Usability, Design, Navigation, Interfaces, Information Architecture, Accessibility.

I started ranting on Twitter some time last night and realized it was apropos here.

I’m reading About Face by Alan Cooper, and Cooper writes,

If we design and construct products in such a way that the people who use them achieve their goals, these people will be satisfied, effective, and happy and will gladly pay for the products and recommend that others do the same. Assuming that this can be achieved in a cost-effective manner, it will translate into business success.

What I don’t understand is why companies are just starting to buy into this idea. As Cooper goes on to say, isn’t this quite obvious? The marketers and analysts gather data on buy-in and features, and the developers focus on making it happen within whatever environment they have to. Somebody is looking at ROI and features, and somebody is looking at coding functionality.

But who’s looking at translating customer needs effectively?

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Oh, perhaps this is just stating the obvious for you.

As a technical writer suddenly writing web content, I had no idea.

My brain so efficiently crunches data and spits it out in list format, complete with headings and summarized with concise sentence structure, that I have a hard time writing anything else.

Oh I’m great at brainstorming, researching, organizing notes, drawing up an outline, and writing efficiently. Edit mercilessly, we’re told as technical writers. Make it clear, use simple sentences that convey meaning with active voice, then put them in lists and give them headings. Cut the word count in half. Then cut it in half again. Write short paragraphs, avoid metaphors, jargon, and writing personally and informally.

But this web content thing! Showing my personality in what I write, and writing articles like those found in a magazine I’d curl up with and read while sipping tea in the evening? Wait, don’t I have to GET a personality first.

Online writing resources are no help - again demanding concise sentences and clear, quick writing rather than a conversational tone that invites the reader to crawl into the story with me. Journalism. I have no experience with journalism.

We’re all taught that online writing has to be hard hitting and quick because readers scan, and will not invest time in reading a meandering piece. Once again, I think Amber said it right before I even knew what I was doing, in her ALA article:

Content, on the other hand, fills a real need: it establishes emotional connections between people. The writing has heart and spirit; it has something to say and the wherewithal to stand up and say it. Content is the stuff readers want to read, even if they have to print it to do so. (And readers will print a long piece; just because something is published online doesn’t mean it must be read online). Content is thoughtful, personable, and faithfully written. It hooks the reader and draws him in, encouraging him to click this link or that, to venture further into a website. It delivers what it promises and delights the attentive reader.

More to follow.

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When I first mentioned buying The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman, I knew it was a well-respected classic for those in user experience design. Amber - a friend who designs Technical Poet - pointed out she did not enjoy it, in fact, because the examples related to engineering physical products such as tables, light switches, and tea kettles. I argued that the principles could be applied anywhere, and it was fascinating to truly understand cognitive theory.

But I think she was right after all.

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I have a confession.

I can feel that ol’ “buy a new domain name, dump the current one” feeling setting in. It’s inevitable. I get bored, and I think, if I just grasped this exciting new idea, and ran with it, I’d have the next big thing. This ol’ blog? No one’s reading it anyway right?

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If you follow me on Twitter you will have recently seen me having a virtual orgasm about Safari Books Online, which is a huge online reference library by O’Reilly. My account there allows me access to up to 10 books per month from the shelves, and let me tell you, by day two I’ve already got 5 on the go.

That said, if you’re not in the same position, you might still be interested in visiting Robert Hoekman Jr’s website as he provides free samples of some very exciting books - Designing The Moment and Designing The Obvious. I can’t possibly do better than this excerpt from Designing The Moment’s introduction itself,

Designing the Moment is:

• a “think-out-loud”view into design solutions from real projects
• a critical look at elements from every phase of a user’s interaction with a Web site or application
• a collection of principles and concepts to guide the design of everything from page layouts to social networking features

Most of all, it’s a blow-by-blow, expert analysis of the subtle details of an interface that make or break a user’s experience, and how to improve each and every interaction, one moment at a time.

