As I write, it’s the height of summer here in the UK. The solstice has brought long, perfect days and a new crop of recent graduates, judging by the ‘can I have a job’ emails that I’m starting to get.Continue reading… How to get a job in usability
Blog
Tom Johnson interviews Caroline about her new book, Forms that Work
In this podcast for Tom’s blog, I’d Rather Be Writing, I get to talk about my new book, Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability, co-authored with Gerry Gaffney. We discuss the perceived value users must feel in order to partContinue reading… Tom Johnson interviews Caroline about her new book, Forms that Work
Progressive disclosure: valid or sneaky?
Gianpiero (@gpiero on Twitter) asked: “What do you feel about progressive disclosure in forms? Valid or sneaky (considering you’re probably hiding a lot of fields)?” I’m a huge fan of progressive disclosure, provided it’s used in an honest way. Let meContinue reading… Progressive disclosure: valid or sneaky?
Statistically significant usability testing
It was an intriguing question: “How do I find out about statistically significant usability testing?”. I’m sure it’s one that you’ve encountered, and maybe your reaction was the same as mine: “That’s the wrong question”. Then I realised that ifContinue reading… Statistically significant usability testing
Lessons from Celebrity Chefs: heuristic inspection or user-centred design?
A couple of nights ago, I was watching Heston Blumenthal cooking his ‘Roman Feast’. Blumenthal is a proponent of ‘molecular gastronomy’. His Fat Duck restaurant has been described as the best restaurant in the world, and is famous for itsContinue reading… Lessons from Celebrity Chefs: heuristic inspection or user-centred design?
Dealing with international addresses
You’re working on an international website. What’s the best way to ask people from all over the world for their addresses?” Useful resources for international addresses Graham Rhind’s free ebook Better data quality from your web form is a thorough and thoughtfulContinue reading… Dealing with international addresses
Where to place labels in forms
Eye-tracking data revealed the good, bad and ugly of forms design, as presented in this talk to UKPA UK – the User Experience Professional Association’s 2009 conference. But the session was also a chance to tackle some of the other controversiesContinue reading… Where to place labels in forms
Designing paper forms
This post was originally posted on Caroline’s Forms That Work website – the companion site to her book with Gerry Gaffney Forms that work: Designing web forms for usability, Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier, November 2008. We love working with paper forms, butContinue reading… Designing paper forms
Culture part 2 – what really matters in designing for different cultures
Recently, culture and design has been a big theme for me. I had the opportunity to travel halfway around the world to Cairns, Australia, to take part in the OzCHI conference – and in particular, the workshop on Inclusivity InteractionContinue reading… Culture part 2 – what really matters in designing for different cultures
Design to read workshop – call for participation
Update, December 2008: this planned workshop was cancelled, and participants joined the “Inclusivity, Interaction Design and Culture” workshop instead Reading is a skill many of us take for granted. We learn at school, practice as adolescents and perfect (or soContinue reading… Design to read workshop – call for participation