How to use Blogs in the Workplace
Rod Boothby has a post on using blogs in the workplace using "activity-centric" worksites:
The idea behind Activity Centric Worksites is to use blogging tools to facilitate focused business communication. Instead of using a blog as a tool for one person to broadcast their thoughts on “whatever”, use blogs as a platform to help people within your company communicate about what they are doing for work. To make it easy to frame the conversation, provide structure around simple concepts that make sense for your company.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Usability heuristics for web development teams
A Site Point article that makes the case for a more holistic approach to design heuristics:
If we consider the Information Architect (IA), the ‘JavaScripter’ and the web standards developer, each of these roles has a great deal they can contribute to creating a better, more holistic set of usability heuristics.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Made to Stick
Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath is all set to become a bestseller. Taking tips from Gladwell's Tipping Point, they make their way through the strategies that make ideas stick. Listen to this podcast interview with Chip Heath to learn more about the topics covered in the book.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Guide to Online Education
eLearners.com has published a 175-page guide to online education. And yes, its a free download (email required).
Our comprehensive guide addresses what online education entails, what online learning options exist, how to select the best online education for your needs, and much more.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Wikis at Work
Nice introduction to using wikis in the enterprise:
As that implies, in today’s knowledge-centric work environments, the free exchange of information isn’t a privilege, but rather a requirement. By supporting such knowledge sharing, wikis are helping reinvent the way people work.
Permalink | Saturday, January 20, 2007
The BBC’s 15 web principles
So, here's another '15 list', this time from the BBC2.0 project.
I usually print out such lists and keep them in a clear file with other cheat sheets and quick references related to design. I refer to this file to simmer my thinking before the start of any project.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Web design: 15 important research findings you should know
Really important list of things every web designer should know. [via Max Design]
Permalink | Tuesday, January 16, 2007
The ‘No Asshole’ Rule
Video interview with Rob Sutton who's book of the same name will be available in late Feb.
Permalink | Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Standards for good intranet & extranet design
Dave Pollard shares his list of 16 key characteristics for good intranet and extranet design. [via Columntwo]
Here are some I like:
- ‘Taskonomy’ rather than taxonomy: In the site’s design, architecture and organization, ‘why are you looking?’ should prevail over ‘what are you looking for?’
- Tools, not just content: The site should provide simple access to all the connectivity and other tools and technologies (both web-based and downloadable) that users need to perform their jobs effectively, along with online learning resources for each tool that teach users how and when to use each tool.
- Security is ‘under the hood’: Depending on your IDs and passwords (stored on your machine) users shouldn’t need extra sign-ins and log-in steps, and they shouldn’t see what they don’t and shouldn’t have access to (to avoid both temptation and resentment).
Permalink | Monday, January 15, 2007
Gaming and Learning
Insightful post by John Hagel on how or why we learn when we play games. He nicely layers current research findings by the likes of John Seely Brown to show that the real reason we learn by playing games is because we choose to exercise 'failure':
Unlike education acquired through textbooks, lectures, and classroom instruction, what takes place in massively multiplayer online games is what we call accidental learning. It's learning to be - a natural byproduct of adjusting to a new culture - as opposed to learning about. Where traditional learning is based on the execution of carefully graded challenges, accidental learning relies on failure. Virtual environments are safe platforms for trial and error. The chance of failure is high, but the cost is low and the lessons learned are immediate.
Permalink | Saturday, January 13, 2007
Markup as craft
Another nice article on the same lines of the previous post.
Carefully crafting your markup is like making a lucrative investment in the future of your code base. It’s easier to create and maintain back-end code when it integrates with clean and simple markup. Your CSS can be elegant. Your DOM scripting can connect seamlessly. You’ll have made a significant first step towards improved accessibility. And you might even pick up some extra search engine traffic. It’s time to treat markup as a craft, and give it the love and attention it deserves.
Permalink | Saturday, January 13, 2007
Semantics in HTML
John Allsopp has written an article on web semantics and how meaning is provided in structure.
Users benefit from more rich, consistent use of semantics because sites become more consistent, and so more learnable, while content more readily findable. Think of the way any book you read follows structural conventions for chapters, and pages are consistently laid out, with page numbers, often section or chapter names visible on each page and so on.
