Usability blogs to follow

I have to admit I spend a lot of time reading various blog posts. Some which aren’t relevant to this class, but the majority of them are. Most of the blogs I have run across via Twitter or just through a specific search only to discover the whole site had excellent content.

Here are some of the blogs I read the most and consistently go back to when I’m looking for specific web design information or inspiration.

• SmashingMagazine.com
• WebDesignerDepot.com
• TheWebBlend.com
• WhatMakesThemClick.net

Mashable.com is one of my favorites as well because it covers a wide range of topics especially trending items and more social media.

Many of these sites provide inspiration for my personal blog. I try to write every week although that’s really tough with school sometimes. However, at a minimum, I re-tweet or re-post others articles so at least their content is shared as many ways as possible.

My personal blog can be found at spoiledogs.com and I’m on Twitter @spoulson22.

Multi-Faceted by Necessity

I have new (6 months together now) junior co-workers who ask me what they need to do in order to be considered User Interface Designers, Interaction Designers, User Experience Designers, or more likely some combination of those titles as long as they come with higher pay, prestige, and significant work. They are considered graphic designers at the moment. I have also recently had front-end engineers ask me the same question. So I am using my career as an example here since it is the one I am most familiar with.

The simplest answer is that you need to know and do more. I think of my work in terms of user experience. Every element in a company affects user experience. Technical limitations in database design affecting how relevant or useful some bit of information is for a user are things I need to understand and factor in. Reading between the lines when meeting with stakeholders is important for saving time and staying employed. Expressing your ideas in writing, info graphics, wireframes, and mockups is essential.

So how did I get there?  1) Startups  2) Reading  3)Web Design

1. I started working in Silicon Valley in 1997 as a project manager with a Master Degree in English. Within a year and a half, I was in a 3-person startup funded by a small insurance company. I helped design the product, designed and coded the interface, ran the Russian development team, wrote the copy, and hired a bunch of people. Another year and a half and I was managing 8 people at eLance; moonlighting at another small startup of 5 people doing UI design.  Startups are good for stretching your talents into the available need.
2. You gotta digest a few books and be learning continuously. I started with Don't Make Me Think and my brain's been plastic ever since. Loved a few editions of Principles of Interaction Design by Cooper, et al. Read Norman's Emotional Design a few years ago and was struck by how shallow most of the UI design I do is. Then I shrugged it off and went back to work... Use Jennifer Tidwell's Designing Interfaces every other day or so at work. Seen Edward Tufte's seminar twice over the years. Have 2 sets of the books.... And here I am getting a second Masters Degree. Not proud, just obsessed.
3. I could be wrong, but back in the day, we sorta had to do it all if you wanted to make websites for people (and make $). A lot of HTML/CSS.  A little javascript (some Perl...). Gather requirements. Design. Analyze server logs. FTP to the server. QA your own work. Did I mention write all the copy 'cause the client can't seem to get the words out? 

 If you take all that experience and then decide to focus it on improving the end users' experience as well as the performance (from the company's perspective) of some digital product, you get a lot of skills you don't use directly except as checks and balances against the complex machine which will actually develop and support your products. You also retain enough skills to express your research and your original ideas in forms which allow stakeholders to understand them and evaluate their potential -- eventually coming aboard as clear supporters. And it's cool to know a lot of stuff.

NEXT POST: Re-designing the Grocery IQ iOS app for the Google/Motorola launch of their Honeycomb tablet device. With pics!

Two excellent usability books

I was introduced to “Letting Go of the Words” by Ginny Redish last year. Although it’s been around for several years, it’s still a fantastic book and very easy to read.

The book focuses on the actual content of the website and not just the design or functionality. Redish discusses a wide range of topics which all apply to the user experience.

For example:

• Breaking up the text using headings, subheads, and bulleted lists.
• Writing links that are meaningful.
• Making sure your site is accessible to everyone.

All of the advice Redish provides in the book still hinges on understanding the target audience and the purpose of the site. The content of the site often gets overlooked since it’s usually the last thing to do and money and time are running out.

Another valuable book is “Usability for the Web” by Tom Brinck, Darren Gergle & Scott D. Wood. It provides a comprehensive discussion of website usability. The book provides 450 pages of usability advice. It’s broken down into easy sections allowing you to jump to the areas you may need; however, I would recommend reading the whole book.

Here is a list of the sections:

• Pervasive Usability
• Requirements Analysis
• Conceptual Design
• Mockups and Prototypes
• Production
• Launch
• Evaluation

I read this book initially when it came out in 2002; however, I have referenced it a lot since then.