• home
  • portfolio
  • blog
  • resume
  • about me

Cross-browser compatibility testing made easy

Author: Sheri

Designing for every browser especially if you are using CSS can be a challenge, but is possible if you are able to test the site in the browser. One way to do this is install all the browsers you want to test; however, the problem comes when you need to test IE. If you’re on a Mac you don’t have a version available and on Windows it’s nearly impossible to install more than one version without the help of some hacks.

Recently, I was told of a great web site that will emulate several browsers and their different versions. It’s called Spoon.net. Unfortunately, they don’t support Mac OSX, but it’s still pretty cool.

Tags: cross-browser compatibility, web design
September 4th, 2010  |  Posted in General, User Interface, web design  |  No Comments »

Web Design e-books for FREE!

Author: Sheri

Just in the last several months, I have fallen in love with e-books.  I really didn’t think I would like reading on my iPad, but I was pleasantly surprised. When I ran across this post on Mashable, I just had to check out these web design e-books and the best part, they’re FREE.

Check out these 10 Essential Free E-Books for Web Designers

Tags: design, web
September 1st, 2010  |  Posted in General, web design  |  No Comments »

Color is a big part of the site design

Author: Sheri

After you get through figuring out the target audience, the topic and content, you need to come up with a color palette.  The color palette should convey the appropriate message and be appealing to the target audience. Some times this is easy because a client will provide you with a branded color palette or at the very least a logo which you can pull ideas from.

Many times though, the client is looking to you to help them come up with a look and feel for their site and sometimes the whole brand.  A good rule of thumb is to not use more than three colors because it could make the site too busy. However, it really depends upon the target audience and topic.  A site geared toward children is perfect example of one that may exceed three colors.  Here is a great article from 1stWebDesginer.com to get those creative juices flowing.

Tags: color, web design
August 26th, 2010  |  Posted in General, color, web design  |  No Comments »

Be sure to think about emotions when designing

Author: Sheri

When I first started working in web design, I worked on an intranet.  While it’s critical to make it usable and get people to use it; it’s not selling anything.  As I have began working more on sites that actually market something it’s fascinating to see the difference of what constitutes “usability”.  Sure the site still needs great navigation and great content, but you also should add another element –  emotion.

Think about all the sites you visit, some have products which are tangible (e.g. books, clothes, etc.) and others which sell intangible (e.g. services, insurance, etc.) products. Either way, adding emotion into the mix helps sell and in fact may help even more with the intangible things.

WebDesignDepot has a great article talking about emotions and design.  Read it here.

Tags: marketing, psychology, web design
August 18th, 2010  |  Posted in General, marketing, psychology, web design  |  No Comments »

Intro to web analytics and measurement

Author: Sheri

I ran across this excellent article on web analytics which provides a newbie like myself the basic things to think about and the tools that will help you understand what it all means.

Read the complete article at UX Booth.

Tags: seo, trending, web analytics
August 14th, 2010  |  Posted in General, marketing, seo, web design  |  No Comments »

Web Design: Six Easy Steps

Author: Sheri

Six Revisions recently posted a fantastic article called “A 6-Step General Process for Producing a Website” that I highly recommend newbies read, but also experienced designers read as a refresher. Too many times, we get caught up in a short deadline and decide to skip some of the steps mentioned. Many times for me, I end up combining Step 3 (Design) and Step 4 (Code) to save time. In the majority of cases it doesn’t save time, it actually does just the opposite. Keep these steps in mind the next time you are designing a new site and hopefully, it will save you time and frustration in the long run.

Read the full article at Six Revisions

Tags: design, web design
August 12th, 2010  |  Posted in General, web design  |  No Comments »

Error Messages – don’t forget to plan

Author: Sheri

Error messages aren’t something you think about until they happen.  All of us would like to think whatever we designed is used properly and never has any problems, but realistically that might not happen.

Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. talks about designing for error messages so they make sense. Read about it on her blog: “What Makes the Click”.

Tags: usability, web design
August 5th, 2010  |  Posted in usability, web design  |  No Comments »

Don’t forget to think about layout type.

Author: Sheri

If you design websites enough, you tend to walk through a mental list (or maybe it’s written down) of the things you need to do before and during the design process.  If  you are like me, you begin by identifying the target audience, colors, content, navigation, etc., but one thing I don’t typically think about is the type of layout.  I will admit, I tend to pick one type and stay with it; however, in a recent article from Six Revisions I realized that I should be paying more attention to this component.

Their article entitled “A Guide on Layout Types in Web Design” provided highlights on ten types of layouts and the pros and cons of each one.

Tags: layout, web design
July 29th, 2010  |  Posted in General, web design  |  No Comments »

Why Social Media from TheNextWeb.com

Author: Sheri

Why Social Media?

View more presentations from JESS3.

Tags: Social Media, web
July 25th, 2010  |  Posted in Social Media, marketing  |  No Comments »

Style guides can provide a professional web site

Author: Sheri

A style guide is an important part of a web site project, but many times it’s forgotten.  These guides can help organize and think through the process of a redesigned site in addition to documenting the components of the site including company branding.  Smashing Magazine recently published an article about what should go in a style guide.  Check it out and create one today!

Designing Style Guidelines For Brands And Websites

Tags: web design, web style guides
July 22nd, 2010  |  Posted in General, web design  |  No Comments »

<< Previous

  • Categories

    • color (2)
    • General (24)
    • marketing (9)
    • Photography (1)
    • psychology (7)
    • seo (9)
    • Social Media (1)
    • training (1)
    • Uncategorized (3)
    • usability (25)
    • User Interface (18)
    • web design (46)
    • Writing (14)
  • Category Cloud

    blog book branding browser use cheatsheet checklist cognitive color content CSS design Don Norman Firefox Add-on form General google guide guides interface Jakob Nielsen launch marketing memory menu navigation page layout Photography psycholo psychology redesign screen resolution seo style guide The Design of Everyday Things training UI usability User Interface we web web design web forms website wed design Writing
  • My Links

    • Mashable
    • ReadWriteWeb
    • Search Engine Journal
    • Smashing Magazine
    • The Next Web
    • Web Designer Wall
    • WebpageFX
    • What Makes Them Click?
  • Archives

    • September 2010 (2)
    • August 2010 (5)
    • July 2010 (4)
    • June 2010 (4)
    • May 2010 (5)
    • April 2010 (4)
    • March 2010 (3)
    • February 2010 (3)
    • January 2010 (1)
    • December 2009 (4)
    • November 2009 (3)
    • October 2009 (1)
    • September 2009 (3)
    • August 2009 (4)
    • July 2009 (5)
    • June 2009 (4)
    • May 2009 (5)
    • April 2009 (7)
  • Favorite Books

    • Power Friending by Amber Mac
    • Letting Go of the Words Writing Web Content that Works by Janice (Ginny) Redish
    • Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
    • Prioritizing Web Usability by Jakob Nielsen
    • "Designing Web Usability" by Jakob Nielsen

  • More button @TwitterIcon.com
  • Meta

    • Log in
    • Entries RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2010 - Information Architecture & Usability blog | Entries (RSS) | Comments (RSS)