As part of an estimated $6M settlement of a lawsuit against Target by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), Amazon will be required to make the Web more accessible. According to the Financial Times, Amazon Enterprise Solutions which provides Web technology to the sites of Target, Marks & Spencer, Mothercare, Lacoste, and Timex, will be required “to ensure ‘full and equal’ access for blind people both to its own site, and to those of the merchants it supports”.
The Target suit claims that alternate text and accessible image maps are missing More»

Labels: design, usability 2.0, user experience, web

If you don’t have an online presence, create one! That’s the advice coming from a segment on the Today Show which aired on Friday. The piece which was focused on people over 40 years of age seeking employment encouraged job seekers to invest the time and effort into establishing a web site or blog or joining a professional online network such as LinkedIn and even Facebook. However, they did caution viewers to ensure that their online presence is ‘professional’ given that 80% of employers look online More»

Labels: brand, design, internet, usability, user experience, web, web 2.0

Design has always played a critical role in the success of web sites but has only of late been really gaining its due recognition. The design of a site truly makes or breaks it. And clearly, people are starting to get that and understand that web usability has nothing to do with the users’ abilities; it has everything to do with the ability of the site to be usable by its intended users.
Scott Karp over at Publishing 2.0 recently wrote that “on the web, in the age of Google, design has no margin More»

Labels: design, usability 2.0, user experience

This is a must watch - happy Thursday!

More»

Labels: design

As of April 1, the Adobe® Stock Photos royalty-free image service will be discontinued. I received an email yesterday from Adobe announcing this. The service was introduced in May 2005 as part of CS2 and allow CS users to search image libraries to purchase royalty-free images. The reason being cited for the discontinuation of the service is that “Adobe has decided to concentrate its efforts in other areas”.
The photos which are part of this service are from the stock collections of the following providers: Amana, BananaStock, Blend Images, Brand X Pictures, Comstock, Creatas, Digital More»

Labels: design, usability 2.0, user experience

The next gen of Microsoft PCs is shaping up to be fashionable. Yes, you heard right! Microsoft is staying au current recognizing that laptops are now more than just a useful device but more so a trendy fashion accessory. The company is coming out with high-fashion PCs and held a fashion PC show at CES to showcase some of their designs.
And, they are not the only ones. Sony, ASUS, Lenovo and Gateway are also in on the action and are coming out with more “pretty” computers. OEMs are More»

Labels: Apple, design, Microsoft, pc

Traditional Web Marketing needs to evolve, and this post intends to kick start the next generation.
What’s a corporate web site?It’s the domain they use after every advertisement where you can learn more about a company, ya know it, anycompany.com.
But we’re tired of the corporate website and all it’s happy marketing speak, stock photos of smart looking dudes or minority women crowded around the computer raving about your product, the positive press release, the happy customer testimonials, the row of executive portraits, the donations your corporate made to disaster relief, the one-sided More»

Labels: design, Internet Marketing, marketing 2.0, social media, web 2.0, web marketing, web strategy

Target is being targetted for allegedly forcing users to navigate the web blindly. A lawsuit filed in ‘06 claims that Target has violated the California Disabilities Persons Act in that its website, Target.com, does not provide full and equal access to blind users.
The Target suit claims that alternate text and accessible image maps are missing which screen readers depend on to read through the page content and vocalize it to the user; and, the website requires the use of a mouse to complete certain functions. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) More»

Labels: ajax, design, flash, RIA, usability 2.0, user experience, web accessibility, Yahoo

Here is an overly exhaustive but nonetheless useful list of 30 usability issues to be aware of as described in Smashing Mag.
-7±2 Principle-2-Second-Rule-3-Click-Rule-80/20 Rule (The Pareto principle)-Eight Golden Rules of Interface Design-Fitts’ Law-Inverted Pyramid-Satisficing-Baby-Duck-Syndrome-Banner-Blindness-Cliffhanger-Effect (Zeigarnik-Effect)-Gestalt principles of form perception-The Self-Reference Effect-Eye-Tracking-Fold-Foveal viewport (Foveal area)-Gloss-Graceful Degradation (Fault-tolerance)-Granularity-Hotspot-Legibility-Minesweeping-Mystery-Meat Navigation (MMN)-Physical consistency-Progressive Enhancement (PE)-Readability-User-centered design (UCD)-Vigilance (sustained attention)-Walk-Up-And-Use Design-Wireframe
Read article.
More»

Labels: design, usability 2.0, user experience

I recently interviewed Chuck Villard II, über Web Developer, at VeriSign whom I worked with on the re-design of the VeriSign.com homepage. Chuck and I have a healthy mutual respect and admiration for each other’s expertise and crafts which makes for a highly synergistic relationship, crucial in any project, but especially so for a high-visibility project such as this. I thought it would be beneficial to share some of what went into this re-design from a development perspective, which some of you may find useful in More»

Labels: ajax, design, web 2.0, web accessibility