Usability

Article — 11 February 2016 — 1,059 words

Path dependence in user experience: why it’s OK that phones are different to calculators

Designers like to fret about the differing keypad layouts on calculators and phones. But economics tells us it may not be such a problem after all.

Article — 24 September 2015 — 910 words

Web design should be boring

Digital — User experience — Web

The web is a less creative place than it was 20 years ago. Good.

Article — 23 March 2014 — 1,293 words

Can web design really learn from brutalist architecture?

Architecture — User experience — Web

As a web designer with an interest in brutalist architecture, I was fascinated to read an article about what web designers can learn from brutalism. But perhaps instead of taking inspiration, perhaps the lessons are in what web designers should avoid.

Article — 21 February 2014 — 825 words

Replacing the Flash world map for entrance requirements

Accessibility — User experience — Web

Work: Study at St Andrews website

Adapted from a post originally published on the University of St Andrews Digital Communications team blog. One of the biggest issues we have had to tackle while working on the new Study at St Andrews website is the entrance requirements and country information section. The website contained a Flash world map that was considered to […]

Article — 31 July 2013 — 487 words

How studying social science made me a better web designer

Economics — User experience — Web

I thought I had joined the many people who don’t use their degrees in their careers. But I have come to realise that my degree in social science has been absolutely vital to my web design work.

Article — 28 January 2013 — 990 words

Subscription options and the failed promise of RSS

User experience — Web

RSS feeds were once a promising feature of the web, but are usually only used by geeks. So is it still a good idea to publicise RSS feeds on your website?

Article — 23 December 2012 — 601 words

Layout and responsive design

User experience — Web

Continuing my series explaining the decisions I made while designing this website, this article looks at the process of creating the layout and working on a responsive design.

Note — 3 April 2012 — 68 words

Technology — User experience

I have a problem with cutesy copy, particularly when it comes to error messages. I understand that they are trying to be friendly and personable, but it’s usually not what the user wants or needs. Often, a friendly error message just leads to more confusion.

Dialogue box: "Well, this is embarrassing. Firefox is having trouble recovering your windows and tabs. This is usually caused by a recently opened webpage."

Take Firefox’s “well, this is embarrassing”.

I was once asked for advice about this error message.

“Should I be embarrassed?”, I was asked.

Article — 8 November 2011 — 145 words

An incredibly unusable email

User experience — Web

Today I received an HTML email that is amazingly user-unfriendly. We have all become accustomed to image-laden emails and dodgy table-based layouts in HTML emails (it is, after all, more-or-less the only way to do it). But this takes it to a whole new level. Horizontal scrolling is enough of a no-no as it is. […]

Article — 12 August 2010 — 598 words

First steps into mobile

User experience — Web

Work: Mobile-friendly Student Handbook

Adapted from a post originally published on the University of St Andrews Digital Communications team blog. I thought I would try and take the advice of Brian Kelly who has suggested that web team members write a post a month about their work. It is particularly interesting that after coming back from IWMW I was […]