What are standards?

Standards are agreed upon conventions for a particular process or visual pattern based on research and proven best practices. They provide a basis for commonality across many diverse things. They allow us to learn something once, and employ it in multiple places. An example of a well know interface standard are the simple button icons used in rich text editing toolbars for bold, italic and underlined text. The B is Bold, the I is italic and the U is underlined. (more…)

Never underestimate the value of an intuitive interface especially when designing for the general public. Nothing can be made too easy, but it can definitly be too hard. Below is a picture that was sent to me of a pay to park meter in Hollywood, Florida. Take a few seconds and really look at the instructions. What do you think you have to do first? What about second and Third? (more…)

One of the core principles of good design is clarity. Interactions on the web shouldn’t make your users guess. As Steve Krug’s first law of usability states “Don’t Make Me Think!”. Anytime a “guess” is brought into the equation you are adding unnecessary thought bubbles above the users head. The more challenging a website is for a user to use, the less likely they will use it. 

This is such a core principle, that I am always completely and utterly amazed when I come across interactions like the one I outline below. 

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