From: Gleanings To: viewers Subject:

From: Gleanings To: viewers Subject: Gleanings: caught a big one this morning. OPENING THANG ***Be sure to visit […]

From: Gleanings
To: viewers
Subject: Gleanings: caught a big one this morning.

OPENING THANG

***Be sure to visit http://www.jath.com today, and see what my partner Noel does when he’s not at Carbon IQ. Noel’s sequence will only be up today, but I’ll squirrel it away somewhere to embarrass him with later, I’m sure.

***Yes, the conference was terrific. Adam wrote a good “pre” conference essay
http://www.v-2.org/practicingIA.html
I’m working on getting some post-thoughts down in the blog
http://eleganthack.com/blog/index.html Check it out!

***Finally, I view this as PROOF YOU CAN SELL MARKETING ANYTHING

http://lovemarks.com/
“A Lovemark is a challenge that will be taken up by many and achieved by few. It may be a great experience, a person, a product, a stunning event or a profound belief. It is a state of grace that emerges from a
commitment to mystery, sensuality and love. It irrevocably binds you with the desires and aspirations of your customers, your members, your
believers. It’s the emotional connection that lets you go out and conquer the world.”

Who’s been sniffing the whiteboard markers?

Of course, feel free to disagree: christinayrsowrong@eleganthack.com
(thanks, xplane.com/xblog for the pointer)

DESIGN MATTERS

***Mike Monteiro put up his design book list. TASTE-E
http://www.biggerhand.com/designbooks.html

***undesign: A Plan for All Seasons.
Unfortunately, the potential of the Web as it stands right now is being sorely underutilized, not just by the current scapegoat, dot-coms, but by creatives and designers as well. The opportunities to help realize its full potential, and in the process raising the bar on our personal work…
http://www.undesign.org/

***watching logo trends
http://www.haughey.com/?2000_12_01_archive.html#1677511
http://www.splorp.com/blog/archive/2000_12_01_archive.html#1706266

***I’ll nestle this link between usability matters and design matters, as Zeldman brings the two together in his article
http://www.adobe.com/web/columns/zeldman/20000821/main.html

USABILITY MATTERS

***Guideline dogma
http://www.system-concepts.com/articles/smartypants.html
“Nobody would deny that usability guidelines, applied in context by a
usability professional, are extremely valuable in guiding a website
evaluation. The problem occurs when non-professionals apply these
guidelines out of context. This can result in an unimaginative site that
looks bland and homogenous. To design usable sites that truly engage
customers we need to replace simple guidelines with a customer-centred
design process.”

***Rolf Molich’s Comparative Usability Evaluation (CUE) research.
In Rolf’s study 9 usability evaluation teams [7 industry & 2 grad student
teams] found over 300 problems all testing hotmail.com, and there was very
little overlap
http://www.dialogdesign.dk/cue.html

***Don’t Make Me Think! A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
http://argus-acia.com/content/current_content.html
Chris Farnum explains why you should buy this Web Usability book for your boss.
I haven’t read it yet, but it’s lying around here. I’ll let you know when I do.

***What does Transcendental Mediation, Iowa and Usability have in common?
http://www.humanfactors.com/home/default.asp
http://www.mum.edu/hcid/
http://www.acm.org/sigchi/education/#PROGRAMS

NEWS

***quote from Mike Kuniavsky (usability cowboy of the early hotwired team)
“these ads are bigger than my head!”

Business 2.0: CNET Bans the Banner.
It may look like a traditional newspaper layout, with advertisements as the
major visual element. But the new look of News.com is anything but traditional
when it comes to the Web. News.com unveiled its new design and new ad strategy
last week, after six months of planning, feedback, and retooling.
http://www.business2.com/content/channels/marketing/2001/02/01/25674

***Darwin: Final Frontiers.
First, can we declare the Web frontier settled and secured in 2001? And
second, how can companies balance their sensible desire to integrate the Web
group with the rest of the company, giving it concrete goals and holding it
accountable, with the need to encourage continuous innovation?
http://www.darwinmag.com/read/020101/ecosys.html

APROPOS OF NOTHING

I just bought this. Let me know if you like it.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000C2MI/medianuggeofthedA/105-3556296-4501507
Manu Chao
Clandestino
1998
Manu Chao blends pop and folk music from Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean into a rich travelogue of rhythm, politics, and found sound. Just as he did in his former band (Mano Negra), Chao sings here in Spanish, French, and English. Whereas Mano Negra’s musical and cultural diversity couldn’t conceal the roaring beat of its punk heart, the acoustic-based Clandestino is a more restrained affair. It is, however, no less engaging.
from http://www.medianugget.com/