User Interface Design for Web Applications
Posted on Jul 27, 2006 08:21:38 PM
This article could be also be titled “Things I Wish I'd Known Before Designing My Latest Web-Based Application.” You see, I had experience designing Web sites. I’d mastered the art of creating catchy content. I worked with Web-savvy graphic artists who provided masterful images. I knew the latest HTML coding tricks and could design around the various browser quirks and incompatibilities. Armed with these skills and experiences, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Applications, Design, interface, UserAPIs and Mashups For The Rest Of Us
Posted on Jul 24, 2006 11:40:00 AM
All the latest and coolest web apps seem to have an API these days. But what is an API? And why should you care?
This article, the first in a series of two, aims to lift the lid on all things API; the second article will give you some hands-on tools and tips to get you started. For now, it’s all about how we managed to get here—and where here actually is.
What is an API?
Let’s get the acronym Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: APIs, Mashups, RestCreating a Site Design Plan
Posted on Jul 23, 2006 07:40:34 AM
Some background
I design sites small enough that I can handle all the details myself—sites for small and micro businesses. Many sites I design don’t sell anything, so I used to have trouble applying planning advice I read in Web design books (see Further Reading below).
I’ve been playing around on the Web for a long time. I weathered the CSS revolution and was happy to leave tables, spacer GIFs and pixel-perfect layouts Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Creating, Design, Plan, SiteProduct Review: SumoSac
Posted on Jul 20, 2006 02:07:33 AM
Once again Sumo Lounge has launched another ingenious product: the SumoSac (super size bean bag). I received a SumoSac couple weeks ago for product review and I gotta tell you, it is one of the most comfortable bean-bag chair I have ever sat in. The SumoSac is a large suede sac filled with shredded furniture grade urethane foam. In addition to its comfort, the Sumosac is stylish and practical. The size of the sac is more than enough space to accommodate two people simultaneously, which is great for playing video games or just chilling with friends. The suede cover is soft and comfy, unlike the nylon cover of the Omni I got a while back. Best of all, it is removable so cleaning is not problem at all. For more details please visit their website.
Tags: Product, Review, SumoSacForging a partnership between designer and user
Posted on Jul 18, 2006 10:23:23 PM
In the material world, we are generally passive consumers of design. Each day we interact with the elements of our environment—buildings, walkways, vehicles, appliances and so on—and we have very little control over how they look or how they function. Our experience, good or bad, is driven by their design. We do not expect to take control of an element and make it more suitable to our needs or better match our expectations. And so Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Between, Designer, Forging, partnership, UserForum Setup for Designers: Putting Vanilla to the Test
Posted on Jul 17, 2006 03:10:38 PM
Ever since the Romans built their famous meeting place, people have used forums to disseminate information. The internet is no exception. In the early days of the web, we had UBB.classic and a smattering of bulletin board setups to use as information exchanges. In the last couple of years, forum software has gotten easier to use and simpler to install. Now it seems like everyone has a forum. But is setting one up a Herculean task?
##2## Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: designers, Forum, Putting, Setup, Test, VanillaThe Rise of Flash Video, Part 1
Posted on Jul 17, 2006 07:04:42 AM
In 2003, I was in Seattle getting ready to do a presentation on Flash Video at Digital Design World when Jim Heid, the Conference Organizer, saw the title slide of the presentation and mentioned that I might be facing a rather tough crowd. I looked out over the audience, sized them up and told Jim I had his back covered. He said he wasn’t too sure about that and pointed at the title on my screen: “QuickTime is dead.” Looking Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Flash, Part, Rise, VideoDesign for the Sofa
Posted on Jul 15, 2006 07:56:57 PM
On my flight from Los Angeles to Hamburg I read in the Zeit, a well established German newspaper, that a major TV channel now from time to time displays a small BMW Z3 racing over the screen regardless of the underlying program or commercial. Despite the toy-like character of this idea, being part of a national advertising campaign, it can easily be identified as a "TV-banner." Very alien in the first place, not only because of the potential Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Design, SofaThe Document Object Model: an Introduction
Posted on Jul 15, 2006 07:47:52 AM
In recent months much has been said about the Javascript DOM, the Document Object Model. It was rumored that Netscape 6 has a new one, and that it's really important to know how to use it. Nonetheless some people are a bit hazy about what a DOM is, and why they should want to use it. In this article I'd like to give a short introduction and history of the DOM. It's not really a tutorial, but after you've read this you'll hopefully have a better Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Document, Introduction, Model, ObjectTypography and Web Advertising: Making Every Opportunity Count
Posted on Jul 14, 2006 10:02:27 AM
We hear it all the time:
“Advertising on the web is so different than print. It has to contend with tininess, limited bandwidth, banner ad shapes, being shoved into sidebars…no one even wants to see our ads!”
Let’s begin with a clear definition of the term advertising. It is from the Latin advertere, meaning to turn toward, thus to bring to someone’s attention, or to notice. So all advertising, Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Advertising, Count, Every, Making, Opportunity, Typography