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A conversation with Gabriel Dance and Shan Carter about interactive graphics ...

16 May 2008
by Jon Udell
Last November the New York Times ran an interactive visualization of one of the Republican debates that absolutely wowed me. On this week’s Interviews with Innovators show I spoke with two of its creators, Gabriel Dance and Shan Carter, about that project, and about some of their other wor... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Where is WinFS now? Quentin Clark explains.

15 May 2008
by Jon Udell
In 2004 I interviewed Quentin Clark, who led the WinFS effort, for an InfoWorld cover story on Longhorn. We had dinner recently, and Quentin made a surprising remark. He said that although WinFS never shipped, many of the underlying technologies already have. I wanted to hear more. So, on this wee... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Event: Web Form Design talk in Emeryville, CA

15 May 2008
by LukeW
On Monday, May 19, 2008 at 7:00pm, I'll be speaking at the East Bay Innovation Group (ebig) in Emeryville , CA about Web Form Design Best Practices.

WebDev/Web 2.0 SIG: Web Form Design Best Practices
7:00pm - 9:00pm May 19, 2008
Expression College for Digital Arts
6601 Shellmound Street
Emer... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

PowerPoint Does Rocket Science--and Better Techniques for Technical Reports

14 May 2008
via [Ask E.T]

Computational thinkers make good body hackers

14 May 2008
by Jon Udell
Sean McGrath’s report on coping with RSI reminded me of a couple of things. First, I need to find out whether the chair-mounted split keyboard shown here is still available. It’s been hugely helpful to me over the years, but I’m not sure it can be replaced at this point, and that w... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Public performances: music always too loud?

13 May 2008
via [Ask E.T]

A conversation with Lucas Gonze about discovering, sharing, and experiencing ...

13 May 2008
by Jon Udell
It was a great pleasure to speak with Lucas Gonze for this week’s Innovators interview. Back in 2004, in Blogs + playlists = collaborative listening, I first wrote about webjay.org, the playlist-sharing service that Lucas founded and later sold to Yahoo. Later that year, I made an audio docume... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Audio: Content page design best practices

13 May 2008
by LukeW
Boxes & Arrows has published audio from my Content Page Design Best Practices talk at IA Summit 2008, where I presented a framework for thinking about how to optimize content pages for the dynamic ecosystem of the Web instead of the structured hierarchy of a Web site.

Downloa... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

Excellent news graphics by Amanda Cox (NY Times)

12 May 2008
via [Ask E.T]

Audio: Luke Wroblewski on Form Design

9 May 2008
by LukeW
I recently had the pleasure of talking with Tom Crawford, CEO of VizThink, about my Web Form Design book and its relevance for the visual thinking community.

Check out the podcast with video on the VizThink site.
Download the audio as an mp3 (21.6 MB)

In the interview we discuss:Why web form... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

That word, syndication, I do not think it means what you think it means

8 May 2008
by Jon Udell
Something about the title of this week’s Perspectives interview, OpenSearch federation with Search Server 2008, has been nagging me ever since I wrote it. In the interview, Richard Riley and Keller Smith describe how the new Microsoft search server can extend its reach by sending queries to ot... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Calendar software is natural for reading, but not for writing

5 May 2008
by Jon Udell
In response to a popular recent item — “We posted weekly.pdf to the website. Isn’t that good enough?” — Sarah Allen echoes my favorite Sergey Brin quote. Sergey said: “I’d rather make progress by having computers understand what humans write, than by forcing humans ... continues
via [Jon Udell]

A conversation with Janis Dickinson about citizen science

5 May 2008
by Jon Udell
On this week’s Interviews with Innovators I spoke with Janis Dickinson, director of citizen science at the Cornell Ornithology Lab. We talked about several of the lab’s projects that involve collection and analysis of volunteer observations about birds and bird habitats. Courtesy of th... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks

4 May 2008
by LukeW

My new book, Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks is now available for purchase in both paperback and digital editions.
order book!

