We’ve just begun a year and already I have been overwhelmed with the amazing UX articles, websites, and projects that have cropped up over the past few weeks. It is exciting to see the growth in this upcoming field.
Today we’ve gathered some of the best of the UX-related web that we’ve found. I hope that you find a few new articles you enjoy. As always, if you find a UX resource you love, share it with our community! It’s also a great way to get some extra attention to your articles.
A Collection of Printable Sketch Templates and Sketch Books for Wireframing
This post showcases a wonderful collection of wireframe templates. It even includes Jason Robb’s template he showcased in a post for UX Booth titled Tools for Sketching User Experiences.
What’s Next in Web Design?
This post is a great outline of what we may expect to come in 2010’s web design trends. The post was originally from an Italian magazine titled L’Espresso but was translated to English to be posted on the blog.
What Am I Saying Yes To?
More and more I am beginning to understand the role of copy in user experience. This article asks an important question that is relevant to a specific application that the writer is installing. What am I saying yes to? It applies to many situations we encounter, and can be a good lesson to learn.
Spending Quality Time with Your Search Log
Oh, something we all need to start out the new year doing. This article explains why you should be checking your search logs. It goes on to explain how search logs can be useful to help fix trending errors you may have across your site.
UI Mockups, User Experience Tips, JavaScript Checker and More
MSDN Magazine featured little ole UX Booth in their tool box column. The column also showcases one of our favorite mockup tools, Balsamiq. Neat, quick read.
A Basic Usability Test on Ten Phones
In this article Peter-Paul Koch, mobile platform strategist, conducted a simple usability test on some popular cell phones. It is always fascinating to me to see real world objects take on what we’re so used to doing on the web.
The Web Designer’s Guide to User Experience
So if you’ve never read a post on UX Booth then this post is for you, heh. But really, this post is a good introduction to User Experience and even though we’ve all read our fair share of them, what would one more hurt? Besides, some of our friends still don’t know what UX is.
Articles by Topic: Information Architecture
Digital Web Magazine, started in 1996, has accumulated some invaluable information. Run by Nick Fink, it is sure to have some amazing articles related to Information Architecture. This page is the archive of all IA posts from the publication.
Guide to Low-cost Usability Tools
This free 48 page ebook covers 20 common online usability tools. Great resource for UX professionals to understand quickly and easily how the different available tools work.
Why Microcopy Matters
So I’ve been on a content rant lately. I just find how text changes users’ perceptions fascinating. This is a good read on why smaller writing can be good and bad.
Explain IA and Win $1,000
From the introduction: “In this contest, you are invited to explain information architecture. What is it? Why is it important? What does it mean to you?” Think you know? Stop by and give it a try.
How eHarmony Kills the Romance With A/B Testing
This fun post details what can happen when A/B tests go wrong. Learn the drawbacks of sounding more like an experience and less like a split test.
The Myth of the Page Fold: Evidence from User Testing
This article breaks down the page fold myth for us. Presented with real life examples from testing on how the fold no longer matters.
Animating Paper Prototypes
Sometimes we can’t express complicated interactions with static wireframes. This technique of recording the drawing can illustrate this better in many circumstances.
Does Better Usability Increase Customer Loyalty?
This article does a great job of discussing the importance of customer loyalty. What drives loyalty?
Bad Usability Calendar 2010
Here is a fun little calendar you can print and hang up at your desk to make your coworkers laugh. Each month showcases a different usability blunder.
My Recommendation: Stop Making Design Recommendations
Jared Spool discusses why recommendations don’t work. He insists that rather than giving advice, a team should use an experimentation approach.
The Problem with User Stories
It’s great to start a client relationship with user stories. It helps you understand where the user sees the project going. But is this such a good idea?
Specifying Behavior: With an Example Menu Behavior Specification
This article answers the question: “Why do so many applications provide a poor user experience as a result of their not behaving properly?”
SXSW UX Adventure
Shared by one of our readers on Facebook, it has changed the way their company approaches a web design project.
Best of UX Booth
Here are some highlights from our blog over the last few weeks:
What is Your Job Title?
We asked our readers on our facebook fan page one question. What is your job title? The results were interesting and there is still time to stop by and add your own!
Ambient User Experience
Andrew writes about ambient user expeirence. He details how music and kindness can alter your expeirence in a retail location, then compares it to online experiences.
The Weaker Side of Usability Guidelines
Guest author Shay Howe shares some uncommon usability recommendations and guidelines.
Complete Beginner’s Guide to Interaction Design
Web design has followed a long and windy road from its rather modest beginnings. Initially, the term “web designer” described something much more akin to that of a graphic designer: a designer who concerns himself with the presentation of text and pictures.
Ok, you caught me
Some of these articles were not from 2010. However, we have a lot of great resources coming up soon this year. It’s been a great start and we look forward to another great year. On another note, this post was carefully considered. After asking readers if they prefer spread-out resources or roundups, we had many requests for roundups. I know, it seems lately that roundups are the devil. However, I hope that this list of resources has allowed you to find some good reading material you’ve yet to lay eyes on. Don’t fret though; we will continue our normal resources as well. What do you think?