As the ways we collect data and the tools we use to analyze it evolve, our world is becoming incredibly data-rich. One of the most exciting challenges designers face in an increasingly quantitative world is how to translate data into a medium that is easily understood by a wide audience. Information graphics (better known as infographics ) are a powerful storytelling tool that allows users to comprehend, analyze, and explore data. The hope of social-media sharing has made infographics popular on websites that emphasize content marketing.
The distinction between data visualizations and information graphics is subtle, but important. Infographics often contain data visualizations, but a data visualization on its own...
Tools to create, edit, and post videos have made them accessible and easy to deal with. Prevalence in social channels has lowered the expectation for high-quality video production. In fact, many people welcome the simplicity and folksiness of more realistic, just-shot-myself type of videos. With
We get countless questions about small details in UI design that don't matter much to the overall user experience. One classic is the order of buttons in dialog boxes: OK / Cancel Cancel / OK Both are reasonable choices, and people can argue for hours about their preferences: Listing OK
Upon further experimentation, I discovered another way of getting rid of the options box: uncheck the checkbox marked "Show options dialog." This, of course, completely violates the design rules for checkboxes and radio buttons , which are not supposed to have any immediate effect when they are
4 Ways to Enter the Blockchain Industry
The Internet combined with the decentralized framework of Blockchain now allows anyone in the world to start a business. Anyone — anywhere — will be able to execute transactions securely. Before the Internet, this kind of powerful encryption was inaccessible to many small business
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
Melissa Hathaway came across our radar recently when President Obama tasked the former Bush administration aide with leading a 60-day review of Bush’s Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative; a largely classified, purported $30 billion, multi phase plan to address cybersecurity issues
Emerging Technologies are Banding Together to Accelerate Big Data’s Growth
Thanks to the growth of the internet, the rate at which new information is being released is growing exponentially. Accelerating big data between machines. We are in an age when communication is not just between human beings. Machines are now the go-to for connections between the people to people
Design Thinking 101
In the early 1900's husband and wife designers Charles and Ray Eames practiced “learning by doing,” exploring a range of needs and constraints before designing their Eames chairs, which continue to be in production even now, seventy years later. 1960's dressmaker Jean Muir was well known for
designing effective infographics
The User Experience of Public Bathrooms
There’s an urgent need to improve the user experience of public restrooms. I address this unrefined topic because I am uncomfortable with the persistent delays at any well-attended venue — be it an opera hall, a baseball stadium, or a trendy restaurant — and I know that you are, too. The
Beyond Usability: 3 User Experiences Reshaping Their Industries
At first, you might think that such an innovation in the field of reverse logistics should not be discussed in a UX article, but many pieces of the user experience are improved by optimizing this backend operation. A traditional UI-only solution to the problem of high demand would be to clearly
Applying Discounts and Promotions on Ecommerce Websites
Users who had a coupon code on a website wanted to enter them as soon as possible. Provide a clear place for coupon codes in the shopping cart, before the first step in the checkout process. This approach enables people to check that the coupon is valid before they enter any personal information
User Intent Affects Filter Design
Continuing our restaurant UX analogy, think about how you might order appetizers at a restaurant. Say you want to order three appetizers for the table, but as soon as you name the first one, the waiter snatches the menu out of your hands and walks back to the kitchen to get the chefs started on
How to Display Taxes, Fees, and Shipping Charges on Ecommerce Sites
We know from the peak–end rule that users’ overall judgement of a site and brand are influenced the most by two aspects of the experience: the peak (most strong emotional impact, whether positive or negative) and the end. Any time the user applies the word “outrageous” to your site
Naughty or Nice: Check Your Ecommerce Site Twice! .
