Download Toward a Usable Web: Striving for the Ordinary

Who I am
www.dartmouth.edu/~ac
www.dartmouth.edu/~cc
www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach
What I hope you’ll get
A keen and critical eye
And just in case you don’t get it…
Slides, handouts, and links are here:
www.dartmouth.edu/~cc/principals/horton.html
It is simplicity that is difficult to make.
–Bertolt Brecht
Restrain yourself!
No limits produces an unusable document
The mystery machine
Complex design produces unusable devices
Don’t make me think!
Doors just should not be so difficult!
Best book on usable design
Read this!
Components that affect usability
Visibility
Conceptual models
Mapping
Feedback
Visibility
Knowledge
in the head
Knowledge
in the world
Whenever the number of possible
actions exceeds the number of
controls, there is apt to be difficulty.
–Don Norman
Conceptual models
What is gray water, and why would I want it?
Affordances
The shape affords grasping, clicking, and dragging
Constraints
Legos “tell” you how to put pieces together
A good design tells all at first glance
This door handle clearly says, “Push me!”
Mapping
But wait!
Down maps to off
Up maps to on
Feedback
The faithful Fetch doggie
wants you to know your
files are still in transit
But (ahem) what about the Web?
There are no stupid users
Don’t be afraid to be ordinary.
–Sarah Horton
We need help finding our way
We like ordinary things
The Web is not ordinary
Or is it…?
Adopt standards and conventions
Same as it ever was…
–David Byrne
Clarity rules!
The definitive
book on using
type effectively –
He ‘da man!
[Web Design] is pain, Highness, and
anyone who tells you otherwise is trying
to sell you something.
–Westley, aka The Dread Pirate Roberts
Wouldn’t it be cool?
Not!
A little too concise
Unwelcoming front door
Okay, what now?
Hum…is it worth making sense of?
Ask your users
You only need a
handful of users
to uncover flaws
Best book on usable Web design
Practical,
accessible,
on the mark,
and even fun!