Some great quotes on web design and the need for clarity:
"Short attention spans
Web users have incredibly short attention spans. I believe this can be particularly true of web developers in search of tools to solve particular problems. I know that I grow incredibly impatient when I land on a site and can't figure out it's purpose. So designers of such sites need to make it's purpose instantly obvious. Is it to build forms? Times sheets? Polls? Why the heck am I looking at your site."
Another great quote, relevant to this week's studies:
"Branding
Just as with any other product branding is of the utmost importance. One can no doubt go to countless versions of the same applications. Making yourself memorable is a good thing. This is where clever concepts that make your site stick in the brain are great."
1. Build web products that meet audience needs: anticipate needs not yet fully articulated by audiences, then meet them with products that set new standards. (nicked from Google)
2. The very best websites do one thing really, really well: do less, but execute perfectly. (again, nicked from Google, with a tip of the hat to Jason Fried)
3. Do not attempt to do everything yourselves: link to other high-quality sites instead. Your users will thank you. Use other people's content and tools to enhance your site, and vice versa.
6. The web is a conversation. Join in: Adopt a relaxed, conversational tone. Admit your mistakes.
8. Make sure all your content can be linked to, forever.
11. Consistent design and navigation needn't mean one-size-fits-all: Users should always know they're on one of your websites, even if they all look very different. Most importantly of all, they know they won't ever get lost.
14. Link to discussions on the web, don't host them: Only host web-based discussions where there is a clear rationale
"Schools and afterschool programs must devote more attention to fostering what we call the new media literacies: a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape.
Participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement.The new literacies almost all involve social skills developed through collaboration and networking.These skills build on the foundation of traditional literacy, research skills, technical skills, and critical analysis skills taught in the classroom.
The new skills include:
- Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving
- Performance — the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery
- Simulation — the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes
- Appropriation — the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content
- Multitasking — the ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.
- Distributed Cognition — the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities
- Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal
- Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources
- Transmedia Navigation — the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities
- Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information
- Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms."
"Over all, Office 2007 is much more pleasant to use than previous versions. It seems to be the work of the New Microsoft, a company far more concerned with elegance, beauty and simplicity than the Old Microsoft. Little things like typography, choice of wording and on-screen feedback get more consideration in Office 2007 (and Windows Vista, which goes on sale to consumers the same day)."
