UX London – Designing for Content Rich Sites Workshop

Here’s a dump of tweets i sent during Jared’s workshop.

sitting up the back of @jmspool‘s workshop – Why Good Content Must Suck: Designing For The Scent of Information
Jared is talking about the Scent of Information and why it is more effective than designing for navigation
humans = informavours
Jared says: the best websites have a lot of content
conten sucks the user towards it (this is why your content has to suck… like a vaccuum cleaner)
every link gives off ‘scent’ that users follow. As scent gets stronger, people are more confident they’re headed the right way
we can only tell from users behaviour whether the scent is working or not. If you’re not watching users, you won’t know.
“trigger words” are the words that cause users to act
our eyes go straight to trigger words.
@Suw no videos from #uxlondon as far as I know
Jared says the 3 click rule is ‘complete bullshit’. Tell your boss.
the only time users complain about clicks is when the information scent has gone
good design is like air conditioning. You don’t notice it unless there’s something wrong.
@Suw I’m in the process of posting dumps of my tweets session by session to my blog right now :) www.disambiguity.com
when the user comes to the page they scan for trigger words, if they find one, they click on it. If they don’t, they go to search
the search box is users creating their own links by inputting the trigger words they’re looking for
most of the time BYOL (bring your own link) via search doesn’t work
users don’t like to scroll ‘that’s complete bullshit too’ @jmspool
iceberg syndrome: people assume the most important stuff is at the top. If ‘marketing fluff’ is at the top, don’t bother scrolling
nobody goes to a website without a purpose. except web designers.
information masking:when users look at a page they focus on only the portion of the page that has consistently given them good use
navigation panels are often scentless. Scent is specific, navigation is often not.
short links don’t emit scent
the best links are 7-12 words in length
@atownley 12 words is too long :)
short pages reduce scent. The best pages are *really* long. ref: CNN, Yahoo, Amazon, NYT
things that stop ppl from scrolling 2. Design elements that *look* like the bottom- white space, text that looks like a disclaimer
cute/brand/marketing type links don’t work (mystery meat)
homepages should look more like sitemaps in @jmspool‘s opinion. It’s not clutter. Link rich homepages do better than sparse pages
@jmspool on baseball – it’s 15mins of excitement jammed into 2.5hrs
the only people who care about what ‘section’ of a site something is in is people who manage the site. Users couldn’t care less.
graphics for information = v useful. decorative graphics are less easy to correlate to good user outcomes
the no.1 thing that users base the quality of their experience on is whether or not they complete their task
Navigation Graphics communicate scent. Content Graphics convey information. Ornamental Graphics do something else #uxlondon PRT @Wandster
yes, in case you’re wondering, I’m tweeting a @jmspool workshop at
designing for scent – make sure every click makes the user more confident
what makes users confident – ‘i know where this link is going to take me’
on click show desired content OR even stronger scent = happy user
if you’re not spending time watching people use your site there is no way you’re designing a good site #uxlondon ( )
