Scientific Web Design: 23 Actionable Lessons from Eye-Tracking Studies
2008-01-26 18:00:00
Christina Laun takes us through 23 tips towards gaining and retaining attention on your website - pay attention to eye-tracking studies :Eye-tracking studies are hot in the web design world, but it can be hard to figure out how to translate the results of these studies into real design implementations. These are a few tips from eye-tracking studies that you can use to improve the design of your webpage.
Text attracts attention before graphics. Contrary to what you might think, the first thing users look at on a website isn’t the images. Most casual users will be coming to your site looking for information, not images, so make sure your website is designed so that the most important parts of your text are what is most prominent.
Initial eye movement focuses on the upper left corner of
Read more: Scientific
, Lessons
, Tracking
, Studies
Thoughts on gimmicks
2008-01-23 18:00:00
Along the way, some people in search of the remarkable have resorted to gimmicks to get the word out about their work. Gimmicks might work fine if you run a chain of fast food restaurants or a website, but gimmicks certainly get in the way of building a reputation if you're a lawyer or a doctor.
So, where to draw the line?
If a product or service adds value for the consumer, it's not a gimmick. Toll free customer support, for example, was seen as a gimmick when it came out in the 1960s. At least by competitors. Now, of course, it's required.
Banks open on Sundays? Well, it seems like a gimmick at first, until customers realize that they can't live without it. Then it's not a gimmick any longer.
Or consider a doctor who has completely reinvented the way he practices medicine. If it works, i
There’s money in annoying people
2008-01-21 18:00:00
If you're not a morning person like me, you probably make sure your alarm is way on the other side of the room and not right next to you where you can hit the snooze button. I'm all good to go the moment I get up but whenever my alarm has been too close to me, I've been known to hit the snooze button one too many times. The worse was when I lived in a student hostel, I didn't know I was doing this, it had been a very late night (studying of course) and I heard a loud banging on my door, a very angry flatmate saying something that sounded like "did you know you have been hitting the snooze button for the last 4 hours". When I bumped into this product, I thought how annoying! those crazy ring tones that everyone seems to love - how annoying! There is lots of money to be made in annoying peo
Read more: people
Guy Kawasaki's golden touch
2008-01-19 18:00:00
For those who are fans of Guy Kawasaki
, there is a phenomenon he is fond of calling "Guy's golden touch
." It is his own trademark reversal of a well known saying, where he likes to note that "everything that turns to gold is what Guy touches." One site that is definitely gold right now is Twitter, riding a wave since it's popularity at SXSW last year, the site steadily seems to be getting more and more users. Whereas the early reports on Twitter were that it was solely for uber-connected geeks and social media types who had nothing better to do all day than broadcast their latest feelings ... Twitter is getting unexpected enthusiasts. Guy is one of them, using microblogging to help promote his new site, Truemors ... and it is just one example of how he manages to use his persona
Surgeons get better playing Nintendo Wii
2008-01-17 18:00:00
According to the experiments by the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Centre team, playing some Wii
games improve surgeons' performance. The study pitted a group of eight trainee surgeons, who spent one hour on the Wii, against normal trainees in a surgery virtual reality simulator. However, only a few games help this:
According to researcher Kanav Kohel, only games that require delicate, small and precise movements work for surgery training. They used Marble Mania, which gets the player to control a ball over a 3D maze.
The Banner Good Samaritan Medical Centre study concluded that a cheap Wii could be an excellent substitute to enhance surgery skills in poor countries with no access to virtual simulators. The results of their research supports this conclusion: the Wii-enhanced group scored 5
Read more: Surgeons
, better
, Nintendo
, Nintendo Wii
Universities..what are you doing!!!??
2008-01-16 18:00:00
The interview process… day two. Pleasantly surprised by the caliber of people we’ve been interviewing. Very disappointed with what Universities
are doing
, or rather not doing to prepare designers for the real world. Most design courses end up teaching students how to use programs and how to think about what they’re designing and why. But students are given arty projects that show no commercial value. How is a potential employer supposed to see the commercial value in ‘two birds sitting on a stone’ and ‘abstract type on board’. Arty is good, I’m not raining on that, paint in your free time, sing with the birds but when you’re designing for clients, your sole responsibility as a designer is making your clients money.
