Posts Tagged: Usability & Design
thoughts on iMac and the future of the universe
Posted by on Monday, January 7, 2002 in - 24 comments
My thoughts, since I know you are all eagerly awaiting them, on the new iMac: • Design is ok - kinda dopey looking. I'll reserve final judgment until I've seen it in person. • Concept is good - those who watched the Keynote Address in shitty QuickTime video will notice how Jobs explained why …
volunteer work for Apple's marketing department
Posted by on Wednesday, January 2, 2002 in - 5 comments
I know I'm playing right into the hands to Apple's marketing people, but I can't help it - I find good marketing entertaining. I've criticized Apple fans on this site before (I'm suspicious of anyone who 'loves' a computer company, but maybe that's just a defense mechanism) but I don't criticize …
monson snowboard design competition
Posted by on Saturday, December 29, 2001 in - 11 comments
I've never been big on design competitions. Especially when the prize consists of your work being used without financial compensation. If you want good design, find a good designer and pay her. • That said, the Monson Snowboard Design Contest caught my attention because of the caliber of some of …
Yeah, what he said.
Posted by on Sunday, December 9, 2001 in - 2 comments
I love it when people say plainly and clearly what has been ambiguously bouncing around in my head, slightly beyond my ability to structure and articulate. This is how I felt when I read Don Norman's The Design of Everyday Things and C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity (for those who only know Lewis … read more »
Windows XP: rough around the edges
Posted by on Sunday, December 2, 2001 in - 52 comments
I resisted my well known irrational urge to upgrade as long as I could, but this weekend I gave in and installed Windows XP. A good rule of thumb: never upgrade your operating system simply because you are bored. • My initial reaction is that the fancy UI effects make things feel a little …
Homepage Usability: 50 Websites Deconstructed - sort of reviewed
Posted by on Sunday, November 11, 2001 in
Jakob Nielsen, love him or hate him*, preaches a core set of web-usability values are that are so ridiculously simple, they are practically irrefutable. Make a search box big enough to type a full word into, make pages accessible to users with disabilities, make your pages load quickly, avoid …
uCommerce, my ass
Posted by on Tuesday, October 30, 2001 in - 33 comments
So I'm flipping through Jakob Nielsen's new book, Homepage Usability: • 50 Websites Deconstructed (he scratches my back, I scratch his), when I come across his criticism of the consulting behemoth Accenture's homepage. While lambasting the site for its ambiguity, with just cause, Nielsen and his …
explodingdog book!
Posted by on Monday, October 29, 2001 in - 7 comments
Finally! • The greatest thing in the world happened! • Exploding Dog has finally released a 220 page book of 10 short stories he drew! From Sam: • “This book is 220 pages of 10 short stories i drew over the last year. One story is over 80 pages long some are as short as two pages. Over 100 …
XP is a frog
Posted by on Friday, October 26, 2001 in - 11 comments
According to a story at the Microsofty news site ActiveWin, frog design (don't you hate companies who's names are all lower-case?) was involved in the design of Microsoft's new Windows Media Player look and the new Windows XP flag logo. • I also discovered recently that icon design gurus …
unrecognized and underappreciated talent gets recognized and appreciated
Posted by on Monday, October 22, 2001 in - 23 comments
I've had a hard time keeping this one under wraps for the past few weeks, but as of this morning, I'm finally allow to brag. My fellow silveroranges and I have gotten big props from the guru himself, Jakob Nielsen. • I'm hoping that this award will remain in our hands and not be lost to a …