http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/Methods A listing of the most recently indexed works about Design and Web Design and Methods in the field of technical communication. en-us Copyright (c) 2005-08 by the EServer. All rights reserved. tclib-editorial@eserver.org (TC Library Editorial Board) webmaster@eserver.org (Geoffrey Sauer) http://tc.eserver.org/images/newlogo.gif http://tc.eserver.org/dir/Design/Web-Design/Methods http://tc.eserver.org/35272.html http://tc.eserver.org/35272.html On a recent project I needed to collect and analyze the content management templates in use across a large enterprise Intranet. We were looking to inventory the diversity of templates in use; whether they existed outside or within the enterprise content management system; what changes might be made to the ‘official’ template set to reduce the overall number of templates, and to prepare for the migration of all content to a new design a few months down the track. I looked around at the literature for information architecture and Web design generally and found quite a few references to content inventories and content analysis, but nothing on analyzing templates. http://tc.eserver.org/33145.html http://tc.eserver.org/33145.html Designing grid systems for print is considerably more straight forward than designing grid systems for the web. First off,in print, the designer has a fixed media size - the paper size (or packaging, poster, whatever). Let's say a print designer has designed a magazine. The reader of this magazine can't suddenly increase the font size if they find it difficult to read - well they just move it closer to their eyes I guess. This is just one consideration, there are more but I'm sure you get the point. http://tc.eserver.org/33146.html http://tc.eserver.org/33146.html Fixed width grid design for the web. What is it, how do we do it and how do we implement it? For the purposes of this article, I'm going to be focussing on the theory of creating the grid rather than the implementation. I did mention in the last series that I would cover implementation using CSS, well I'm not going to. There are just so many resources and books available telling you how to create the CSS layouts you need—I'll touch on it, but I won't be going into too much detail. http://tc.eserver.org/33147.html http://tc.eserver.org/33147.html Flexible vs Fixed. Which one to choose? Why choose one over the other? Well you won't find the answers to those questions here. What I'm aiming to do with this article is to investigate how the theory of grid design can be applied to a flexible web page. http://tc.eserver.org/30680.html http://tc.eserver.org/30680.html Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript + XML) programming techniques are increasingly dominating the world of Web application development. New developers are stepping into the world of Ajax development every day, and they come from disparate development backgrounds. Part 1 of this multipart series gives you a cheat sheet of Ajax development resources from an expert team of Ajax developers at IBM(R). The authors draw from their own ramp-up experiences to help you with practical information that will put you on a fast track to effective Ajax development. http://tc.eserver.org/30405.html http://tc.eserver.org/30405.html The habit of collecting, analyzing, designing, and innovating in this fashion is making me a more systematic and disciplined web designer. Through analyzing the best design patterns and techniques used by today's web design community, I'm able to more critically assess my own designs, and create new solutions to common interface challenges. http://tc.eserver.org/29297.html http://tc.eserver.org/29297.html Outlines the design principles underlying the building block system of website design, and simple guidelines for combining blocks together to create any type of tile-based environment. http://tc.eserver.org/29235.html http://tc.eserver.org/29235.html As global online access grows, Web site designers find themselves creating materials for an increasing international audience. Cultural groups, however, can have different expectations of what constitutes acceptable Web site design. This article examines how prototype theory can serve as a methodology for analyzing Web sites designed for users from different cultures. Such analyses, in turn, can help individuals create more effective online materials for international audiences. http://tc.eserver.org/28817.html http://tc.eserver.org/28817.html Every page on the Web should ensure that users can understand its purpose. Even users not in the target audience should be able to figure out enough about the site to know whether it has content they are interested in or not. http://tc.eserver.org/28554.html http://tc.eserver.org/28554.html To evaluate Web sites, usability experts often use methods that were originally employed for the evaluation of software applications. In doing so, they assume that these methods will work exactly the same for both types of test objects. However, there is a major difference between transactional software applications and informational Web sites, a difference that could have an effect on the workings of various usability methods. As such, we felt that it was valuable to repeat one of our previous studies in which we compared concurrent think-aloud protocols, retrospective think-aloud protocols, and constructive interaction to evaluate a Web application, this time using a Web site. The results of our study showed that in some respects, the methods did work differently depending on the test object they were applied to. However, we conclude that the three methods are largely interchangeable and that the decision to choose one variant of the think-aloud method over the other should be based on practical considerations. http://tc.eserver.org/28470.html http://tc.eserver.org/28470.html Article outlining the difference between the two accessibility evaluation methods: The accessibility audit and accessibility testing. http://tc.eserver.org/28408.html