usability Archive

WordPress begins to open up its redesign process

The ongoing documentation of Mark Boulton Design’s redesign of the Drupal website is providing some great insight into the process; Leisa Reichelt’s latest post, on the community wireframing project, is a prime example. Now – whether by happy serendipity or a desire to compete – WordPress have begun to do likewise.

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Personal notices, open practices

Today is my penultimate day in my current job; next week I’m going on a trip to Spain, and when I get back I’m starting my new job at the award-winning Preloaded agency. My focus will be shifting away from client-side development and onto information architecture; it’s a fantastic challenge for me, and I’m very excited about working on top brands for a top agency.

I’ve been slowly introducing IA into my role over the past three years, and so this is a logical step for me to take. I’ll be sad to leave my current agency, but delighted to be moving to somewhere I’ll be able to focus on what I think are the next hot topics on the web: findability & usability.

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Google Chrome – on reflection

So, it’s a couple of days since the launch of the first beta of Google’s new browser, Chrome, and the hyperbole has died down a little. After using it for a few days, I want to look in a little more detail at some of its features – more specifically, its interface and usability. Luckily, Google have provided user experience documentation (for Chromium, the open source project) to make this easier.

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What I saw at FoWD 2008

As promised, slightly more detailed notes on the sessions at FoWD (further links to presentations to follow). In chronological order:

Finding Inspiration for Design (Patrick McNeil)

I missed the beginning of this, but it seemed to be pretty sage, if not rather commonsense, advice (don’t just use websites for web design inspiration), as well as some notes on current trends and tips on future ones; soft colours, more use of horizontal space, more video.

User Experience vs Brand Experience (Steve Pearce and Andy Clarke)

Set up as a confrontation, but in fact both speakers were at pains to point out that both should be thought of together. Andy Clarke adds: don’t be afraid to fail, we learn from our mistakes.

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What I saw at @media 2007

So @media 2007 is over and, after a little breather, here’s a short breakdown of what I saw, in chronological order, along with links to presentations where possible.

There were lots of great, inspiring ideas, which should spin out into a few more posts in the near future.

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Aside

I’ve updated my Speaking page to include more conferences, more videos, and a little on my speaking requirements and preferences. I’m planning to cut down on the number of talks I give in 2014 (twelve is too many), but am always open to interesting offers and opportunities, so please get in touch if you’re organising an event.

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