Computers are smarter than people. Don't use long lists of multiple choice when a simple fill in the blank will suffice. This is why asking for my state in a pull down list is inane. Just let me type in the two letters. (Hint: that's why Google works. It's fill in the blank, not multiple choice). Seth Godin
Jonathan Christoper has written an excellent article today, entitled Inspiration is something to have and to hold. Here are a few things that jumped out to me while reading it.
Look in new places
There’s plenty of inspiration flooding the Web at any given time. Whether it’s a design article from the people you look up to, or something you randomly stumbled upon, it’s almost trivial to find a new article that gets you thinking about Web design in a slightly different way.
Later he continues with:
Actively ignore the junk, because there’s lots
Quit looking at “CSS” design galleries. Seriously. Take other designs for what they’re worth, but unless you want to get away with blending in and at the same time do nothing for your personal growth, peruse them in your free time, not to jump start your creative. I do feel there can be inspiration gathered from these sites, but little more than checking out what trends and novelties have filtered through the entire spectrum of Web designers.
Along those lines: push the linkbait, “Top 13″, design trend, monetary-inspired articles as far away as possible. Those pieces exist for little more than click-through percentage boosts and hitting the front page of Digg. What good is that to you? There’s a very fine line between information and linkbait, and it’s very important that you’re critical of everything you read. In my opinion, there’s quite a bit of junk out there, all backed by a lot of “leading” design sources. That’s not the place to find inspiration.
Finding inspiration can be tough. I love the idea of getting offline to find your inspiration. Have a notebook with you. Jot down notes, thoughts, pieces of information—anything that inspires you. With the web, specifically, you have to have a filter—the ability to block out the noise—and find real value.
You don't want everyone. You want the right someone. Seth Godin
I am a little tardy to reading a recent A List Apart article by Robert Hoekman, Jr., entitled The Myth of Usability Testing.
One specific sentence that caught my eye was:
Page views and time-spent-per-page metrics, while often foolishly considered standard measures of site effectiveness, are meaningless until they are considered in context of the goals of the pages being visited.
Too many times we get caught up with the tools—first—without understanding the people using those tools.
He finishes up with this:
Test for the right reasons and you stand a good chance of achieving a positive outcome. Test for the wrong ones, however, and you may not only produce misleading results, but also put your entire business at risk.
When’s the last time you read your site or web app aloud? Not just the big text blocks and the about page, but the headlines, field labels, buttons, error messages, and confirmation emails? —Jason Fried
This can be a truly humbling experience. It's also interesting to watch other people read your website out loud while they try and interact with it.