When working in an enterprise environment, the interaction between browsers and multitudes of applications often creates user experience nightmares. Mike Padilla introduces some practical ways to relieve some of the biggest issues and start helping shape a larger context.
Design Principles
Joe Lamantia covers the design principles underlying a building block system and the simple guidelines for combining blocks together to create any type of tile-based environment. (Part 2 in a series)
Introduction to the Building Blocks
The Design Behind the System
Accessible information architecture builds a bridge between planning, design, and development. Frances Forman gives us a place to start thinking more deeply about how information can be structured and transformed to make user interaction more flexible for everyone.
Practical Plans for Accessible Architectures
Christina talks with web accessibility expert Derek Featherstone about the emergence of accessibility as a way towards better structure and more usefulness.
(Part 2 of a series)
Straight From the Horse’s Mouth with Derek Featherstone
Pulling Further Ahead
Amid the hype of Web 2.0, “rich” has become a prime buzzword. Using the concepts of Classical rhetoric as a framework, Uday Gajendar looks to transcend the hype and dig into the value of richness for digital products.
What Does Rich Mean?
A Deeper Look at the Rich Experience
As interactions proliferate, so does the content that supports them. Why should software professionals take a step back and examine their content from a philosophical perch? Rachel Lovinger takes a look at content strategy and the benefits of its perspectives.
Content Strategy: The Philosophy of Data
Most IA tools and methods focus on the users and the content being developed for websites. Jorge Arango uses the ideas from anthropologist Edward Hall as a starting point to dig deep into the idea of context, its variations, and the impacts on how people interpret information.
Deep Context
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.
Simplicity: The Distribution of Complexity
Life is full of choices, and making these choices seems more difficult each day. Boxes and Arrows interviews Barry Schwartz, author of The Paradox of Choice, to dig into these decisions—when we make them and when we don’t.
The Line Between Clarity and Chaos
An Interview with Barry Schwartz
When navigating a complex system—be it a website or a large
transport network—it’s easy to get lost. Ross Howard points out how
subtle signifiers can make a big difference.
Ambient Signifiers
How I Learned to Stop Getting Lost and Love Tokyo Rail