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Category: Design

Usability as a legal requirement: leaflets for medicines

Jane Matthews 4 December 2019 30 April 2007
Usability as a legal requirement: leaflets for medicines

At the recent Information Design conference, Karel van der Waarde told us about the impact that European legislation has had on patient information leaflets. These are the pieces of paper that come with every medicine. European Law requires usability InContinue reading… Usability as a legal requirement: leaflets for medicines

How to write good FAQs

Jane Matthews 23 March 2020 28 February 2007
How to write good FAQs

FAQs don’t have that great a reputation, but recently, I’ve been working on FAQs for a client. Their computer help desk was annoyed about answering the same things again and again. Why not divert potential callers to a FAQ instead?Continue reading… How to write good FAQs

Good headings help, bad headings hurt

Caroline Jarrett 13 October 2021 31 January 2007
Good headings help, bad headings hurt

I’ve been on the road recently, teaching my ‘Editing that Works’ workshops to teams of web content providers in a government department. ‘Choose what to say,’ I urge them. And do it like this: apply temporary headings to your text,Continue reading… Good headings help, bad headings hurt

How to get clients to look at wireframes properly

Caroline Jarrett 22 May 2024 6 December 2006
How to get clients to look at wireframes properly

It was the same old story. I was working with Whitney Quesenbery on some wireframes for a client’s website. As usual, she’d done a lovely job on the design. As usual, I’d fussed around with content. We’d done our usualContinue reading… How to get clients to look at wireframes properly

Real SnailMail and other stories

Jane Matthews 15 February 2021 6 September 2006
Real SnailMail and other stories

Do you ever find yourself wondering if your daily work is becoming a bit repetitive; somewhat samey? The British HCI group conference, HCI2006 www.hci2006.org, broke through that ‘same old, same old’ barrier triumphantly for me. Long and short papers IContinue reading… Real SnailMail and other stories

Why people persist with using paper forms

Jane Matthews 10 December 2019 6 September 2006
Why people persist with using paper forms

Have you ever wondered why your shiny new online form isn’t getting the use it deserves, and the boring old paper still keeps pouring in? This month, I’ve been mostly thinking about tax forms – and tax forms on paper.Continue reading… Why people persist with using paper forms

Forms design: Gerry Gaffney interviews me

Jane Matthews 15 February 2021 19 August 2006
Forms design: Gerry Gaffney interviews me

Gerry Gaffney gave me an opportunity to talk about forms in a podcast for UXpod. You can find the original on Uxpod. Transcript Caroline Jarrett: And you’ve got my permission to play this to whoever you like under whatever circumstances you like.Continue reading… Forms design: Gerry Gaffney interviews me

Useful, usable and used – your new look council website

Jane Matthews 10 December 2019 25 July 2006
Useful, usable and used – your new look council website

Question: where do you go to find 225 local government officials, all talking about usability? Answer: the recent Headstar/Socitm event: Building the perfect council website. So what is Headstar / Socitm? Headstar is a pioneering e-publisher. If you’re into e-governmentContinue reading… Useful, usable and used – your new look council website

How to look at a form in a hurry

Jane Matthews 23 March 2020 23 June 2006
How to look at a form in a hurry

Anyone who has heard or read more than one of my presentations will be familiar with my mantra: ‘test, test and test again’. It’s the only way to find our whether something really is usable, and yet we’re sometimes putContinue reading… How to look at a form in a hurry

Colons at the end of labels – revisited

Caroline Jarrett 12 May 2025 4 June 2006
Colons at the end of labels – revisited

In 2006, I wrote twice about colons on the end of labels on forms. This is the second of those posts. I’ve updated it in 2025 to reflect on how the topic has changed in the past 19 years. InContinue reading… Colons at the end of labels – revisited

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