Permalink | Saturday, January 13, 2007
Whitespace
Nice article on the benefits of having whitespace or negative space in webpages.
Whitespace is often used to create a balanced, harmonious layout. One that just “feels” right. It can also take the reader on a journey through the design in the same way a photographer leaves “looking room” in a portrait shot by positioning the subject off the center of the frame and having them looking into the remaining space.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 10, 2007
How to Grok Web Standards
A List Apart article on helping visual designers understand web standards:
To grok web standards, a visual designer has to modify the way his or her brain works and remap those imaginative neurons along new pathways. You can’t channel your creative energy solely into the appearance of your web pages without thinking about their underlying structure. Presentational thinking leads to presentational web design, to the detriment of your content. Instead, you must also learn structural thinking to support that content and let it live unfettered. As a standards-savvy web designer, you must diversify your approach to design problems, becoming equal parts writer, engineer, and artist.
Permalink | Wednesday, January 10, 2007
CSS Workshop with Russ Weakley
My company PebbleRoad is organizing a CSS workshop with Russ Weakley, the web standards guru from Australia. The event will be held in Singapore on the Feb 8.
If you would like to learn how to design websites the right way and become a responsible web designer, consider registering for the workshop -- you won't be disappointed.
Permalink | Tuesday, January 09, 2007
BBC interview with Tom Stewart
Peter Day talks to Tom Stewart, Editor of the Harvard Business Review and gets a Global view of where business might be heading in 2007.
Permalink | Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Survey: User-driven intranet and portal personalisation
James Robertson at Step Two Designs has put up a survey to find out the use of personalization features in intranets and portals.
Here's our chance to get some hard facts on this issue. Fill in the survey (even if you haven't implemented personalisation).
Permalink | Tuesday, January 09, 2007
A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
Yes, this is nice, might be even cool. But I'd rather prefer the Method Cards format.
[thanks infodesign]
Permalink | Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Firefox 3: From HTML Renderer To Information Broker
Looks like 2007 is going to be the year for Microformats. Information Week has an article that explains how Firefox 3 will implement them.
To really follow microformats, I recommend microformatique, a blog by John Allsopp.
Permalink | Friday, January 05, 2007
Accessibility Podcasts
For your listening pleasure:
- Podcast for Geek in the Park
- Transcript for Geek in the Park
- WebAxe Podcast Episode 33
- Transcript of WebAxe Podcast Episode 33
[via webstandards project]
Permalink | Friday, January 05, 2007
Five Simple Steps to designing with colour part 3: Colour combinations
Mark Boulton continues his "5 Simple Steps" series with this one on designing with color. Nice stuff.
Permalink | Thursday, January 04, 2007
EMS: Adventures In X-treme Web 2.0
Optimize magazine has an article on how speciality retailer Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) is using Web 2.0 tools to boost capability.
We use RSS feeds to report on exceptions and alert users when certain operational metrics are out of tolerance range. And we're experimenting with wikis as a way to test hypotheses and spread new ideas across the organization. In short, Web 2.0 technologies are starting to influence our overall business intelligence (BI) strategy.
Permalink | Thursday, January 04, 2007
Inventables DesignAid kit
Fast Company has an article about the Inventables DesignAid kit -- the purpose of which is to "inspire innovative thinking by giving inventors unusual technologies and suggesting various applications". Apparently companies like Boeing and Motorola pay $63,000 upwards for this kit. Check out the kit sampler link in the article.
Permalink | Thursday, January 04, 2007
Design Comics Templates
Sun.com design team has released a set of templates that can be used in creating user scenarios.
You can use these characters and scenes in storyboards, presentations and brainstorming during product development; they're free for you to use. I do ask that you include a short credit in your finished work (see the slides), but other than that we encourage you to get creative and use them however you like as a base for graphic storytelling in your company or organization.
[via ColumnTwo]
Permalink | Thursday, January 04, 2007
New camera interface
The new models of Samsung cameras have an interesting matrix interface. Yes, it does give access to many options in just 2 clicks, but it looks like I would have to spend some time to learn. Check out the video.
[Via Small Surfaces]
Permalink | Friday, December 22, 2006