Tag Archives: information design

Mega IA: Thinking Outside the Box

By Georgia Otto | Published: 11.18.2009
For the November meeting of the NHUPA, I did a 10-minute talk about the effects of social media on information architecture. This blog entry provides some additional resources for anyone interested in doing further research on the topic. You can also download the original slides and handout. For those who missed the presentation, I’ll give you a [...]
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Wireframing & Prototyping Tools: Balsamiq & Friends

By Georgia Otto | Published: 11.12.2009
For last month’s meeting of the NHUPA, a number of people did short presentations and demos of a variety of wireframing and prototyping tools. I presented Balsamiq, a low-fidelity wireframing tool best used for capturing ideas quickly, keeping people focused on concepts/layout or for teaching new user experience designers about wireframing. I figured someone might find it [...]
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NHUPA – Design Slam!

By Georgia Otto | Published: 04.21.2009
Last month’s NHUPA meeting had an interesting format, the “Design Slam” workshop. The basic idea was that a non-profit organization presented goals and needs for a new website (to be designed from scratch, not a redesign). Then we all split into groups to plan and design a specific aspect of the site. We determined our [...]
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Lessons to be Learned from Facebook’s Latest Homepage Changes

By Georgia Otto | Published: 03.17.2009
Normally I don’t post such negative commentary on Locus of Control, but I decided to make an exception this time. Regarding the recent homepage updates on Facebook, I would like to point out a few things that I think we can all learn from. Lesson 1: Don’t lie to your users. Facebook’s preview of the upcoming changes [...]
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Two New Tools for Quick Usability Testing

By Georgia Otto | Published: 03.6.2009
In a previous entry, I discussed the need for better UX design tools. Now, from the makers of OptimalSort, come two new tools for testing the usability of your IA and interface design. Treejack You input a sitemap in the form of a hierarchically structured list and assign tasks for test participants to perform. Participants navigate through the [...]
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Conventional Doesn’t Mean Comprehensible – Common Labels That Aren’t So Clear

By Georgia Otto | Published: 01.26.2009
Has anyone ever noticed how ambiguous certain terminology is online? I’ve heard complaints from users of varying levels of experience, and I’m sure for new users it’s especially confusing. Most experienced web users may not notice how confusing some wording is, and even if they do, it’s not hindering their ability to get things done. [...]
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User Experience Research – A Study of Zebra Striping

By Georgia Otto | Published: 01.21.2009
Sometimes it seems that there isn’t enough collaboration between the academic side of User Experience and the applied side of it. UX practitioners need supporting evidence to back up their decisions when designing interfaces. Those who run studies about UX need to know that the questions they’re researching are relevant in actual practice. Often I discuss [...]
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Improving User Experience Design Tools – The Spirit is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak

By Georgia Otto | Published: 01.15.2009
User Experience professionals are frequently concerned with bridging the gap between themselves and the users of systems they design. However, there is a parallel gap that needs to be closed between UX designers and the developers of UX design tools. A series of surveys conducted in 2006 by associates of The Information Architecture Institute revealed [...]
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