Here’s a topic that divides UX professionals from ordinary people: label placement in forms. UX professionals get all excited about it, and I plead guilty to joining the discussion. I’ve written about it, included it in my book Forms ThatContinue reading… Label placement in Austrian forms, with some lessons for English forms
Category: Articles
Avoid being embarrassed by your error messages
An error message made it to Top Tweet status on Twitter in 2010. ““An unknown error message ‘APIEpicFAIL’ was received from the device”. The only user option: click on OK. When Duncan Campbell (@dunk) tweeted about this message, he commentedContinue reading… Avoid being embarrassed by your error messages
Design to read: guidelines for people who do not read easily
These guidelines are co-authored by Janice (Ginny) Redish, Kathryn Summers, and Caroline Jarrett. Orignally published in the June 2010 issue of UXPA User Experience, our work orginated in the ‘Design to Read’ project. Design to read project archive This articleContinue reading… Design to read: guidelines for people who do not read easily
Avoid putting a reset button on your web forms
The history of RESET HTML 2.0 appeared in 1995. At that time, I was working in usability of forms – and I still am. But I didn’t have email or an internet connection. So I think it was remarkably niceContinue reading… Avoid putting a reset button on your web forms
Don’t put hints inside text boxes in web forms
When you are making a digital form, is it OK to put a hint inside a text box? The short version of my advice: don’t do it! Hint text is rarely effective as a way of helping users, but insteadContinue reading… Don’t put hints inside text boxes in web forms
Why we need a ‘qualification brain’
Why we need a ‘qualification brain’: from product catalogue to dominant narrative – enabling web-enquirers to understand and navigate through a flexible but complex curriculum This paper for the 23rd ICDE World Conference on Open Learning and Distance Education, Maastricht,Continue reading… Why we need a ‘qualification brain’
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?
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