Practical Plans for Accessible Architectures

Accessible design requires a deeper understanding of context. It's about providing alternative routes to information, whether that route is a different sense (seeing or hearing), a different mode, (using a tab key or a mouse), or a different journey (using an A to Z site index instead of main navigation). However, accessibility is much easier to achieve when the right foundations are put in place as prerequisites during site planning and strategy.

Forman, Frances. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Practical Strategies for Creating a Successful Intranet

Designing, developing, and deploying an intranet can be expensive, time-consuming and organizationally tricky. But certain strategies, when carefully executed, can simplify designing and managing your intranet.

Singh, Shiv. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Intranets

Printing the Web

Despite predictions to the contrary, it doesn't seem that the advent of networked information sharing has reduced human consumption of paper. In fact, given the amount of printouts modern offices and homes produce, one is inclined to say that even more paper is generated today than ever before.

Kalbach, James. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Web Design>User Centered Design

Prognostication Digitalis

We stand poised to dive into the new year. What will 2003 hold for the profession known as 'what we do' and its children, information architecture, usability, interaction design, interface design, and graphic design? We asked our authors to hazard a guess.

Wodtke, Christina. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Interaction Design

Putting a Face on B2B Websites

How do you lead your business-to-business clients down the right path without sacrificing every design, usability, and information design principle you’ve ever learned? And how do you make these websites engaging for users? Nancy Carl offers advice for creating successful B2B websites.

Carl, Nancy. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability>E Commerce

Putting the White Back in Strunk and White

In web design screeds, the most commonly cited book is not what you might expect. It is not by Jakob Nielsen or Jeffrey Zeldman or Edward Tufte. It's not even on design or typography or code. It is a thin volume of guidelines on writing by a professor 'at the closing of the first world war' and treasured by one student enough to put it into print. William Strunk was the professor, and E.B. White, author of Charlotte's Web, was that grateful student. White took the master's set of laws, removed some 'bewhiskered entries,' corrected some errors, and added his own chapter at the end for 'those who feel English prose composition is not only a necessary skill but a sensible pursuit as well.'

Wodtke, Christina. Boxes and Arrows (2006). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Minimalism

Quick and Easy Flash Prototypes: Bring Your Wireframes to Life

To tackle the classic “how to prototype rich interactions” problem, Alexa Andrzejewski developed a process for translating static screen designs (from wireframes to visual comps) into interactive experiences using Flash. Requiring some fairly basic ActionScript knowledge, these prototypes proved to be a quick yet powerful way to bring interaction designs to life.

Andrzejewski, Alexa. Boxes and Arrows (2008). Articles>Web Design>Interaction Design>Flash

Ranganathan for Information Architects

S.R. Ranganathan was the greatest librarian of the 20th Century. His ideas influenced every aspect of library science, yet, as impressive as his accomplishments were, Ranganathan didn't start out with the intention of becoming a librarian at all.

Steckel, Mike. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Information Design>History

Re-architecting PeopleSoft.com from the Bottom Up

When PeopleSoft decided to unify its websites, the information architects involved used bottom-up techniques to make sense of the enormous number of different pieces of content.

Fox, Chiara. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Case Studies

Re-Architecting PeopleSoft.com from the Bottom-Up

When PeopleSoft decided to unify its websites, the information architects involved used bottom-up techniques to make sense of the enormous number of different pieces of content.

Fox, Chiara. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Case Studies

Recording Screen Activity During Usability Testing

Recording what users do is a crucial aspect of usability testing. Fortunately, recording screen activity doesn’t necessarily cost much. Three Windows-based software programs range between $30 and $150 and offer excellent performance.

Fast, Karl. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Articles>Usability>Methods>Testing

Remote Contextual Inquiry: A Technique to Improve Enterprise Software

Enterprise software usability is difficult to evaluate because the standard product shipped on a CD is almost always customized when it is implemented. How then can we learn about the design issues that actual users encounter with customized software?

