The quality of a web application cannot only be judged on the quality of the application itself. A myriad of accompanying services and experiences are connected with a product and is not and should not be easily separated from it. Is the web application easy to combine with other products and external services? Is it easily integrated into other products or services? Is the documentation sufficient and easy to use? Is there need for documentation? Is it advertised well? Do I feel welcome? How is the warranty and what are the terms of use? Is there personal confrontation in the sales situation, and is it easy to quit? Continue reading 2 comments
The UI pattern survey initiative was launched without much fuss last week. With over 1000 replies, the data collected is slowly gaining momentum, and even though it is too early to make any empirically sound deductions from the results, I thought I’d share the outlook of what is to come. Continue reading 0 comments
This is a call-out for all designers, developers, information architects, project managers, writers, editors, marketers, and everyone else who makes websites. Now is your chance to get to know the web a lot better by helping sketching a true picture of how UI patterns are used today. Continue reading 0 comments
I recently attended a half-day seminar on best practices for handling redesigns of websites. The seminar itself wasn’t of much value – the only thing I learned is that we rock in our approach to building websites and their relaunches at my work, Benjamin Interactive. Continue reading 2 comments
Evaluating the quality of web design is predominantly a subjective process as it needs to be evaluated in relation to some sort of demand or need of a user. It does not make sense to talk about good or bad web design only evaluating how pretty it looks. Most people do not use websites in order to be visually stimulated, but instead to find information, to make reservations, or keep in touch with contacts. They thus evaluate the successfulness of a website’s web design on its ability to deliver information sought, help make reservations, or facilitate keeping in touch with contacts. Continue reading 6 comments
This tip is similar to the tip given in the blog post “Use a Sharpie”. It is about constraining yourself from drawing small details and focusing on the idea, the concept and context. Does the overall idea seem useful? How does it deliver value? Would it fit into the full project and what the user is doing before and after using what you’re sketching? Continue reading 2 comments
User interface design patterns are best practices – proven solutions that solve common problems. But can you really create new and groundbreaking products by building your web application like so many others have done before you? Is it possible to spawn creativity and innovation from using design patterns when these merely represent old and used practices? Continue reading 2 comments
This blog post is one out of several blog posts on improving your user interface sketching techniques. You might want to read the first three posts: Drawing corners and boxes, Drop Shadow, and Use a thick pen. Continue reading 0 comments
Since AJAX became popular in web design, web applications has started to look much like desktop applications and has as such begun to suffer from some of the same design flaws. What I especially want to rid the world for is load indicators and meaningless error messages. Continue reading 1 comment
UI-Patterns.com is the work of Anders Toxboe – a Danish web developer seeking to categorize what has before seemed like ad hoc approaches to developing web applications.
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