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Usability
2011: The year design trumps tech
Adii Pienaar, the inventor of an internationally-successful Wordpress theme-creation business, gave a recent presentation where he raised the idea of "User Experience (UX) and Design versus Tech". He asked the question: "Is one more important than the other?"Themes are essentially "plug and play" skins for Wordpress sites, allowing a user to change the style and design of their site on the fly, at the click of a button. It has generally cut down, or cut out, the need for ...Why Wikipedia’s appeal for money is in the wrong place
You’ll have noticed Jimmy Wales looking ruggedly handsome at the top of every Wikipedia page. But have you clicked? Probably not, because the promo is in the wrong place. Here’s why…Web users are goal-driven. The big brains of web design have known this for a long time, and you only have to observe your own online behaviour to understand exactly what it means.Let’s say a friend calls you up and says, “I’ve just been diagnosed with Mortimer’s disease.” She ...Seven design trends for startups in 2011
Adhering to good design principles is one of the fundamental tenets of success for any startup and the UX associated with the Beatles' initial launch on iTunes should give you a fair indication of what to look forward to in the foreseeable future. Following the current trend, while 2010 may have been the breeding ground for the idea that simpler web design is better, 2011 takes it one step forward by boldly declaring: Keep it simple, unique and creative.Long gone ...Google Instant Preview: What it means for site design
Google Instant Preview is a relatively new feature on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). When a user hovers over a search result, Instant Preview displays a large image preview of the webpage that a search result will link to. It sounds simple, but it adds a whole new dimension of information for searchers deciding on what search result to click through to, and could have an immense impact on the way sites are designed from this point onward.The ...A beginner’s guide to user testing
User testing (UX) is a fundamental component of the web development process. It is conducted as a matter of course in the US, UK and other developed economies during the development of any large website. In emerging markets, the entire field of Usability is still relatively small, and user testing is infrequently conducted. It doesn’t have to be like this, and it shouldn’t be.Let’s begin by taking a look at the kind of situations that warrant user testing, ...Should you be using Seesmic Desktop 2?
Seesmic Desktop 2 (SD2) is the new social media client on the block. It professes to be a desktop client from which "you can engage with various social media channels and accounts with power and ease". This article will look at three main areas of functionality to judge if it lives up to its promise.The Main Feeds Interface
On first impressions the interface appears slick and minimal. Three tabs divide the functionality within the app into ‘All’, ‘Accounts’ and ‘Userlists’. Each ...5 tips on building a landing page you can be proud of
So you’ve optimised your keywords to ensure your ad appears when people are looking for your product; you’ve ensured your ads are relevant both to the user’s query as well as to your business. Your click-through rates are increasing by the day. But so is your bounce rate and your conversions on site are simply not what they should be. Where’s the problem? Often, it’s the landing page.People can spend millions on developing sites that do not fulfill ...Four usability fails the iPad must get right
The iPad is in many ways an iconic and revolutionary device, clearly filled with breathtaking potential. But despite the obvious beauty, hype and charm, it's important to keep a firm focus on some "usability fails" of the iPad if it is to fulfill its potential and become a major leap forward in personal computing.Here are four areas where the iPad needs work.Fail #1: Anything can be the UI
Partly because of the touch interface, and partly because as a medium the ...UX guru Andy Budd warns that websites ignore usability at their peril
At the Tech4Africa conference in Johannesburg, Clearleft’s Andy Budd spoke at length about why, given the choice, users will always pick easier to use products over better architected products. Using real world examples, Budd explains how this principle should be applied to website design in order for websites to compete effectively.Decide whether you sell a product or an experienceUsing the coffee industry as an example, Budd spoke about the coffee farmer that makes around 1p for a cup of ...Project war rooms: making the design process visible
You’ve seen a war room in the movies – frowning generals sticking coloured pins onto a map. That stuff really happened, and for a good reason: when you’re invading another country, everyone has to know exactly what’s going on. Losing bits of important paper under your desk could cost lives.London's Churchill War Rooms , from where the British cabinet ran its WWII operations.A Flow project war room.Software projects are never quite that serious. But there are good reasons why you ...
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Memeburn focuses on web and innovation technologies. It has a particular interest in startup news and technology trends in emerging markets. More about us hereCopyright © 2011 memeburn. All rights reserved. No article may be published or reproduced without prior written permission from Memeburn.
