author: John
posted in: General | No Comments »
Over the past couple of months I have spent some time browsing through various software packages for my new iMac, and I am amazed every time at how hard it is to actually find out how a certain piece of software works and what it looks like. This doesn't just apply to desktop software either, as I find it to be a large problem with many open-source web solutions too.
It's really simple: I will not buy or download your software unless I can see it in action. I want to play with the software, I want to know if it looks good, and I want to know that I am investing my time (and possibly money) into a solid program.
So as a plea to all software developers in the world, please start offering a demo or at least screenshots of your program prominently on your website. It is one of the first things your users will be looking for, and by omitting it you could be losing sales and a strong user base.
author: John
posted in: Culture, Tutorials, Usability | No Comments »
Because of my job, I have run across many e-commerce stores in the past year. Some of them are great, while others prove to create a terrible user experience. For all of you business owners out there, here are six quick steps to running a successful online shop:
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author: John
posted in: Code, Culture, Design, Tutorials | No Comments »
If you are a print designer, this guide is for you. Think of it as a Cole's Notes in web design -- a quick synopsis of what you should know and where to start with designing a website.
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author: John
posted in: General | 4 Comments »
This morning while doing a whois lookup on my domain, neupix.com, I discovered that there is a new website in town that creates entire Wiki articles about domain names. AboutUs.org feels it's appropriate to gather both personal and website information of domain names and put them all into one place. My personal information (including email address, mailing address and telephone number) were all included on this page, as well as the neupix.com logo and the contents of my about page.
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author: John
posted in: Design, The Lab, Usability | 1 Comment »
There was a post recently on a design forum that I visit, asking opinions on what is harder: designing a logo or designing a website. This is definitely a good question, and as an all-around designer that has experience doing both, I wanted to dig into it deeper.
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author: John
posted in: Culture, Design, Reviews | 2 Comments »
There is a new avatar-creation website in town, meez.com. While the site isn't absolutely new (it was launched at the end of March 2006), Meez lets you create a 3D animated character of yourself, letting you export it as an image at varying size levels -- full body or just head shots.
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