So these two plus About Face 3 and Ambient Findability, along with Designing Interfaces, Designing Web Navigation, and Information Architecture For The World Wide Web… ok, plus the books on Ajax, CSS, Dojo, and JavaScript… and the ones on search engine marketing, web design for ROI and SEO… no wonder I never leave my desk and bookshelves.

Also, when can I find time to learn .Net and Flex. Argh. I need to have more brains plzktnx.

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I’m really enjoying Aarron Walter’s book, Building Findable Websites. Today I’ve noticed he posted a findability cheat sheet on his website which is not only an excellent quick checklist for managing websites but also gives you a good idea of the topics covered thoroughly in his book.

A little more digging revealed that Mr. Walter also wrote an article at A List Part introducing findability and its place in the web design world. Here he also explains how to get buy-in for findability at your company at different levels along with describing how each member of your project team contributes.

I find myself surprised and excited about the wealth of new information available in Building Findable Websites, from mark-up strategies and server-side strategies through working with JavaScript and Ajax, adding search engines and mailing lists, and maximizing content to draw readers in. Rather than a how-to or dry programming book, this one provides a holistic approach to build websites that are usable and effective.

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Both a conversation this morning and one of Rae’s posts had me thinking about the relationship between working hard and making money. A friend was trying to convince me he could make easy money, and I must admit, my first instinct is to say no. I don’t believe in easy money.

Maybe that leaves me in the cold for some opportunity whereby I could make millions just by sitting still. But the reality is, I don’t sit still. Life for me is about self development and constant learning, so I suppose even if I am missing the millions, I am living the life I want by working hard. Given that unlimited dream money I would either be busy running my own business or doing university full time to obtain several different interesting degrees. Money is simply the tool I can use to work more, because work is play. That’s what I strive for.

Now I work full-time, raise my boys, and take three courses. I have a dozen books from the library on the go, always. I feel a strange sense of calm and pleasure from being surrounded by knowledge and especially knowledgeable people, and some of my favourite friends are those that constantly challenge me intellectually. If they’re smarter than me, I want to know them. If there’s more to know and a better way to do it, I want to be there.

As Rae points out, playing hard comes after working hard. Certainly playing hard is on my list too, although the reality is working hard IS playing hard for me. The trick is to avoid playing soft - wasting time and brain power on mindlessly watching tv or sitting on the couch in some vain effort to avoid hard work. Make work hard, play hard two key elements, each with their own ambitious fuel to move you.

Recognize you make that choice to sit back and wait to be served or grab life by the horns. If you want to sit back and wait for that so-called easy money, don’t look for me. I’ll be working my ass off and earning all that money you keep dreaming of.

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Success in UX design is driven by a particular personality. UX requires straddling so many elements, and includes a wide range of experience and expertise, rather than allowing one to become comfortable doing the same ol’ same ol’. Not only are user needs met first and foremost, there is an ongoing feeling of growth and development required to keep all these needs managed. In these days where it seems crucial to balance Ajax, JavaScript, CSS, Flex, and more, we are reminded that all these technologies must most importantly be leveraged by a particular personality.

I recently read and enjoyed the job description for a UX Specialist at Viget Labs. This listing summarizes many of the soft skills and personality elements that are crucial to UX.

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Unless I am missing something very vital, so far I have been unimpressed with Thesis. With some tweaks I was able to fix the fact that I needed to horizontally scroll in this default layout, and not sure I’ll stay with the fixed width provided either. Although there was a rotating image box in the default layout (since removed), otherwise all the graphics you see here are all the graphics provided. I’m not sure exactly what was being sold here for this price, apart from a layout I could’ve pretty easily coded myself or grabbed from an existing CSS framework.

The sidebars you see at right were, as well, the only thing provided in this layout, and I’ll need to manually add category listings and other widgets later, along with actually developing the entire colour scheme and logo.

Unfortunately I need to go to bed since I’m getting up with two toddlers first thing in the a.m., so I have to leave the theme like this. At least it’s working without the horizontal scroll now, although obviously it’s bland as hell.

I’m wondering what others have seen in this theme that they found worthy of raving about.

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