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Monday, September 17, 2001

USABILITY MATTERS

"Just two years ago, the definition of a well-designed, complete Web site was one that offered deep discounts on merchandise, shipped items for free, and threw in some animation just for kicks. A quaint notion called usability, which software designers and consumer electronics engineers had been struggling with for a long time, was not even a blip on the radar screen for most of the Web. Unless you were working at Staples.com"

Interface Usability in Flash
"Usability may sound mystifying to some people, and some best-selling books may champion the obscurity of this subject, but there’s really nothing too complex about it. Usability is the extent to which a system supports its users in completing their tasks efficiently, effectively, and satisfactorily - which may also include the experience of aesthetic pleasure."

Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for September 16
"New mobile devices and services are more realistic and useful than last year's models, and will likely expand mobile device adoption. Design usability and simplicity are key, particularly for the automotive market where complexity can be dangerous."

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Posted by christina on Monday, 09/17/01 03:01 PM CST

DESIGN MATTERS

How should design be effected by recent events? (yes THOSE events)
via giantant.com

If you haven't seen the Adobe.com piece on Jimmy Chen, don't you want to?? Follow up with the Digital Web interview...

Everybody loves free fonts. Except foundries, I suppose.
http://www.fontpool.com
http://www.freewarefonts.com/index.html
http://www.51fonts.com/index1.htm
http://www.geocities.com/fishdicks_2000/index.html
http://www.freepcfonts.com/index.html
http://www.free-graphics.com/

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Posted by christina on Monday, 09/17/01 03:00 PM CST

MARKETING MATTERS

Christopher Locke seems to be using writing as therapy these days-- I've been getting a lot of newsletters form him. And, while often loopy, they are interesting, enlightening and strangely comforting reads.

Anyhow, he's got the first two chapters of his book up here
Gonzo Marketing: Winning through Worst Practices
Also check out his site and his blog (though I prefer the newsletter. warmer and less promotional voice)

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Posted by christina on Monday, 09/17/01 02:57 PM CST

NUMBER MATTERS

Gomez Advisors: Online banking increasingly popular in US
"There are 13.6 million US Internet users that actively use online
banking services, according to Gomez."

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Posted by christina on Monday, 09/17/01 02:56 PM CST

APROPOS OF NOTHING

These days we could all use a laugh. "how to watch TV" provided it for me.

Two things are making me feel well these days. Poetry and art-- especially photographs.

The poem of the day on the infamamous day is "Two Variations on a Theme" by Stevens, which opens with

"First there is the thing and then there is
the account of the thing, bent into new
alphabets."

worth remembering as teevee and politicians rewrite the inexplicable into the understandable.

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Posted by christina on Monday, 09/17/01 02:55 PM CST