Leading from Within

While there are IAs fortunate enough to work in companies that wholeheartedly embrace user-centered design, there are many more whose biggest challenge isn't the work itself; it's finding the opportunity to do the work, at the right time, in a meaningful way.

Janish, Brenda. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Information Design

Learning from Games: Seven Principles of Effective Design    

Why do players of computer games seem to approach those applications without fear, eagerly exploring and learning as they go, while users of business applications will go out of their way to keep from using the tools? Why do business applications require volumes of documentation when the most complex games come with a brief tutorial and a strategy guide for exploration? Why can games teach pilots to fly multi-million-dollar jets better than books and classroom training? These questions have led us to ask another question: Why can’t business applications be more like games? In this article, we attempt to lay the ground work for future research by defining seven design principles found in games that we believe contribute to the creation of more usable applications.

Houser, Rob and Scott Deloach. Technical Communication Online (1998). Articles>Usability>Information Design

Learning from the "Powers of Ten"

To most designers, the Eames name brings to mind rows and rows of molded plywood chairs and Herman Miller furniture of the 1950s. But the Eameses were more than just designers of furniture; they were masters of exploration and experimentation into the realm of experience.

Malone, Erin. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Humor>Web Design>Information Design

Leaving the Autoroute

By committing all their attention to a single craft, often literally over hundreds of years, each town in France has received the renown that comes with great work. But what happens when you leave the autoroute, lured by one of those signs proclaiming the town's mastery and claim to fame?

Wodtke, Christina. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Information Design

A Lesson in Templates for Adobe Acrobat

Although Templates have been around since version 3 of Acrobat there was never any really useful supporting information or technical documentation to make use of them. Version 5 and 6 of Acrobat changed all that making it possible to take full control of Templates to create truly dynamic PDF documents.

Wraight, Dave. PlanetPDF (2004). Articles>Information Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat

Lessons to be Learned

Ivy-covered halls are filling up again with eager students of the user experience fields ready to change the world (or at least to study out the recession). But are these programs really teaching them what they need to know?

Olsen, George. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Education>Information Design

The Library Brand

It's likely that few professionals worry more about how their services are perceived than librarians. Lawyers may have more reason for concern, but many of them laugh all the way to the bank. We have little if not our reputation. So the new report published by OCLC, '€œPerceptions of Libraries and Information Resources,' deserves notice. Do libraries still matter? On what level? Will library use likely increase or decrease?--generated heartwarming comments but also much to cause concern.

Tennant, Roy. Library Journal (2006). Careers>Information Design>Databases

Linear, Moderate Hypertext: The Scrolling Page With Hyperlinked Subheadings Conveys Large-Scale Infomation Structure Better Than Isolated Cards

The 'article' approach is better than the 'card' (or 'topic') approach. Concatenate your hypertext nodes and format the headings relatively, for increased comprehensibility of large amounts of conceptual material. Placing node bodies contiguously enhances visibility of information structure.

Hoffman, Michael. Hypertext Navigation. Articles>Information Design>Hypertext

The Linguistic Foundation of Labeling

A discussion of why to employ principle-based information architecture.

Warner, Amy J. ASIST (2004). Articles>Language>Information Design

Liquid Web Design

Glenn Davis once said, 'Webpage building is a lot like bar tending. Build it right and it will work no matter what the container.' I think he was either very drunk when he said that or really on to something. Some people consider the web to be an information resource while others swear up and down that it's a form of entertainment. Web interface design has taken a giant leap in the past few years from the all-too-haunting gray backgrounds and bulleted lists to colorful interactive interfaces and eye-candy. A good web designer knows how to blend just the right amount of interface with information, so that it appears seamless and the navigation almost transparent to the end user. This is where Davis's idea of liquid design comes into play. Through his years of web development, he has come to a conclusion that there are three elements of interface on the web today: those that are Liquid, Jell-O, and Ice.

Finck, Nick. Digital Web Magazine (1999). Design>Information Design>Web Design

The London Underground Map: Imagining Modern Time and Space  

In one of his short essays in Mythologies, Barthes equated a new Citroën with the great Gothic cathedrals. He based this equivalence not on any physical resemblance, but on similarities he perceived at the moments of their production and consumption. Barthes saw each as 'the supreme creation of an era, conceived with passion by unknown artists, and consumed in image if not in usage by a whole population which appropriates them as a purely magical object.' I would like to consider the London Underground Map in the context of Barthes’s list of 'supreme creations,' and I would like to adopt his argument as the starting point of my observations.