Paperback and free PDF edition from Rosenfeld Media
Order the book from Amazon.com
(paperback only)
Description
Forms make or break the most crucial online interactions: check... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

Stonewall Farm, Darby Brook Farm, and the collaborative curation of data

2 May 2008
by Jon Udell
Lately I’m obsessed with figuring out how to harness the cognitive surplus and put it to work doing better social information management. The other night I attended a kick-off meeting for a group interested in advancing the cause of local food production in our region. Inevitably the discuss... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Web Form Design: All 218 Images Online

1 May 2008
by LukeW

All 218 images from my new book, Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks (including the front and back covers) are now available for download under a Creative Commons license:

Web Form Design: Filling In the Blanks (book illustrations)

The book itself is on its way to the warehouse and will g... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

Negotiating shared responsibility for community information

28 Apr 2008
by Jon Udell
This week’s Interviews with Innovators show is a conversation with Raymond Yee, author of the recently-published Pro Web 2.0 Mashups. The book is chock full of good examples. Even if you’re an experienced developer of mashups that involve Flickr, del.icio.us, Eventful, and the various ... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Audio: Filching Design

25 Apr 2008
by LukeW

At SxSW 2008, I had the pleasure of speaking on the Filching Design: When the Shoe Fits panel with Lindsey Simon (Google), and Skip Baney (Apple). We discussed the motivations, benefits, and drawbacks of reusing code or design elements (interactions, layouts, colors, etc.) found online.

An audio br... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

A conversation with Ray Ozzie about Live Mesh

23 Apr 2008
by Jon Udell
Ray Ozzie joined me for this week’s Perspectives show. It’s available there as audio plus a text transcript, and you can also watch the video on Channel 9. Ray opens the conversation by reflecting on his transition to Microsoft three years ago, and on the roles he and Craig Mundie will... continues
via [Jon Udell]

Audio: Why Logos are Irrelevant

23 Apr 2008
by LukeW

I had the opportunity to join Brian Zmijewski's Why Logos are Irrelevant panel at SxSW 2008 along with Christina Wodtke (LinkedIn), and Jeremy Britton (Zurb Inc.). While the panel title might suggest we advocated the death of all logos, the heart of the conversation was about the shifting value of ... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

Event: Influencing Strategy by Design

20 Apr 2008
by LukeW

On Saturday May 10th 2008, I’ll be teaching a full-day course, Influencing Strategy by Design, for mid to senior level designers on how to influence and improve strategic decision-making within their department or company.

This eight hour, hands-on course will be co-taught with Tom Chi as part of... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

Bill Buxton's Bad Ass CHI 2008 Keynote

15 Apr 2008
"In 1997 you yelled out that you would never come to CHI again because they just didn't get it. What changed your mind to come back? Ultimately I can't figure out a better community to work on these problems. It surprised people that I went to IBM, and that I came back here I guess. I had some time ... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

IA Summit: Content page design best practices

15 Apr 2008
by LukeW
In my Content Page Design Best Practices talks at IA Summit 2008, I presented a framework for thinking about how to optimize content pages for the dynamic ecosystem of the Web instead of the structured hierarchy of a Web site.

Content

Download the slides:
Content Page Design Best Practices (4MB PDF)
... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

Effective Prototyping Methods

14 Apr 2008
by carrie ritch
The following are notes from the Interaction08 session - Effective Prototyping Methods, presented by Jonathan Arnowitz of SAP Labs. Video Book site Sketching v.s Prototyping: not a dichotomy but a continuum Start 90% sketching, end 90% prototyping Everyone can prototype,...
via [paper & pencil]

IA Summit: Linkosophy

14 Apr 2008
by LukeW
Andrew Hinton’s closing plenary at the 2008 IA Summit detailed why the central concerns of information architecture may be best served by a community of practice.In the past, computer systems were centralized, closed and directed by hierarchy. The Web allowed you to link amongst hierarchies and en... continues
via [Functioning Form: Interface Design]

9 Free Adobe Illustrator CS3 Brushes and Symbols

5 Apr 2008
by Shirley Kaiser
Looking for free Illustrator brushes or symbols? I created 9 free Adobe Illustrator symbols and brushes for anyone who needs rounded triangles or alert symbols, warning symbols. These free brushes and symbols are all fully editable within Adobe Illustrator, so you can change the colors, sizes, and c... continues
via [Brainstorms and Raves - Design]

Being Human 2020 

2 Apr 2008
"In March 2007, Microsoft Research organised the HCI 2020 meeting at the El Bulli Hacienda Hotel near Seville, Spain. The events title expressed its key question: what will Human- Computer Interaction (HCI) be like in the year 2020? That question is important because HCI, significant as it was... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

