The Joy of Discovery in Web Design
December 4th, 2009 — 21 Comments
We all want want users to to be happy when using a site that has been designed by ourselves. It’s just one of the many reasons why, as web designers, we should be passionate about what we do. The word ‘experience’ is thrown about abundently and while we try to create the best possible experience for visitors, not many designers think past that and take the time to add extra touches for visitors to really feel happy to be on a site.
The act of discovery is part of human nature. When you go on holiday, you’re going somewhere not only to enjoy yourself but to discover somewhere new. The same thinking can be applied to web design as when someone is visiting a new site, they are looking to discover something but it is our job to make their discovery as fun and memorable as possible.
Review of Easy and Inexpensive Tools for Usability Testing
November 30th, 2009 — 26 Comments
There is a perception about usability testing that it is both time consuming and expensive. While it can be time consuming, good usability testing certainly can be inexpensive. You will find out with the examples below and the good thing is that there are a number of different online tools that don’t all do the same thing so you can test different aspects of a site in multiple ways.
The following is a look at five of the most well known tools to help you get the most out of user testing without the need for a large budget.
Read more...The Key Ingredients of a Great Single Page Website
November 26th, 2009 — 18 Comments
Every now and then Inspect Element will be looking at a specific style of web design and picking out the best examples in that field and what makes them so great so you can learn from them and improve your own work.
The first one we’re looking at is one page website designs. By far the most common use of single page websites are portfolios but they can be suitable to just about any business type. However, there are a few things to take note of before going down the single page route.
The Funny and Bizarre World of Client Requests
November 23rd, 2009 — 157 Comments
For some, odd client requests are a source of frustration but for others it can serve as nice distraction. We’ve all had to deal with requests from clients that are either plain daft or simply hilarious but chances are, you haven’t seen anything until you see the vast array of demands other web designers have faced.
So with a little help from Smashing Magazine, who asked for funny client requests on Twitter and Facebook, here is a collection of the funniest and most bizarre.
10 Useful Bookmarklets for Web Designers and Developers
November 19th, 2009 — 46 Comments
You may not be aware of bookmarklets which are an underused tool in web designer or developer’s toolbox. A bookmarklet is a a term that merges bookmark and applet to add functionality to a web browser. They can be stored in the bookmark bar of any browser and used from there to perform useful tasks and consist primarily of Javascript code.
As Javascript is synonymous with web development, some clever developers have created some extremely helpful bookmarklets that can improve your day to day work. Here are ten of the best available.
Read more...The Unwritten Rules of Web Design
November 16th, 2009 — 39 Comments
In the relative short time that websites have been around, compared to other media, much has been learnt about web design. There aren’t any ‘rules’ beyond web standards and even then, they’re only guidelines. There are a number of other guidelines or rules that you should be adhering to when designing for the web. There isn’t a manual or paper or anything to refer to except people’s findings and common sense, mainly because the web is constantly changing and also because there is often more than one way of doing something, suiting different contexts. Here are a few rules that you definitely should be taking note of.
Read more...The Use of Logos in Web Design
November 12th, 2009 — 14 Comments
Logos are the single biggest representation of a brand. They are used across multiple forms of media as well as by and affiliates or any advertisements that are used to promote the brand and of course they’re used on websites too.
The use of logos on websites doesn’t have to follow the standard conventions as we’ll see in some of the examples below.
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