English, Jeff and Lynn Rampoldi-Hnilo. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Articles>Usability>Methods>Contextual Inquiry

Remote Online Usability Testing: Why, How, and When to Use It

Traditional, one-on-one usability testing is a great technique for uncovering usability issues on a website. Unfortunately, in-person usability testing isn't always feasible due to tight schedules, tight budgets, and elusive target users. So what's a usability crusader to do when in-person usability testing is impossible?

Gough, Dabney and Holly Phillips. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Usability>Methods>Online

Report Review: Nielsen/Norman Group's Usability Return on Investment

In the business world, user experience endeavors are typically seen as a cost—a line item expense to be minimized to the greatest extent possible while still remaining competitive. This has led to a number of essays, articles, and books on proving the value of user experience, including a recent report by the Nielsen Norman Group.

Merholz, Peter and Scott Hirsch. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Usability

Representing Content and Data in Wireframes

Visio practically groaned as I opened the wireframes for my current project, which were in something like the twentieth revision. It was the usual story--poorly defined requirements and business rules--and my project folder was fast becoming the poster child for Feature Creep Flu.

Brown, Dan. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Articles>Graphic Design>Technical Illustration

SchwabLearning.org: A Case Study

A case study of the website for Schwab Learning, a service of the Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, is dedicated to helping kids with learning differences be successful in learning and life.

Landers Steinberg, Jeanene. Boxes and Arrows (2002). Design>Web Design>Case Studies

Searching for the Center of Design

Design is driven by many considerations. But on each project I've worked on, there seems to be a consistent center — a driver that determines priorities, direction, and the metrics used to measure success.

McMullin, Jess. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Project Management

Semiotics: A Primer for Designers

Semiotics teaches us as designers that our work has no meaning outside the complex set of factors that define it. The deeper our understanding and awareness of these factors, the better our control over the success of the work products we create

Hodge, Challis. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Information Design>Cultural Theory

Setting Up Business Stakeholder Interviews Part 2

In part one, Michael shared how to navigate company politics to set up great stakeholder interviews. Here he covers his five tips for navigating company politics, avoiding client bias, and eliciting the information you need to inform your design.

Beavers, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>Interviewing>Project Management>User Centered Design

Setting Up Business Stakeholder Interviews, Part 1

Gathering business requirements from stakeholders is critical to good design, but setting up quality interviews can be tough. Tossing out the org chart may be the best way to figure out who really wields influence over a company's website.

Beavers, Michael. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>Interviewing>User Centered Design

Simplicity: The Distribution of Complexity

Achieving simplicity is not that simple when you are dealing with complex modern device design. Rob Tannen mused on lazy shortcuts, artificial constraints and Maeda's crusade on the complex.

Tannen, Rob. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Articles>User Interface>Theory>Minimalism

Site Diagrams: Mapping an Information Space

Site diagrams can be quite helpful in answering all kinds of hard questions. How to create the right diagram became a personal challenge for Jason Withrow. He shares his story through tips and techniques…

Withrow, Jason. Boxes and Arrows (2004). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Sitemaps

Sitemaps and Site Indexes: What They Are and Why You Should Have Them

Sitemaps and site indexes are forms of supplemental navigation. They give users a way to navigate a site without having to use the global navigation. By providing a way to visualize and understand the layout and structure of the site, a sitemap can help a lost or confused user find her way.

Fox, Chiara. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Design>Web Design>Information Design>Sitemaps

Six Tips for Improving Your Design Documentation

Documentation is a crucial component of successful product planning and implementation, so it's important that it communicates as effectively as possible. Good organization, complete information, and clear writing are, of course, key to the success of any design document, but there are some other, less-obvious techniques you can use to make your documents more readable and understandable. Here are a few of them.

Olshavsky, Ryan. Boxes and Arrows (2003). Articles>Documentation>Document Design