Cues, The Golden Retriever

20 Mar 2008
How our natural responses to stimuli can inform the design process - "I'd like to frame a discussion of cues by touching on a mixture of topics including memory, a few theories from cognitive psychology, and multimedia research. It may get a little dry, but stick with me. The integration of these th... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

Tap is the New Click: Designing Gestural Interfaces

18 Mar 2008
"Even though the technology has been around for decades, only now are we starting to see mass production and adoption of touchscreen and gestural devices for the public. Jeff Han's influential 2006 TED demonstration of his multitouch system, followed by the launches of Nintendo's Wii, Apple's iPhone... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

Why is 37signals so arrogant?

7 Mar 2008
by Don Norman
Andrew Park of Wired Magazine wrote a nice piece about the design philosophy of Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson of 37signals: The Brash Boys at 37signals Will Tell You: Keep it Simple, Stupid. Brash is an understatement. I was quoted in the article because of my article arguing that simpli... continues
via [jnd.org]

Innovation takes decades to be accepted

7 Mar 2008
by Don Norman
Innovation is all around us. Even table ware, which most of us take for granted, is still changing. But even if someone invents better tableware (for example, any of the 8 possible permutations of forks, spoons, and knives which includes the null set of just using one's hands), it will take decades.... continues
via [jnd.org]

Teaching Design to Business People

28 Feb 2008
by Don Norman
Terry Winograd of Stanford's computer science department and d.school wrote a very nice description of our new Design + Operations MMM program at the Kellogg School of Business and Northwestern Engineering. That article is available in Interactions, the magazine for Human Computer Interaction profes... continues
via [jnd.org]

Spiegel online - Visionär Norman

28 Feb 2008
by Don Norman
Viele Leute brauchen gar keinen Computer. An interview with Felix Knoke of Spiegel On-Line is now available (in German). Dateien-Wirrwarr, verwirrende Menüs, viel zu viele Fenster: Computer-Visionär Don Norman findet die Programme von heute unmenschlich und überkompliziert. Mit SP... continues
via [jnd.org]

Where HCI comes from (and where it might go)

26 Feb 2008
"This week, a new book appeared in my mailbox: HCI Remixed: Reflections on Works That Have Influenced the HCI Community (eds. Thomas Erickson and David McDonald). This book helped remind me that human-human interaction was part of HCI, even if the field seems not to emphasize that these days." (dana... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

Waiting: A Necessary Part of Life

17 Feb 2008
by Don Norman
Column written for Interactions. © CACM, 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. It may be redistributed for non-commercial use only, provided this paragraph is included. Just as dirt collects in crevices, buffers collect in ... continues
via [jnd.org]

A Fetish for Numbers: Hospital Care

17 Feb 2008
by Don Norman
Column written for Interactions. © CACM, 2008. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. It may be redistributed for non-commercial use only, provided this paragraph is included. It’s 6:30 in the morning. I’m with a g... continues
via [jnd.org]

A deluge of interviews and recordings

17 Feb 2008
by Don Norman
With each new book comes a deluge of interviews, articles, reviews, and recordings. The latest book, The Design of Future Things, is no exception. Here are the ones I enjoyed the most.

In December, 2007, I spent an entire day with John Tierney, science writer for the New York Times, exploring the ... continues
via [jnd.org]

My Vision Isn't My Vision 

6 Feb 2008
Or, 'Making a Career Out of Getting Back to Where I Started' - "This was a golden time. My experience with this system surpassed even the motorcycle ride up to Ottawa including those glorious hilly curves through the countryside. And given my relationship with Mabel, that is no faint praise. But ... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

Manifesto of the UI

1 Feb 2008
"I've been thinking more and more lately about the state of user interface and its evolution path it's something that I can't get out of my mind. Over the past few years (we're talking less than 5), we've seen user interfaces across the digital world morph from a static experience into highly d... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]

Towards a Model of Innovation

4 Jan 2008
"For the last few years, innovation has been a big topic in conversation about business management. But despite all the conversation, there is little consensus on what innovation is and how to get it. Hugh Dubberly, well known for producing highly visual, exploratory models of complex topics, has pr... continues
via [InfoDesign: Understanding by Design]