Viaspire - Define.Innovate.Maximize.

Wireframing: Blueprints for the UX

When you get to the point of doing a presentation in the form of visual design comps, often times, it's the first time people start to see and really understand "the work" you do. There is so much behind the scenes that happens before the design is applied. Wireframes, for one, draft the necessary elements that make up a page or series of pages. Wireframes are critical in defining the concept, testing the information architecture (the buckets, the pathways, the conventions used to create a user's experience) and outlining the real estate of the page to facilitate usable and functional design.

GeekChix compiled an amazing list of templates designed to draft the many details that goes into Web design and development before even placing the presentation layer on for people to "see."

These are some great templates to help create the blueprints for the user experience.

Thank  you, GeekChix!

Writing for the Web - Articles, Blogs, Books, Oh My!

To all of our Web content creators out there, here's a list we've compiled to help inspire, guide and instill good writing techniques for effective online communications:

Insightful Articles - Give These a Try

• Optimizing the User Experience
• Usability Basics
• Content Organization
• The Importance of Headings, Titles & Labels
• Writing Web Content
• Writing for the Web/Plain Language

Blogs & Feeds - Read & Subscribe

• How to Write for the Web
  By OJR: Online Journal Review | Online Journalism Wiki | RSS
• Copyblogger
  By Brian Clark

Books - Get Them Off the Shelf

• Developing Online Content - The Principles of Writing and Editing for the Web
  By Irene Hammerich, Claire Harrison
• The Web Content Style Guide
  By Gerry McGovern
• Writing for the Web - Writers' Edition
  By Crawford Kilian
• Call to Action - Secret Formula to Improve Online Results
  By Bryan Eisenberg
• Persuasive Online Copywriting
  By Bryan Eisenberg
• The Elements of User Experience
  By Jesse James Garrett
• Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
  By Steve Krug
• Information Architecture - Blueprints for the Web
  By Christina Wodtke

Also, be sure to visit past posts, Viaspire has written on Writing for the Web.

This Is Information

30 Essential Controls for RIA Design & Development

 

If you work in any capacity related to user experience, interaction design and/or web development, this excellent article written by Theresa Neil, co-author of Designing Web Interfaces is so "rich" in information, visuals and resources related to the 30 most essential controls needed for RIA design and development.

The article beautifully lays out each control and RIA framework(s) associated with each of them. It is such a fantastic guide. I can only imagine what will be included in the book.

The Designing Web Interfaces website and blog is so generous with information and assets, including their section on "Explore the Book" and their companion Flickr site.

I extend my sincere appreciation to two authors who really take the idea of creating a "rich interactions" to the fullest extent.

Check out:

• Designing Web Interfaces: Principles and Patterns for Rich Interactions
• 30 Esential Controls
• 12 Screen Patterns

A Historical Speech Captured in a Tag Cloud

Tonight's historical acceptance speech by Barack Obama for Democratic nomination for president has been captured in a word cloud by GraphicDesignr. It strikes me because of the meetings we had today covered everything from keyword optimization for search, the art and science of tagging, and then watching this evening's speech with iPhone in hand refreshing Twitteriffic to the max. I was able to experience a historical speech, and monitor as well as participate in the discussion on the back channel for #DNC08.

Experiencing the 2008 Summer Olympics and now this election in the era of Web 2.0, it's clear that we have more access, more organization, more ways to track, convey, collaborate and develop meaning for any given message, event, and opportunity.

I thought instantly, a historical speech captured in a tag cloud, the perfect conveyance of form and function!

Rethinking the User Experience - AdWeek

AdWeek touches on User Experience this week in an article - Rethinking the User Experience, Web designers should consider how using a site reflects upon the brand. It's a great overview of how user experience (UX) is integral to the design and development of online interactions and perceptions. It is a helpful overview to see and understand how many different disciplines, from accessbility to usability play a role under UX design. Moreover, the article makes a clear connection that good user experience is equally tied to positive reinforcement of the brand. Good experience is a good reflection on the brand. Good experience design helps to establish and reinforce positive relationships, increased customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

User Experience Quick Links for Week Ending 08.15.2008

InspireUX Quote: Confusion and Clutter

Post: Individualization and leadership feedback
By: A User's Guide to Managing User Experience Teams

Post: The SEO Guide to Information Architecture
By: AudetteMedia

Post: Design for Emotion & Flow
By: Trevor van Gorp | Boxes & Arrows

Post: The Pursuit of Interface Design Simplicity
By: Luke Wroblewski | LukeW Interface Designs

Post: Content Moderation: There's More Than Meets the Eye
By: Steven Noble, Forrester

The Anatomy of an Information Architecture

O'Reilly Media posts an excerpted article from chapter four of the IA book for practitioners, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, Third Edition, written by Peter Morville and Louis Rosenfeld. It's a great post to revisit some of the basic principles of "the anatomy of an information architecture" and how to ensure Web design, content and user experience is structured the most effectively with the help of well-designed hierarchies and categorization of information on your website.

Contentology - The Science of Content

There's a new manifesto out for information communications and technology professionals that examines the deeper meaning of "content" today. Garth Buchholz of Digital Practices and author of A Manifesto of Contentology (version 1.1) recently published this proposal to help promote a better understanding of "Contentology" for the 21st Century. In addition to defining what "contentology" means, Buchholz focuses on the broader definition of content and emphasizes its broader understanding so that professionals creating, re-purposing, managing, and indexing content are optimizing its worth and value to the fullest.

Bucholz proposes 12 Foundation Principles of Contentology. Specializing in information architecture and content strategies for over a decade, we were excited to see this manifesto focusing on what content is today, how it impacts interpretation, what its value is, its lifespan, and its contextual relevance. It is excellent! Thinking deeper about content in a more holistic way, provides this deeper perspective of content as text, as symbolic imagery, as metadata, as language constructed and de-constructed all the while being pushed and pulled throughout systems on the Web.

Give it a read and see how it shapes your context and understanding for Contentology, "the science of content."