A message to designersWhile your lecturers are ge
Hiring staff – get off your perch!
2008-01-14 18:00:00
We’re busy interviewing for a new designer at the moment. We received around 50 applications and short listed 10 to interview in the next few days. (If you’re a designer who’s reading this, always include snapshots of your work when applying for a design position, CV’s are important but if we can’t see any work and have a ton of applicants, you won’t be given a chance).
The interview process itself is interesting. When you’re meeting a bunch of strangers who are effectively judging you, you can’t exactly be yourself. So on our part, we really need to help someone relax and get to know them. I’ve been to interviews where the interviewer takes on the “I’ve got the power” role, this really hinders the interview process. We like talking about everything and nothing, oft
Read more: Hiring
Websites, milk and chips
2008-03-11 19:00:00
Ever notice how every new media site looks similar. And the ones that don't look like all the other new media sites don't communicate 'new media' effectively. Web design trends are no different from fashion trends. Even the most 'individual' fashionista always follows a formula, stick to the base trend, but spice it up with a little of your own flavour. Its pretty much the same with websites.
Totally unique when it comes to websites is not always a great thing as familiarity=usability. Last year we were all about shiny buttons pop outs, sticky layouts, this year its about being ‘liquid’ – I guess websites are like fashion … pretty much … we better follow the leaders a little or risk people not connecting the dots.
This applies to specific industries with existing strong trends.
Read more: Websites
The many faces of coffee
2008-03-16 19:00:00
Of late I've recognised a trend. Client calls, saying we haven't caught up in a while and they would love to meet up for a coffee. That's fantastic we get to have a coffee and chat about all sorts of things and of course what's happening with their business etc all very interesting stuff. Not quite.
Recently I've become aware of something, the moment we sit down for a coffee, their laptop comes out and we end up in a full on training session with me showing them how to update their website. All our websites are hooked up to a brilliant content management solution, when a website first goes live, we train clients how to use it. Then they are able to attend free online training sessions too. It works out very well, as clients now have the freedom to control their website and grow it as t
Read more: faces
Downplay URLs - encourage searches
2008-03-25 19:00:00
An interesting advertising trend in Japan : search boxes have replaced URLs. No more printed URL's. The replacement? Search boxes! With recommended search terms! It makes sense, right? All the good domain names are gone. Getting people to a specific page in a big site is difficult (who's going to write down anything after the first slash?). And, most tellingly, I see increasingly more users already inadvertently put complete domain names like "gmail" and "netflix" into the Search box of their browsers out of habit — and it doesn't even register that Google pops up and they have to click to get to their destination.
But, I ask you: could this be done in the USA? Wouldn't search spammers and/or "optimizers" ruin this within seconds? I did a few tests with major name brands and they
Great Vs Crap Offers
2008-03-27 19:00:00
When an email from Borders Bookstore arrives in my mailbox, no matter what I'm doing, I can't resist having a look right away. It's always packed with fantastic, genuine discounts. One day you could get 40% off all books, before Christmas there was a 70% off voucher - now you see my excitement!
Because Borders sends fantastic, genuine coupons, I can't wait to hear from them. In contrast, a local cinema sent me a voucher last week, it read like this "Buy 100 tickets and we will give you a golden class ticket for half price" (I'm not kidding), the next time I get mail from them, I'll probably bin it right away. With just one silly promotion, they have probably lost my attention forever - like everyone else I have too many good offers around me to be bothered by pretty brochures. May
Read more: Great
, Offers
Borders amazing vouchers - pt 2
2008-03-31 19:00:00
As always I was extremely excited to find yet another voucher from Borders
in my mailbox. I'm already very happy today as its the 1st of April, the day I get to play many pranks (4 down, 3 to go). I do love hearing from borders and today's voucher had me singing!
To signup for Borders email vouchers, simply walk into a Borders bookstore and ask to be put on their mailing list. Can you think of a really awesome genuine voucher you can send out to your clients? it has to be amazing though, or don't bother. It will do you more harm than good to be half generous.