you need to know – why are users coming to your site? what are their trigger words?
users look for blue & underlines. yes, it’s ugly and hard to see but we’ve trained users to look for that.
Target Content Page = the page the user is looking for to solve their objective. The most important page on the site for that user
you only have to worry about information scent if you have more than one page on your website
Gallery Page = a list of links to content pages. Scent comes from the content page thru the links on the gallery page to the user
@jmspool does research on ecommerce sites because they’re easy – easy to measure if users have achieved their goal.
3 scent failure predictors: use of the back button, pogo-sticking, use of search
wireframing 2.0 #uxlondon goodies http://tr.im/uxlondongoodies (via @solle)
the back button is the button of doom (repeat after @jmspool)
pogosticking = when the user bounces between levels of the information hierarchy seeking their target content page
when people pogo-stick we see a huge reduction in users achieving success on a site
the more users pogo-stick the less likely they are to find the target content. When you see it it, tells you there’s a problem.
you are *much* more likely to find what you’re looking for if you DON’T use search
only if you have Uniquely Identified Content (like Amazon) do you get an exception to the searching = predictor of problems rule
people type very generic terms into search – this is the main reason search fails (behaviour not technology)
your users are telling you every day what trigger words they’re looking for and on what pages. Look at your search logs.
users are telling you every day what is wrong with your site and what you need to do to fix it. Are you paying attention? @jmspool
to stop people pogosticking, you need to put as much information on the gallery page as possible
“Changes in the web don‚Äôt change the fundamentals of human behaviour” (@jmspool) #uxlondon (via @Paulseys)
alphabetical order is the same as random order in 99% of cases @jmspool
Department Pages = collections of gallery pages. Separates gallery pages into logical groups.
Department pages are for winnowing, gallery pages are for selecting. Users get this.
More on “pogosticking” on UIE: http://bit.ly/NuY6W #uxlondon (via @bashford)
You can always have that much space for your gallery page because you have an infinite page length @jmspool
people do NOT learn the structure of your site by using it. They have no sense of the organisation of your site, nor do they care
When users comparison-shopped using pogosticking techniques:purchase = 11% . Compare to 55% when product lists used. #uxlondon PRT @Wandster
seducible moments – at the end, once users have *achieved* their goal say ‘by the way, would you like to do this?’
Store pages = groups of department pages. Helps users tell the system what they *don’t* want to see (eg. business or sports)
people who choose a ‘Store’ page tend to never choose another ‘Store’ page in the same session.
Do you need store pages? Look to your competitors. If they have them, you probably do. Use the same terms as they are (generic)
Homepage purpose – to get people to other pages, usually to a category page. Divide real estate accordingly
anyone who tells you that your homepage is for brand, to learn about your products/your business etc. They’re wrong @jmspool
the best way to solve arguments is to have everyone watching users actually using the site @jmspool

