We’ve said it many times that a picture is worth a thousand words. And in the information world, diagrams are king when it comes to portraying information. Visual interest, simplicity and well laid out elements will create a powerful invitation for users to take a closer look. Here then are a few tips on creating [...]
We create a lot of PDFs and in particular interactive PDFs in which users can choose options and store information (ie: application forms). So a natural part of this workflow is the ability for users to save their selections and the information they’ve input on these forms. However, unless the user has invested in a [...]
If you haven’t already bought a copy of Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, I encourage you to do so. This brilliant book chronicles the life of Steve Jobs, and the author was given permission from the man himself to tell the story exactly as it happened. One of the recurring themes throughout the book [...]
Every so often we’re asked to create a visual representation of a technical concept or procedure. Past requests have included everything from network address translation to complex timing. As such we’ve developed a few tips you can use next time you need to visualize the abstract.
Begin your thought process by deciding how you can keep [...]
In a nutshell, content management systems are server hosted web services which enable the authoring and storage of web content. They are often used to create complex websites for displaying large volumes of information (like job boards for example) and to provide user interactivity. CMS’s come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges including expensive [...]
Word’s commenting and markup features are extremely useful for providing feedback to other authors. You can use them to highlight changes, make suggestions and track proofreading edits. However, it’s important to keep in mind that providing feedback using this tool should follow the same rules you would use to provide feedback face to face. With [...]
We’ve all been to those presentations where we asked ourselves why we even showed up. You know, the ones where the slides are crammed full of bullet points that the presenter reads to you? With Google searches and information at our fingertips we expect, more than ever, to be spoon-fed information, especially in a busy [...]
There are a multitude of tools available today for creating documentation. And with all of these choices comes a multitude of file formats. Many clients we come across insist on a specific format (usually for legacy reasons), but would benefit greatly from another format if they considered some of the usability and authoring issues associated [...]
A picture is worth a thousand words, and icons are no exception. When done correctly, icons can instantly convey a thought or describe an action. Icons can be found everywhere; a few common examples include signage, software user interfaces and presentation slides. Although designing and creating icons is fairly easy (albeit time consuming), there are [...]
I recently accompanied someone to an Apple store to look at laptops and I was pleasantly surprised by the entire user experience. Initially I was expecting the typical high pressure, “gimme your money” experience like you get at some of the big box and “discount” stores, but that wasn’t the case. Immediately upon walking into [...]
