“If absolute control of the visual interface is your most important goal, use pixels in your Style Sheet. Pixels work the same way on all platforms and all ‘CSS-capable’ browsers (even the old, cruddy ones). Platforms make no difference. Browser versions make no difference. User preference settings make no difference. More complex methods no longer work and may cause harm.”

“Gave this presentation to undergraduate information systems management students at University College London today. I actually wrote it for the journalism students at Cardiff University, where I’m presenting it next week — so it’s pretty wide ranging and general, but it goes over the development process of BBC News in detail, plus some other stuff as an intro to user-centred design principles. Oh… btw, it’s 6.3 meg… sorry!” Note: Powerpoint.

“Environmentalists often encourage participation in their cause by saying that you shouldn’t feel the need to heal the planet all at once, all by yourself; if every person picked up just one piece of trash every day, think about what a clean, beautiful world we’d live in. The Internet needs that same spirit: If every Website fixed just one frustrating usability problem each day, think what a beautiful World Wide Web we’d live in.”

Five questions every home page should answer: “We’ve noticed a disturbing trend in home page design — information overload. Web designers and developers seem to have resolved the ‘to click or to scroll?’ controversy by loading everything onto the home page. ‘More and more and more is better,’ they seem to be saying.”

“Our color preferences and the meanings we attach to them are influenced by our culture. In the United States one would most likely be horrified if a bride wore a red wedding gown. However, in China this is expected.”

Well, looky here, an interview with XPLANE’s founder, Dave Gray. “Pluck yourself from the learning desert, where lost travelers search for wisdom among dunes of data and mountains of meaninglessness to discover a once-lost oasis — understanding. Blending ancient communication methods with modern design ingenuity, XPLANE, a visual design firm based in St. Louis’ historic Soulard district, designs learning products and interfaces that take you from zero to understanding in seconds.”

“I want to look at the future possibilities of Internet publishing, considering the following five aspects: 1. The Nature of Hypertext; 2. The Permanence and Provisionality of Publishing; 3. The Total Market Concept; 4. Customisation - Authors and Consumers; 5. Migration Tools and Packaging.” …a presentation to The Future of Electronic Publishing: The Era of Unlimited Potential, by Kevin Carey, Director humanITy, at the Hilton Amsterdam, 30th January, 2001.

Well, looky here, an interview with XPLANE’s founder, Dave Gray. “Pluck yourself from the learning desert, where lost travelers search for wisdom among dunes of data and mountains of meaninglessness to discover a once-lost oasis — understanding. Blending ancient communication methods with modern design ingenuity, XPLANE, a visual design firm based in St. Louis’ historic Soulard district, designs learning products and interfaces that take you from zero to understanding in seconds.”

“High-tech companies are in a hurry — as well they should be — but many hurt themselves by trying to move products out the door too quickly. I often hear executives repeat homilies like ‘Ship early, ship often,’ and ‘Launch and learn.’ They assume that there is no penalty for simply slapping something together, shipping it, and then upgrading their product or site in a rapid iteration cycle. Unfortunately, there is a big, hidden cost associated with this tactic.”

“Every computer system creates the illusion of a virtual world containing objects to manipulate. This is especially true in modern graphical user interfaces. In some systems this virtual world, defined by the user interface metaphor, is made explicit in others it is not. Explicit spatial metaphors allow users to transfer navigational skills developed in the domain from which the metaphor is drawn, but constraints of the metaphor may limit the efficiency of the user interface. To overcome these constraints magic features can be introduced that go beyond the spatial metaphor.”

David Strom’s Web Informant: “My friend Marc Prensky has written a wonderful and thought- provoking book entitled, Digital Game-Based Learning. Here is a short compilation of excerpts and ideas from the book that should stimulate your own thinking about how we learn and how corporations can become more effective at training their employees.”

“Because business is changing, the way people work is changing too. At Herman Miller, our researchers spend time looking ahead, anticipating our customers’ needs. As work processes evolve, workplaces evolve. Our researchers are staying ahead of the game by focusing on the future and the impact of change on worker effectiveness.”

“Karim Rashid is one of the most prolific designers in the world. By his own count, he’s produced a staggering 800 products in the past seven years alone, everything from special-edition millennial manhole covers for Manhattan streets to the utility-chic packaging for Prada’s single-dose skincare line. One reason for this outpouring is that the 40-year-old designer immerses himself in technology, new materials and machines. He’s constantly besieged with new ideas, and so he doesn’t so much converse as think out loud.”

David Strom’s Web Informant: “My friend Marc Prensky has written a wonderful and thought-provoking book entitled, Digital Game-Based Learning. Here is a short compilation of excerpts and ideas from the book that should stimulate your own thinking about how we learn and how corporations can become more effective at training their employees.”

“One might be forgiven for thinking that the recent past was some kind of Golden Age of corporate identity design. What with the dot-coms and other New Economy companies springing up by their techno-optimistic thousands, many a young designer was handed a rich, once-in-a-career opportunity to limn a new company’s graphic identity from Square One. What many of these companies had in common, of course, was their desire to be seen as futuristic, dynamic, global, connected, fast — you know, kinda swooshy. At least that’s what must have gone into the creative briefs all those designers got handed by the various marketing departments in question, because that’s what they cranked out: swooshes by the Illustrator’d gigabyte, none of which bore up under the weight of their overdetermination.”