http://tc.eserver.org/28408.html My friend John Endean is one of the most successful people I've met in web development. He taught me that the most important skill for a developer is laziness. When faced with a problem, the lazy developer will first find out if it has been solved before, and if possible rip off the code. The hardworking developer will stay late and try to figure out the problem from first principles. Who is most likely to succeed? Who is most likely to produce more successful code in less time? Who would you rather have on your team? I propose that web designers too should embrace laziness, and stop straining to create the truly original. http://tc.eserver.org/28390.html http://tc.eserver.org/28390.html To me, understanding goals is the single most critical factor in the success of any design project, and fundamental to the Web Design from Scratch approach. In this section, you'll learn techniques that help you discover your own goals and gain insight into what your target audience really wants. If you're working on a project, this section will help you get a clear picture of your purpose, understand the key goals of your target users and start to visualise a high-value solution that ensures everybody wins. http://tc.eserver.org/28388.html http://tc.eserver.org/28388.html Designing for the web means designing sympathetically with the way people actually use the web, not how we think they should. This section looks at the discipline of web design, how to approach design as a job, and introduces some mental techniques for increasing enjoyment and success. http://tc.eserver.org/27968.html http://tc.eserver.org/27968.html Takes you through the art and science behind Google's design process and shares examples of how design, usability and engineering are combined by Google's development teams. http://tc.eserver.org/21312.html http://tc.eserver.org/21312.html Mention the use of HTML for wireframing or prototyping, and some information architects and interaction designers frantically look for the nearest exit. In some circles, HTML has acquired the reputation of being a time-consuming, difficult undertaking best left to developers. This is very far from the truth. http://tc.eserver.org/21012.html http://tc.eserver.org/21012.html Only a few of the survey sites we analyzed in 2000 are still around. We can safely assume that the surviving sites are not a random sample of the original group, but rather that significant differences exist between the sites that made it and those that died. Survival might be due partly to luck, but it is mainly a result of good management and an understanding of Internet fundamentals. Thus, the surviving sites are likely to be disproportionately clued-in about what it takes to run an online business. http://tc.eserver.org/20261.html http://tc.eserver.org/20261.html In a high-powered production environment like the web, a design method can help you get more done faster…and provide you with rules to break. New ALA writer Ross Olson shares his company’s game plan. http://tc.eserver.org/19364.html http://tc.eserver.org/19364.html Accurately measuring reader-friendliness is a complex task for any Website. Usability testing techniques have been applied with some success to Web pages. But formal usability tests are difficult to set up, and very expensive to conduct (often prohibitively so). And the diversity of the audience of Internet sites probably limits the utility of formal usability testing of many Web pages. Happily, inspection-based usability evaluation is generally as effective as formal, experimental testing, and it is much easier (and less costly) to conduct. This series focuses on inspection-based usability assessment. A site review is basically an unstructured inspection by a third party, typically focusing on the site's usability and aesthetics. It's a difficult but worthwhile effort for serious-minded authors to seek out reviewers who are willing to invest the time to undertake a serious review of your site, offering constructive suggestions for improvement. http://tc.eserver.org/19116.html http://tc.eserver.org/19116.html The quicklists presented here are derived from five sets of heuristics that were published in the August 2000 special issue of <i>Technical Communication,</i> 'Heuristics for Web Communication.' They are intended to help Web designers and developers consider crucial communicative aspects of Web site design. http://tc.eserver.org/19006.html http://tc.eserver.org/19006.html I denne artikel ses der på dynamisk hukommelse i relation til usability. Usability har I realiteten altid handlet om metoder (eller heuristikker jf. Nielsen) som skal sikre, at brugeren kan forstå det indhold, som bliver tilbudt på et givent site. Dette er naturligvis vigtigt og relevant, men det er alt sammen underlagt brugerens kontekst, og denne kontekst er igen underlagt brugssituationen. http://tc.eserver.org/18789.html http://tc.eserver.org/18789.html This paper describes a case study of a challenging but successful rapid-development web project, which incorporated customer-centered design using multiple methodologies. Within ten weeks, we conducted field studies and focus groups, produced paper prototypes of three navigational concepts, conducted a usability test using paper prototypes, and performed heuristic evaluation on the resulting design. Keys to our success include: assembling a top-notch team, running many project phases concurrently, and good, ongoing team-client and intra-team communication. http://tc.eserver.org/18668.html http://tc.eserver.org/18668.html There is every reason to use logical and creative approaches when working on any kind of design problem. The best designers know how to switch between approaches, and bring together both kinds of thinking into a process for discovering and crafting the best ideas. http://tc.eserver.org/18678.html http://tc.eserver.org/18678.html How can a design make your web pages feel natural for users? How do you achieve flow in site navigation and design structure?