Who I am

www.dartmouth.edu/~acwww.dartmouth.edu/~ccwww.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

VisibilityConceptual models

MappingFeedback

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!