Category Archives: Creating Websites
Shopify Review: Create Your Own Online Store
Background: I agreed to design and launch a customized e-commerce store for a luxury menswear brand in just 3 days. My adorable client landed some very high profile press and wanted to maximize the exposure and get the cash register ringing. I’ve built many, many e-commerce sites and I prefer custom builds over hosted e-commerce [...]
Toolbox: Usability Engineering with a Card Sort
If you’ve ever done the card sort exercise, you will be interested in this idea: websort.net which uses Flash to create virtual cards and lets users perform the requisite task online.
Interesting idea. Great demonstration of using flash for good rather than evil.
My tip: instructions are sparse – hit the forum for the most helpful information.
Research: Collection and Recall of Information
Recently, seeking tangible research on user behavior on the collection and recall of information I encountered an article by Harry Bruce of the University of Washington titled Personal, anticipated information need*.
Two recommendations here… The first is to read his article. The second is to read others in the journal that published him: Information Research. The journal isn’t [...]
Eye Tracking Study: How 3 Retail Sites Compare
This research from Mark Russell at Wichita State University will give you a first hand look at an eye tracking study. This is not a full-blown study with conclusions, but does give you a view of 3 different store approaches to one product type and shows exactly where the user’s eyes were drawn and the duration [...]
10 1/2 Tips on Getting The Most From Your Designer
Whether you’re hiring a designer, trying to inspire your own team or struggling to make magic with your existing creative relationships, here are some tips on getting the most from those relationships.
1. What are you trying to say?
The best designs come from a solid understanding of what needs to be said. Design is not just [...]
Research: Put Things Where Users Are Looking For Them
Where do users expect to find the shopping cart? This diagram shows the most popular answers (the darkest blue areas).
This diagram comes from a research study by Michael Bernard which many of you will find interesting.
Michael studied various components of web sites and where users expected to find them. From search boxes to merchandise links, [...]
Your Site Needs A Creative Brief
Don’t Know Where To Start Writing A Creative Brief?
Everyday I am asked to look at some struggling project or web site to see if I have ideas for making it better. And after hundreds, if not thousands, of these requests I’ve found that one thing unifies them all: no creative brief.
If you know me at [...]
Toolbox: Generate Dummy Placeholder Text
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Nulla in neque. Duis ultricies, nulla non hendrerit feugiat, nunc odio consequat sapien, id vestibulum orci lectus eget wisi. Donec porttitor tempor mauris. Sed massa purus, fringilla et, vestibulum ut, blandit eu, eros…
Look familiar? Lorem Ipsum, or Lipsum for short, is simply dummy text of the printing [...]