“Design global navigation last.  Before designing global navigation, design screens with only local navigation–how people do the work of that screen.  Then, as parts of the system are ready to release, create an application map that shows hub and spoke relationships, selection screens, modal screens and links and build just enough global navigation for the current feature set.”

I like the idea. Seems like it would generate more a more natural organization in the tool instead of a lot of artificial constructs used to categorize and sort the functionality ahead of time.

“If I let users steer product decisions, the result would be a massive codebase producing a bloated, cluttered product full of features that hardly anyone used at the expense of everyday usability and polish on the features that matter. Like Microsoft Word. Or Firefox.

By listening too much to outside suggestions, I’d destroy the very reason why I’m receiving them.”

“I think of functional spec as one of the worst inflictions that has ever happened to the software development world. I think functional specs are a relic of a time when building features was a very, very hard and long process and you had to do all of this upfront planning because once you wrote anything in software, it was pretty much impossible to change it. I don’t think that functional specs is a technique that’s any longer relevant.”

‘There is no path to peace. Peace is the path.’ ~ Mahatma Gandhi, “Non-Violence in Peace and War”

Simplicity, many people think,
is an end in itself
But they’re getting it backwards
Simplicity is the path, the means
It’s not a far off destination,
somewhere in the future
It’s right here, right now
It’s taking things one at a time
It’s asking simple questions
It’s taking simple actions
It’s doing it slowly
It’s considering and being conscious,
with everything

When you find yourself becoming overwhelmed
on the path to simplicity
Taking a complicated, frenzied path
to get there
Stop, consider, and choose
the simpler path
And take it slowly
And easily
And lovely

[via mnmlist]

“There’s a common attribute that makes for good designers, good engineers, good employees, and good companies. For a long time, I couldn’t figure out what it was. Was it practice? Was it skill? Was it innate ability? Turns out, it’s none of those. It’s taste.“

“[Ira Glass] points out how that gap between ability and taste drives creative people to achieve great things.”

[via Dustin's post on a AA.com UX designer]

“Let’s stop talking about building products. Let’s start talking about creating great experiences.”

Instead of making great software by tweaking one more screen or adding one more feature, let’s step back and take a look at the whole. Understanding what the user experiences, and making that great, is key. Thanks for the reminder Ed, this is one more bit in my drive for contextual design!

“Good ideas turn into good designs fairly quickly. If you catch yourself fiddling too much with colors, borders and treatments to bring a design together, chances are the problem lies somewhere deeper.”

“There is nothing more dreadful than imagination without taste.”

I couldn’t agree more, and as far as it goes, think that good taste and thoughtful design trump features, marketing, and just about everything else.

[via Tim Elliott]

“That the iPhone — or specifically its software touchscreen keyboard — does not appeal to everyone is not a problem. Nothing appeals to everyone. Even if you try to make something that appeals to everyone by adding every single clamored-for feature, you wind up with something like Windows that does not appeal to people with a taste for the elegant and refined.”

Well said.

“Some problems cannot be solved,
because stake-holders cannot agree on the definition.”

It’s a quick read, and worth taking the time.

“Research proves attractive things work better. How we think cannot be separated from how we feel. The next time a boss, client, or co-worker scoffs at the notion that beauty is an important aspect of interface design, point their peepers here.”

Before:

After:

* “From time to time it’s a good idea to walk through your product with fresh eyes. Sign up for a new account, turn off your admin access so you can see what other people see, scale back your permissions and experience that experience. You’ll likely find a bunch of UI and customer experience dust bunnies you didn’t know were there.” 37signals, When cruft creeps in

* “(…) the problem of the perpetual super-novice. What is this? Simply put, it’s the tendency of people to stop learning about a digital product—whether it’s an operating system, desktop application, Web site, or hardware device. After initially becoming somewhat familiar with a system, people often continue using the same inefficient, time-consuming styles of interaction they first learned. For example, they fail to discover shortcuts and accelerators in the applications they use. Other people learn only a small portion of a product’s capabilities and, as a result, don’t realize the full benefits the product offers. Why? What can operating systems, applications, Web sites, and devices do to better facilitate a person’s progression from novice to expert usage?” [via Information Design]

* Google Maps now has Street View for Minneapolis/St. Paul. Check out the Xcel Center (hint: try clicking and dragging on the image below)

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