Category Archives: Web Usability

Finally! Microsoft celebrates IE6 death!

As a user experience designer and prototyper, one of the painful aspects of creating websites is checking browser compatability. With the demise of IE6, there’s one less browser version we have to worry about! Hooray! Check out the article on … Continue reading

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Phoenix World Usability Day Celebration 2011

“To the heart of design” is a phrase that best describes the largest and most successful World Usability Day (WUD) event produced in Phoenix, Arizona, since its first event in 2007. PayPal hosted and sponsored the event, kicked off with … Continue reading

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What Facebook Can Learn From Netflix When Disrupting the User Experience

I love it when journalists don’t let big companies get away abusing their customer’s experience. Here’s the latest user experience blooper, pointed out by Scott Davis at Forbes Magazine: Any time you mess with the user experience, you’re going to … Continue reading

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“In Google we trust” – Students poorly advised?

It has become part of the internet vernacular to “Google” something to find out more about it. Once googled, how reliable are the results listed? Are featured listings more truthful or informative than lower-ranked listings? A new study coming out … Continue reading

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You’re not a user experience designer if…

It is very comforting that the “User Experience” field has become more popular and well-respected over the years. That makes me, as a UX professional, feel good about the work we do. However, as Whitney Hess points out in her … Continue reading

Posted in Real-World Usability, Technology, Usability Consulting, User Centered Design (UCD), User Experience, Users, Web Usability | 1 Comment

Healthcare Experience Design Conference – Boston, Mass – April 11, 2011

As a user experience professional designing EMR, EHR and case management software in the healthcare industry, there are few opportunities to educate, learn, network and focus on UX in healthcare. Well, look no longer!! I’m excited to hear about the … Continue reading

Posted in Application Usability, Healthcare Usability, Mobile Usability, Real-World Usability, Technology, Usability Consulting, User Centered Design (UCD), User Experience, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Why are User Experience (UX) and User-Centered Design (UCD) getting a bad rap?

There have been a number of recent articles, blog posts and list comments trashing user experience design (UX) as unneeded, misguided and counter-productive to good product design and development. As a long-time user experience practitioner, I was taken aback by these … Continue reading

Posted in Application Usability, Healthcare Usability, Marketing Usability, Mobile Usability, Product Design, Product Development, Technology, Usability Consulting, User Centered Design (UCD), User Experience, Web Usability | 1 Comment

Mandel presents to Denver University’s Daniels College of Business on “Golden Rules of Web Design”

  Theo Mandel, Ph.D. gives an invited presentation – “Golden Rules of Web Design” – to a Digital Marketing graduate course at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver September 27, 2010 Denver, Colorado

Posted in Marketing Usability, Product Design, Product Development, Real-World Usability, Social Networking, Technology, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Healthcare IT News: Health 2.0 2010 Developer Challenge

This is a wonderful community effort! The Health 2.0 2010 Developer Challenge was launched on June 2nd, 2010 at the Community Health Data Initiative (CHDI) meeting at the Institute of Medicine (IOM), with support from the Department of Health and … Continue reading

Posted in Application Usability, Healthcare Usability, Real-World Usability, Social Networking, Technology, User Centered Design (UCD), Web 2.0, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Smashing Magazine: 40+ Helpful Resources On User Interface Design Patterns

User interface design patterns are common researched and reusable solutions to frequent user interface problems. There are a number of user interface pattern repositories. This article in Smashing Magazine lists over 40 resources for user interface design patterns. Here’s what they … Continue reading

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iPad Usability: First Findings From User Testing – Mixed Results!

Now that the iPad is out and people are using the new apps supposedly designed for the iPad, their usability falls short of the expected Apple usability experience.  Jakob Nielsen, in his Alertbox, May 10 2010, summarized his findings: “iPad … Continue reading

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Reaching Retirees: Web Design for Senior Users

Good article by Design For Use on web design for seniors. Here’s the summary: “With the aging population and increased reliance on internet resources, improving the online experience of senior and retired users can facilitate greater success and knowledge about … Continue reading

Posted in Accessibility, Real-World Usability, Social Networking, Technology, User Centered Design (UCD), Users, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Counterpoint to the “Madlibs” Form Style

As I looked closely at the different form styles in the previous blog entry, I noticed there are a number of differences, in addition to the different form layouts. Any or all of these changes could have contributed to the … Continue reading

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“Mad Libs” Style Form Increases Conversion 25-40%

UI designers are always looking for new ways to do common tasks better and faster. This new style of filling in forms may prove to be one of those new twists that makes people think, “Why didn’t I think of … Continue reading

Posted in Application Usability, Marketing Usability, User Centered Design (UCD), Users, Web 2.0, Web Content, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Usability Guidelines for Heuristic Evaluation

Very nice overview of heuristic evaluation guidelines for websites. >

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Theo Mandel’s “Golden Rules of Web Design” Keynote Presentation – User eXperience Russia, October 2009

Theo Mandel, Ph.D. was invited to give a keynote presentation at the User eXperience Russia conference in Moscow, Russia, on October 26, 2009. Mandel’s keynote, “The (New) Golden Rules of Web Design,” is an new presentation based on a chapter … Continue reading

Posted in Real-World Usability, Social Networking, Technology, User Centered Design (UCD), Users, Web 2.0, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Bad Usability! Humorous Slideshare Presentation

A humorous, poetic, simple and elegant presentation about bad usability based on the Bad Usability calendar (www.badusability.com/). >

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UX Problems at American Airlines

Dustin Curtis wrote a blog article about American Airlines’ poor website design. He received an e-mail from an Interaction Designer within the company explaining the corporate culture at American Airlines with regard to the website. The designer was promptly fired … Continue reading

Posted in Application Usability, Marketing Usability, Real-World Usability, Technology, Web Usability | 1 Comment

Snacks vs. Gourmet Meals in Online Content

This Good Experience post discusses an article that hits the nail on the head. With Twitter and other bite-sized nuggets of information, the world is full of instant, immediate “experts” on any topic. Their information is worth the money you … Continue reading

Posted in Web 2.0, Web Content, Web Usability | Leave a comment

Phoenix Design Week 09

Phoenix Design Week is a celebration of the local design community. It will include a variety of exhibitions, open houses, workshops, presentations, activities, films and other community-growth oriented events. Come join the fun – http://phxdw.com/index.php

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