Every year it can feel like the holidays sneak up on us. We assemble, we strategize, and we take the necessary precautions yet we frequently feel like we are scrambling. For ecommerce businesses, this time of year is crucial not only for generating revenue but for generating recurrent relationships
designing effective infographics
Bringing Array Themes into the WP Engine Family
Sifting through the thousands of themes in existence today is a daunting task, and finding the right one for your website is just part of the challenge. No one wants to trust their portfolio, online magazine, or e-commerce site to just any formulaic theme. Making sure it’s well designed, well
StudioPress Theme Spotlight: Academy Pro Theme
Academy Pro will help you showcase your authority as an educator and content creator. For site owners who might not be as technically inclined, Academy Pro is a great option to easily customize your website. Even if you are curious about enabling a certain feature of creation, as a StudioPress
Parallel & Iterative Design + Competitive Testing = High Usability
Just as with parallel design, a competitive test shouldn't simply be a benchmark to anoint a "winner." Sure, it can get the competitive juices stewing in most companies to learn that a hated competitor scores, say, 45% higher on key usability metrics. Such numbers can spur executive action. But as
The Magnifying-Glass Icon in Search Design: Pros and Cons
If your website uses a magnifying-glass icon instead of a search button on desktop, the recommendations here should help. At NN/g, we’re still using the search button on our website. We have the space, and we have no doubt that people can spot search on our site. We’ll also keep an eye on other
Journey Mapping in Real Life: A Survey of UX Practitioners
Pulling stakeholders into the actual mapping activities will go a long way in generating buy-in early in the process, and it will ensure that multiple perspectives are used as resources for knowledge. After the journey map is created, don’t stop. Share the journey map with others, using those
5 Absolute, Must-Have Apps to Rock SXSW Interactive
If you want to meet up with friends, you can quickly create an event using the app and it will send them invites by push notification or SMS for those without smartphones. Invites can be set to three privacy levels, from invite only to friends only to public, with the former two settings allowing
Why There’s a Bright Future in a Cyber Security Careers
If you’re searching for your next career a great place to look is for a job in cyber security. Why? Because the demand for cyber security experts is going up, up, up. Keeping digital assets secure is a vital skillset. As our world grows ever more dependent on the Internet and digital
3 CRM Features You Need to Become GDPR Compliant
GDPR goes into full effect in May, but many businesses and data management tools are scrambling to ensure they meet regulatory guidelines. Rather than wait around until regulators start punishing businesses for noncompliance, it’s better to be proactive and take necessary steps today. Look into a
5 Ways Blockchain Startups Can Appeal to Enterprises
Blockchain technology offers a significant boost to productivity. Today’s enterprises mostly operate on software purchased from major vendors like SAP, Oracle, or Microsoft. When they work with business partners that have different systems, those systems don’t always agree on details like order
designing effective infographics
Sun, Sand, and Software: Why Miami is Fired-Up for Tech
Established tech companies are starting to take notice of the city’s stellar economy, too. “We’re extremely impressed by what we’ve seen there,” says Enrique Ortegon, SVP of SMB Sales at the tech giant, Salesforce. “Not only with the number of new businesses popping up, but with the
3 Reasons Why Your Success Depends on More Than a Great Product
But if you look at your team members as expenses to be minimized, you’ll never realize the potential value they could add to your business. Instead, create a culture that recognizes the important roles your employees play, and give your team the autonomy to solve problems and find more efficient
Designing Effective Infographics | Do Government Agencies and Non-Profits Get ROI From Usability?
Do Government Agencies and Non-Profits Get ROI From Usability?
It's a fallacy to believe that usability is only a concern for the commercial sector, just because that's where you find most high-visibility usability projects and hear tales of windfall profits from site improvements. The public sector and the non-profit sector also benefit immensely from
Changes in Web Usability Since 1994
The change from 1994 is that scrolling is no longer a usability disaster for navigation pages. Scrolling still reduces usability, but all design involves trade-offs, and the argument against scrolling is no longer as strong as it used to be. Thus, pages that can be markedly improved with a
Fancy Formatting, Fancy Words = Looks Like a Promotion = Ignored
The Internet manager in charge of this losing design might defend the work by pointing out that it complies with #4 of my top-10 guidelines for homepage design: Offer a clear starting point for the main tasks users will undertake when visiting the site. Clearly, something was done right, with a
