Robotperson

There’s such a diversity of opinion on the web that you’ll always be able to find a point of view that matches your own.
Add to this our innate tendency to weight evidence that supports our POV and discount contrary evidence (”confirmation bias”), and I’m left thinking that we are probably innately unable to research […]

Trick for establishing the visual hierarchy of a wireframe if you’re in doubt: shrink it down to thumbnail size and see what pops out the most.

Interesting (and short) podcast on usability and ROI. It’s common for clients to ask for figures that quantify the improvements they will see if they spend their budget on a user-centred solution. But usability simply doesn’t work that way. This podcast offers some great defensive arguments for me to keep up my sleeve. My notes […]

Today I watched an excellent Google lecture on the paradox of choice - why more is less, by Barry Schwarz (who’s book I’ve just bought). I’m in the middle of designing an interface where this issue is particularly relevant, so finding this vid (via governomics) was perfectly timed. It’s fascinating.
In a nutshell, the more choice […]

The machine is us/ing us

Brilliant and exciting.

Some interesting and intertwined stories relating the issues around the shut-down menu have surfaced recently:

Joel on the new Windows Vista shut-down menu
Every time you want to leave your computer, you have to choose between nine, count them, nine options … The more choices you give people, the harder it is for them to choose, and […]

Yesterday the annual NHS performance ratings were published by the Healthcare Commission. It was headline news on the BBC and most other news websites I looked at, and I’m feeling a glow of paternal pride. I’ve spent most of the last 6 months working on the information architecture for this project.

I’m pretty happy overall, although […]

The Newsnight book club publishes an extract from Richard Dawkins’ new book, The God Delusion. It sounds hilarious. Dawkins on claims that Katrina was God’s retribution:
You’d think an omnipotent God would adopt a slightly more targeted approach to zapping sinners: a judicious heart attack, perhaps, rather than the wholesale destruction of an entire city just […]

One for Pete: the Rock cursor
Atomic ballroom. Nice.
Snackonomies. Sort of an IA joke
Infographics pool on Flickr (with submissions of variable quality) highlights a nice NY Times graphic on the political pushes and pulls in the Middle East
Stef promises Robotperson an authentic set of stormtrooper armour if he wins the lottery. Although I’m a little short […]

Note to self: memorise Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility

Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site.
Show that there’s a real organization behind your site.
Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide.
Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site.
Make it easy to contact […]