SEO terms driving you nutty?
2008-04-21 19:00:00
If words like title tags, key words, meta tags are driving you nutty as you have a little idea what it means but just need someone to tell you in plain English webconfs.com has summarised the lot in a very digestible page. Before you hire an SEO
expert do bits of research on your own so you know what they're talking about. There are so many SEO theories floating around, if you are unsure about anything (in life and at work) Google it.
Image by doc18
Thanks for the link Sammy
Online Networking Tips
2008-04-28 19:00:00
With all of the hoopla these days about networking online I can’t help but wonder why people get so confused about how to approach these new tools. See, networking is networking, only the tools that you can employ have changed.
When you think about it, hasn’t networking always been social networking?
Here are some of the proven, effective best practices when it comes to networking
It’s never about the sale, it’s always about the relationship - build first by giving
Don’t keep score, give because you can help, the universe will sort out the accounting
Network with your peers and partners as much as with your prospects and customers
Every network has influencers, build relationships with the influencers
Get out and chat, lunch and visit with the members
The broccoli in your business and what to do about it
2008-04-29 19:00:00
Brett Welch writes:My Aunt Susan, being a good mother, wants her son to eat Broccoli because it's healthy.My cousin Ben, being a typical boy, doesn't want to eat Broccoli because it tastes bad. This gave me an idea, which I'm going to call "The Broccoli Problem". My aunt has very valid reasons to give her son broccoli - it's for his health. But her son resists - also for valid reasons that are relevant to him. The son will say:Broccoli may be good for you BUT it tastes terrible. Now Broccoli problems are everywhere, always contain a 'However' or a 'But' and are nearly always subjective (you complete the sentences) :Lower taxes may stimulate a stagnant economy, HOWEVER ...Your girlfriend may have a wonderful personality, BUT ...George W. Bush may be a great leader, HOWEVER ...I'll remai
Something for something
2008-05-03 19:00:00
Blyk is a mobile network for 16 – 24s that’s funded by advertising. Blyk links young people with brands they like and gives them free texts and minutes every month. For advertisers, Blyk is an innovative, new media channel, providing direct access to the 16-24 year old market. In just 6 months Blyk has 100,000 members. Blyk targets 16- to 24-year-olds with its free mobile phone service, which includes 217 texts and 43 minutes every month. In exchange, of course, they get advertising—up to 6 messages sent to their phones each day. Britain's youth don't seem to mind, though—Blyk reached that 100,000-member target six months ahead of schedule. Response rates to the ads in question have also achieved a whopping average of 29 percent—far surpassing the norm, which tends to hover in
Read more: something
Putting the H back into Human
2008-05-06 19:00:00
Today a client commented "Websites are starting to look like something out of play school". He was referring to all the new websites that use funky images, handwritten type and crayon like colours. The rise of this trend is related to the shift from a read only web to a read-write web, where everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to see the Human. I personally think many of these websites are extremely effective. Of course it doesn't suit every industry - so watch who your target audience is, just like you'd watch where the cars are coming from when crossing a busy road. Start dreaming and you'll end up with a car wreck of a website.Get this amazing book (image featured) from
Read more: Putting
Putting the H back into Human
2008-05-12 19:00:00
Today a client commented "Websites are starting to look like something out of play school". He was referring to all the new websites that use funky images, handwritten type and crayon like colours. The rise of this trend is related to the shift from a read only web to a read-write web, where everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to see the Human. I personally think many of these websites a
Read more: Putting
Something for something
2008-05-04 19:00:00
Blyk is a mobile network for 16 – 24s that’s funded by advertising. Blyk links young people with brands they like and gives them free texts and minutes every month. For advertisers, Blyk is an innovative, new media channel, providing direct access to the 16-24 year old market. In just 6 months Blyk has 100,000 members. Blyk targets 16- to 24-year-olds with its free mobile phone service, whic
Read more: something
The broccoli in your business and what to do about it
2008-04-29 19:00:00
Brett Welch writes:My Aunt Susan, being a good mother, wants her son to eat Broccoli because it's healthy.My cousin Ben, being a typical boy, doesn't want to eat Broccoli because it tastes bad. This gave me an idea, which I'm going to call "The Broccoli Problem". My aunt has very valid reasons to give her son broccoli - it's for his health. But her son resists - also for valid reasons that are re
Online Networking Tips
2008-04-28 19:00:00
With all of the hoopla these days about networking online I can’t help but wonder why people get so confused about how to approach these new tools. See, networking is networking, only the tools that you can employ have changed.
