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Usability

Keep your users’ eyes on the prize

Let me introduce myself since I’m new to Normal Modes and hence to the blog.  My name is Sara and I’m a User Experience Consultant.  My background is in Computer Science and I specialized in Human-Computer Interaction for my Master’s degree.

What I particularly enjoyed studying while in graduate school… read more

Consider the User Experience & Usability of Your Website – from the Mom 2.0 Summit

Last week I had the honor to be a speaker at the Mom 2.0 Summit. The conference was fabulous – great ladies who were kind and supportive of each other, nice panels where everyone shared experiences, and the hotel – Wow! Four Seasons all the way!

Here’s the slideshow… read more

Eye Tracking Heatmap Gallery: A Preview & Discussion of UI Considerations

Over the past month I’ve toiled away on a special project:  a gallery of 51 simulated eye tracking heatmaps featuring the homepages of popular websites.  The heatmaps cover a variety of industries including travel, consumer retail, media, government &… read more

Failing Gracefully: Four Solutions for Wrong Registration Email Addresses on Alltop.com

I type wicked fast. My fingers sometimes bang away at the keys at a rate faster than I can think.  But for all my mad typing skizzles, I’m a horrible speller.  And for all my speed, I’m hampered by habitual use of the delete/backspace key.  I’ve used it probably seven… read more

Usability – The Delayed Frontier

People want less information, they don’t want more information. They want it to be easier for them to use. Easier for them to get what they want. Easier for them to do what they want to do. The next big breakthrough, in my mind, is going to come from the

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Decision Analysis: Killing Elements in UI Designs

A general principle for all user interface design is to go through all of your design elements and remove them one at a time. If the design works as well without a certain design element, kill it.

- Jakob Nielsen