UX London – Quick Sketching for Interaction Design Workshop – Mark Baskinger & William Bardel

Here is a dump of my live tweets during this excellent workshop at UX London. If you like it, you should buy their book when it comes out later this year.

wondering about the easiest way to export my tweets from yesterday and get them into chronological order
sketching workshop kicking off, hooray! ‘and we’re going to get kind of sweaty’
‘how many of you guys are IxDs? And how many are UX Designers?’ Cue chaos
showing people your sucky drawings is part of the growing process
squeak squeak squeak, explain explain, squeak squeak (how many of you use a whiteboard?)
why are we here (in this sketching workshop)? to become better communicators
design drawing is useful in the planning process, can help to see the world differently, heightened awareness of how things work
drawing can help you tell your story to others, its honesty can be v compelling
why draw by hand when we have computers? Mice suck.
why draw by hand – direct with the pencil is more direct, more expressive than via mouse
thinking is a fast paced activity, the pencil is simple & immediate, a good, fast tool for capturing thought
‘Pencils Before Pixels’ – Mark Baskinger
we’re going to start off with really simple things like straight lines …
‘i’d love to sit down and draw cubes with you after the workshop’
we’re grabbing pencils and paper…
starting with pencil holding technique. @ashdonaldson & @cennydd are getting some remedial tips
if you can’t see the tip of your pencil you can’t draw. You need a v loose grip to avoid fatigue
your bellybutton is very important for vertical lines. It’s like a visual landmark. Pull the lines toward it #uxlondon (seriously!)
(feels like sketch pilates)
@keeran of course I’m participating! my vertical lines are much better than my horizontal!
correct each others squares. what do you see? either ‘my squares suck’ or ‘the person next to me is blind’
you have to warm up before you can sketch properly.
techniques for better hand drawn wireframes: use non-repro blue for underlay drawing (it disappears when copied)
carry a sketchbook all the time. practice sketching all the time. practice straight lines, squares, using hatching for tone
‘it’s all about pulling some lines’
use lines in various intervals, not scribble, for adding tone.
being purposefully rough, like overlapping corners, makes sketching look more sketchy
sketchiness = this is not a finished idea, I’m still thinking about this. Sketching holds the conversation back to the big picture
avoid crosshatching in wireframes, starts to ‘pop’ too much. Use various weight of diagonal or vertical lines instead
build your sketches up sequentially, add weight and tone onto the skeleton
uh oh. perspective! (moving shapes in space)
perspective – make sure your back vertical is a little shorter than your front vertical
try to finish your line with the same weight as you start it
if you can do curved planes, you can do arrows. (v pretty arrows, that is)
@alexjamesmorris you might think all UX people draw, but unfortunately not true, and many of us would love to draw better!
move the point of your arrow back just a tiny bit off centre and it will look better
i can recommend Trio Scribli pens #uxlondon (via @solle)
‘these are all ‘ungood’ ways of drawing a circle’
the only useful thing your pinky does is stablise your hand when you want to ‘drop in’ a pencil
the trick to drawing a good circle is to do a few practice circles before you ‘drop in’ your circle (it works!)
@freecloud agree that blog posts are like word sketches, but there’s nothing like drawn sketches to communicate some ideas
@alexjamesmorris i agree. you can’t copy and paste sketched wireframes. I think that’s incredibly important.
I’m realising that my biggest problem with sketching before is not visualising what I am trying to sketch before starting to draw
realising sketching is a lot more deliberate than I thought. Resolving to *really* do the sketchbook thing from now on
‘sketching becomes a magic trick. I can draw this and you can’t. That’s a powerful thing’
@alexjamesmorris absolutely – pencil before pixels as Mark said at the beginning :)
ok. drawing people. If I can leave this workshop with people drawing skills I will be stoked.
if you have an element in your sketch that is weak or less deliberate, it attracts attention & detracts from your entire sketch.
notational sketching = the act of recording things that you see in the world. Mostly for your sketchbook, less so for sharing
analysing visual input (what you see) and deciding what to record is a particular kind of drawing skill
@leisa sketching is physical thought in my book #uxlondon (via @Snowbadger) > i agree :)
notational sketching tips: fast & loose, use icons, images & symbols, portability is important (in context), date your pages
more notational sketching tips: respect the borders (esp. the gutter), print neatly (annotations), white space is ok
moving onto visualising functional relationships – communicating how things interact together so it makes sense to others
Bill: I like using watercolour because it is less controlled, it forces you to work with mistakes
if notation is aimed at recording, diagramming is aimed at explaining
tips for explanatory mapping & diagramming: balance style and substance, think about how to direct attention where you want it
The Don: ‘How do you draw a blur?’ Mark: ‘You lick your page’
@jonbho this is an unusual glut of tweets due to #uxlondon. I can assure you I’m usually much quieter! Apologies for the noise.
getting to the end of the sketching workshop. My sketching is still rubbish, but I have a v good idea of why and what to do
sketching workshop wrapped up with a gentle critiquing session. Great workshop, recommend it.

UX London Tweets – Don Norman

Here is a dump of my live tweets during The Don’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland – coming soon!