Hadlaw, Janin. Design Issues (2003). Design>Information Design>Graphic Design

Lone-DITA

Lone-DITA's goal is to provide resources for solo Technical Writers, or those who are part of a small documentation team, who want to implement DITA at their organization.

Lone-DITA. Organizations>Information Design>Technical Writing>DITA

Long Pages and Gentler Separation of Adjacent Nodes

Hypertext theory chronically assumes the strongly fragmented card model rather than the article model of presentation.

Hoffman, Michael. Hypertext Navigation. Articles>Information Design>Hypertext

Louis Rosenfeld on Enterprise Information Architecture

In this interview with Louis Rosenfeld, The Rockley Bulletin asks the information architecture and user experience guru to talk about enterprise information architecture, what it is, where it's heading, and how you can get started.

Abel, Scott and Louis Rosenfeld. Rockley Bulletin (2006). Articles>Information Design>User Experience

Make it Mobile

Handheld devices are everywhere. How can you start delivering Web content that can be viewed on these devices? This article discusses the challenges of writing for these devices, what specific issues are involved. Also included in this discussion is a case study of one organization going mobile and the challenges it faces.

Rose, Emma. EServer (2001). Design>Information Design>Wireless Web

Making Cents from Information Architecture

Discusses the monetary cost of taking a short cut and skipping development of a sound information architecture with proper documentation for later reference.

K'necht, Alan. Digital Web Magazine (2003). Design>Information Design>Web Design

Making it Fit: Teaching Online Information Design in Two Programs with One Course  

To serve students in an interdisciplinary minor in Interactive Media as well as our own concentrators in business and technical writing within the department, we developed a course in designing online information.

Worley, Rebecca B. and Deborah C. Andrews. CPTSC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Education>Information Design

The Making of www.tc-forum.org

There have been tries to put modern software technology to work for our profession. True, we use tools that were created using object-oriented (OO) technology and we even document such programs. But you know the problem: The programmers change 'a single bit' of the program and you chase down all those 39 instances of that change. This paper will give you insights into possible ways to use object-oriented technology by yourself.

von Obert, Alexander. TC-FORUM (2000). Design>Web Design>Information Design

Making PDFs Searchable

Is there a way to take a regular PDF and make it searchable?

Rosenthol, Leonard. PDFzone (2004). Design>Information Design>Software>Adobe Acrobat

Making Sense of Information  

The process of organizing information and presenting it in whatever format makes it most meaningful to the user.

Deshpande, Shashank. STC India (2003). Presentations>Information Design

Review: Making the Web Work: Designing Effective Web Applications

Those new to the field of user-centered design will find this book most useful; intermediate or advanced practitioners looking for in-depth information specific to web applications may want to look elsewhere.

Lash, Jeff. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Resources>Reviews>Information Design

Review: Managing Data Mining Technologies in Organizations: Techniques and Applications  

Managing Data Mining Technologies in Organizations: Techniques and Applications is rich in information and should be of great interest to its intended audience of academics and professionals who are knowledgeable about data mining. The book's price and highly technical nature will likely keep those merely curious about data mining from actually purchasing it, but should you need facts on data mining for one of your documentation projects, a library copy may provide just the information you need.

Owens, David. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Reviews>Information Design

Managing Hierarchical Data in MySQL

Most users at one time or another have dealt with hierarchical data in a SQL database and no doubt learned that the management of hierarchical data is not what a relational database is intended for. The tables of a relational database are not hierarchical (like XML), but are simply a flat list. Hierarchical data has a parent-child relationship that is not naturally represented in a relational database table.

Hillyer, Mike. VBMySQL.com (2005). Articles>Information Design>Databases>SQL

Managing Taxonomies Strategically

Taxonomies are structures that provide a way of classifying things -- living organisms, products, books -- into a series of hierarchical groups to make them easier to identify, study, or locate. Taxonomies consist of two parts -- structures and applications. Structures consist of the categories (or terms) themselves and the relationships that link them together. Applications are the navigation tools available to help users find information.

Montague Institute Review (2001). Articles>Information Design>Planning

Managing the Development of Information Products: An Experiential Learning Strategy for Product Developers    

Increasing numbers of technical communicators and professionals in such diverse fields as software engineering, computer science, training, and human factors in the product development mix together. The process of developing information products has become cross-functional and interdisciplinary. Functional distinctions between those now at work in that process have blurred. Technical communicators have begun to define usability requirements up front and to participate in product design decisions; software engineers have begun to worry about the product's ability to communicate with users; and HCI (human-computer interaction) professionals work within the product development team on a variety of levels to address user concerns, from the user's work context to the product's dialogue and messaging strategies.

Skelton, T.M. Technical Communication Online (2002). Articles>Management>Information Design