Can you use internal employees with relevant domain knowledge to usability test your products, and still get valid data?
Sy, Desirée. Designing the User Experience at Autodesk (2009). Articles>Graphic Design>Usability>Testing