Don Norman on the stage. Last speaker of the day at UX London
the Don opens with ‘Thank you, it is now time for questions’
whenever anyone says they want something, I oppose it. I question it. #uxlondon #TheDon
Rules of complexity: Life is complex, The tools we build have to match life, the problem is understanding not simplicity #uxlondon #TheDon
Complexity is not bad. Complicated is bad. #uxlondon #TheDon
If you want to make something simple you compensate by making other things complex #uxlondon #TheDon
When @lukewdesign says ‘no one’ customises Yahoo.com he means ‘only 60million people’ #uxlondon #TheDon
Complex can be enjoyable. Some simple things can be horrible. #uxlondon #TheDon
Don Normal talking about the doors. What a treat. #uxlondon #TheDon
‘I highly recommend walking around with sticky green dots to remind yourself which way things should turn’ #uxlondon #TheDon
As a generalisation, Asian cultures prefer more complex interfaces #uxlondon #TheDon (123india.com vs google.com)
he even sounds a bit like a messiah, don’t you think?
</starstruck>#uxlondon #TheDon
Magpies are the only bird that can pass the mirror test, can lie, they’re extremely intelligent #uxlondon #TheDon #WhoKnew
reading music is incredibly complex but it produces amazing things, we don’t complain about that complexity. #uxlondon #TheDon
People whose offices look messy often know where their stuff is & are better able to find things than ‘neat’ people. #uxlondon #TheDon Amen
Too simple is boring. To complex is frustrating. There’s an ideal amount. Experience moves the preferred complexity up. #uxlondon #TheDon
Being distracted is sometimes a good thing, it can be how we learn things. #uxlondon #TheDon
some ‘simple’ tools take time to use well. eg. a silversmith’s hammer #uxlondon #TheDon
there’s a sweet spot for complexity & engaging things are found in that sweetspot, but it keeps shifting! #uxlondon #TheDon
As I get better at something, I need increased complexity to maintain interest, otherwise I get bored. #uxlondon #TheDon
Complexity is good. It’s good to feel the world disappear as you engage in what you’re doing. It’s enjoyable & productive #uxlondon #TheDon
I think Don is proving his point re: complexity & understanding (unconvinced by his suggestion to redesign musical scales) #uxlondon #TheDon
@fred_beecher yes, he mentioned games re: complexity & shifting sweetspot #uxlondon #TheDon
we are sending seriously mixed messages – we say we want simplicity but we buy things because they’ve got more features #uxlondon #TheDon
we can’t resist features. Even when incredibly simple mobile phones are produced, we don’t buy them. We want features. #uxlondon #TheDon
quoting The Paradox of Choice, Schwartz – we have more choices than ever but less satisfaction. More is Less #uxlondon #TheDon
You can contain complexity by putting things in modular clumps so you only see options when you need them #uxlondon #TheDon
Google’s advanced search interfaces helps me do something complex in a supported way and starts to teach me Boolean search #uxlondon #TheDon
the solution: conceptual model #uxlondon #TheDon
eg file system interface is a fake. It doesn’t really exist but it helps me understand where to find things on my computer #uxlondon #TheDon
But the Graphical User Interface does not scale. #uxlondon #TheDon
Another solution: Systems Thinking #uxlondon #TheDon
The reason the ipod is such a success is that it is a complete system. License music iTunes iPod #uxlondon #TheDon
Lots of the visiting US speakers are talking up the Kindle. And saying it’s increasing their reading volume. Jealous. #uxlondon #TheDon
Complexity can be fun – for example this very complicated coffee maker. I don’t know if it makes good coffee or not #uxlondon #TheDon
and that’s the end of Don Norman’s ‘In Favour of Complexity’ – what a treat! #uxlondon #TheDon
from the Q&A – if I can’t get my pictures out of my camera, it’s hopeless. The whole system has to work #uxlondon #TheDon
in the old days we suffered through technology, but now we are selling to everyday people. Things have to work. It really matters.

UX London Tweets – Jeff Veen

Here is a dump of my live tweets during Jeff’s presentation at UX London. I’m writing a more coherent version of this for Johnny Holland – coming soon!

@veen talking about designing our way through data
@veen things that happened in 1974 (meta = hippy goes mainstream). A v important year for the internet #uxlondon (also the year i was born)
a tiny little 6yr old epiphany for @veen in 1974 when he first saw Pong – ooh, I can control what’s on the screen!
tools for participation lots of capacity to store data = some pretty cool effects
there are 24hrs of video uploaded every 8 seconds on YouTube.
as a designer I can look into the data and see if there is something in there I can use to inform the design (eg. the colour)
I’ve taken the story out of the data and shown it by applying design elements
‘decorating’ data rather than using design to provide better access is dangerous. @veen
Google Analytics interface inspired by Indiana Jones @veen
use visualisation to change behaviour (statistics can be anesthetizing, hard to make meaning)
find the story in the data, assign different visual queues to each dimension, remove everything that isn’t telling the story
mini theme from #uxlondon – don’t be a control freak
think more about giving yr audience tools so they can find their own patterns & stories, rather than controlling their experience
shout out to Dopplr at
provide filters to enable clarity (helping people make sense of data) @veen
Storytelling using data visualisation is incredibly compelling Now we need to give people tools so they can find their own stories
@veen tshirt: ‘Math is Easy, Design is Hard’. Not a popular tshirt at Google.
research is great but it’s just data that you use to inform your design. Data doesn’t tell you how to design. shoutout to @stop
@veen quotes @zeldman: ‘start with the user, but know yourself’. Thinks this should be inverted
‘The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.’ Richard Hamming, 1962 #uxlondon (via @ritchielee)