When you think about it, hasn’t networking always been social networking?
Here are some of the proven, effective best practices when it comes to networking
It
SEO terms driving you nutty?
2008-04-21 19:00:00
If words like title tags, key words, meta tags are driving you nutty as you have a little idea what it means but just need someone to tell you in plain English webconfs.com has summarised the lot in a very digestible page. Before you hire an SEO
expert do bits of research on your own so you know what they're talking about. There are so many SEO theories floating around, if you are unsure about
Borders amazing vouchers - pt 2
2008-03-31 19:00:00
As always I was extremely excited to find yet another voucher from Borders
in my mailbox. I'm already very happy today as its the 1st of April, the day I get to play many pranks (4 down, 3 to go). I do love hearing from borders and today's voucher had me singing!
To signup for Borders email vouchers, simply walk into a Borders bookstore and ask to be put on their mailing list. Can you think of
Great Vs Crap Offers
2008-03-27 19:00:00
When an email from Borders Bookstore arrives in my mailbox, no matter what I'm doing, I can't resist having a look right away. It's always packed with fantastic, genuine discounts. One day you could get 40% off all books, before Christmas there was a 70% off voucher - now you see my excitement!
Because Borders sends fantastic, genuine coupons, I can't wait to hear from them. In contrast, a loca
Read more: Great
, Offers
Downplay URLs - encourage searches
2008-03-25 19:00:00
An interesting advertising trend in Japan : search boxes have replaced URLs. No more printed URL's. The replacement? Search boxes! With recommended search terms! It makes sense, right? All the good domain names are gone. Getting people to a specific page in a big site is difficult (who's going to write down anything after the first slash?). And, most tellingly, I see increasingly more users a
The many faces of coffee
2008-03-20 19:00:00
Of late I've recognised a trend. Client calls, saying we haven't caught up in a while and they would love to meet up for a coffee. That's fantastic we get to have a coffee and chat about all sorts of things and of course what's happening with their business etc all very interesting stuff. Not quite.
The moment we sit down for a coffee, their laptop comes out and we end up in a full on trainin
Read more: faces
Websites, milk and chips
2008-03-11 19:00:00
Ever notice how every new media site looks similar. And the ones that don't look like all the other new media sites don't communicate 'new media' effectively. Web design trends are no different from fashion trends. Even the most 'individual' fashionista always follows a formula, stick to the base trend, but spice it up with a little of your own flavour. Its pretty much the same with websites.
Tot
Read more: Websites
Thinking about increasing your prices?
2008-03-03 18:00:00
I found a great article by Bernadette Doyle, author of 'How to Charge What You're Worth and Get The Fees You Deserve', Bernadette helps self-employed and small businesses become Client Magnets! As obvious as it sounds, the trick to raising prices is confidence, her practical article below:
Last week I got two emails from subscribers about the same topic. "I need to increase my pri
Who are you 'nice' to?
2008-02-27 18:00:00
I had two clients email me today about an urgent job they needed done - ASAP meaning please drop everything else and do this for us now. They weren't being 'a pain' at all, I could see how it just came up and it would help them greatly if we could do it right away. The problem was, we only had a small window of time to take on any additional work, as we're working on several jobs that m
How to keep your subscribers - bloggers!
2008-02-16 18:00:00
I found this on the idiots guide to blogging, obvious things you can do to keep your subscribers - but hey obvious isn't always that obvious is it!Tips to retain subscribersProvide the best content possible. As long as your subscribers read and enjoy what you write, they will not unsubscribe. Be helpful. Be informative. Be whatever it is that made your readers subscribe in the first place.. and be
Read more: bloggers
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