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Locus of Control presents topics that spark discussion among website creators and users, with a focus on enhancing web user experience. It regularly spotlights useful, innovative web applications as well as examples of exceptional design. About the author...Keep in Touch
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Tag Archives: web design
How to Make the Most of Five Seconds
You might be amazed how little time it takes for users to get a first impression of a website and how difficult it is to change that impression once it’s made. Wouldn’t it be great to know what users see in the first 5 seconds of viewing a site design – before building it out?
Design Spotlight – Jan ‘09 Winner – Now Accepting Entries for Feb ‘09!
Congratulations to Alan Houser for winning the January 2009 Locus of Control Design Spotlight Award for his design studio’s website, Creative Component. A total of 22 votes were collected for 4 nominated websites. Creative Component won by a margin of 2 votes. Details of the original nominations can be found here.
Conventional Doesn’t Mean Comprehensible – Common Labels That Aren’t So Clear
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. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged communicating, copy writing, information architecture, information design, user experience 2 Comments
User Experience Research – A Study of Zebra Striping
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 [...]
Posted in Research Studies Also tagged information design, interface design, user experience 2 Comments
Improving User Experience Design Tools – The Spirit is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak
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 [...]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged design tools, information architecture, information design, interaction design, interface design, user experience, web dev, webapps 1 Comment
Design Spotlight – Dec ‘08 Winner – Now Accepting Entries for Jan ‘09!
Congratulations to Andrew Littler for winning the very first Locus of Control Design Spotlight Award for the design of his blog, This Ain’t Narnia. A total of 24 votes were collected for 6 nominated websites and Andrew’s site won by a margin of just 3 votes. Details of the original nominations can be found here.
Web Design Superheroes: Download Your Superpowers Here!
With x-ray vision, photographic memory and the cure for color blindness, now you too can enhance your web design ability to superhero level! Simply download your desired superpowers from the list below to get started.
Design Spotlight – Now Accepting Entries!
This is a casual contest that anyone can enter and is judged purely by subjective methods. What good is that, you may ask? Consider that your website is constantly judged by such methods every time you get a visitor. It may not be scientific, but if you win, it will make you feel good. And [...]
Designing Web Forms – Label Placement & Primary vs. Secondary Actions