Despite the beginning of a war and major roads shut down by war protesters, folks managed to gather from around the world to rub elbows with their own kind—just the thing for a conference with the theme “Making Connections”. Check out the events from Sunday, March 23.
Reviews
“Making the Web Work: Designing Effective Web Applications” is a well-written, meaty book on the entire process of designing interactive websites from a user interface perspective. Those new to the field of user-centered design will find it most useful; intermediate or advanced practitioners looking for in-depth information specific to web applications may want to look elsewhere.
Making the Web Work: Designing Effective Web Applications
To welcome in December and the holiday season, the staff at Boxes and Arrows has put together a list of their favorite books. These are the tried and true. The books we can’t live without or have learned great lessons from over the years.
Our Favorite Books: Recommendations from the Staff of Boxes and Arrows
While there are many fine books that go into great depth on various aspects of the information architecture and design process, “Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web” is, essentially, a primer on successful website design.
Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web
Jesse James Garrett’s “The Elements of User Experience” is a concise yet meaty exploration of the many roles and disciplines that combine to create effective websites. By advocating a balanced blend of usability, creativity, and business sensibility, this text is a worthwhile introduction—or re-introduction—to the process of creating successful user experiences.
The Elements of User Experience
“Small Pieces Loosely Joined” is touted on the cover as “A Unified Theory of the Web.” But its author, David Weinberger, knows better. And he says as much in the book. It’s a unified theory, but not the kind you sum up in a tidy little equation.
Small Pieces, Big Thoughts
The Usability Professionals Association (UPA) 2002 Annual Conference was held July 8-12 in Orlando, Florida. Three attendees from the UPA-MN chapter in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota area cover some of the sessions they found most notable during the 5-day conference.
UPA 2002 – Humanizing Design
Meeting last weekend in Las Vegas, the city of designed experiences, the AIGA Experience Design group came together to discuss how Experience Design can be better integrated into business and how the practice has evolved and adapted over the last year.
AIGA Experience Design Summit #5
Hillman Curtis’ minimalist approach to design also appears to be his approach to writing. In just a few words he captures the essence of what it means to be a New Media designer and what it takes to push into unknown territory.
Making the Invisible Visible: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer
“Experience design” doesn’t just apply to online design. Paco Underhill’s “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping” explores customer experience and consumer behavior as they affect retail and offline environments and in turn provides dozens of lessons for those in web development.