best practices

A Good User Interface has high conversion rates and is easy to use . In other words, it’s nice to both the business side as well as the people using it. Here is a running list of practical ideas to try out. (via GoodUI )

**Dieter Rams: ten principles for good design ** (via Vitsœ | Good design ) Good design… … is innovative … makes a product useful … is aesthetic … makes a product understandable … is unobtrusive … is honest … is long-lasting … is thorough down to the last detail … is environmentally-friendly … is as little design as possible Born in 1932, Dieter Rams is one of the foremost industrial designers of the 20th century....

Dieter Rams: Design by Vitsœ Speech delivered in December 1976 to an audience at Jack Lenor Larsen’s New York showroom: The designer must be the gestaltingenieur or creative engineer. They synthesise the completed product from the various elements that make up its design. Their work is largely rational, meaning that aesthetic decisions are justified by an understanding of the product’s purpose.

Seth’s Blog: Naming a business First, (…) The LESS it has to do with your category, the better. Second, please pick a real english word, or a string of them. (…) Third, be sure it’s easy to spell AND pronounce. (…) Fourth, don’t obsess about getting a short web name. (…)

Design Principles | Android Developers These design principles were developed by and for the Android User Experience Team to keep users’ best interests in mind. Consider them as you apply your own creativity and design thinking. Deviate with purpose. Enchant Me Delight me in surprising ways Real objects are more fun than buttons and menus Let me make it mine Get to know me Simplify My Life Keep it brief Pictures are faster than words Decide for me but let me have the final say Only show what I need when I need it I should always know where I am Never lose my stuff If it looks the same, it should act the same Only interrupt me if it’s important Make Me Amazing...

Starters Guide to iOS Design (…) I find that many designers struggle with the transition to UI work, or with the different processes involved in iPhone and iPad app design. In this guide I’ll describe the deliverables you’ll be expected to produce, outline the constraints of the medium and introduce fundamental iOS and UI design concepts.

First and foremost, all we really did was our best implementation of what Chris Phin asked all App Makers to do in his talk at NSConference 5 . Our “perfect press release,” was literally just a point for point copy of the ideal press release from his talk, which I hope nobody will mind me sharing here. (via Launch Thanks | mur.mu.rs )

73.6% of all Statistics are Made Up — How to Interpret Analysts Reports The problem of skewing results: (…) How is it skewed? There are so many ways to present data to tell the story you want that I can’t even list every way data is skewed. Here are some examples: You ask a small sample set so that data isn’t statistically significant . This is often naiveté rather than malicious You ask a group that is not unbiased....

Three useful one-liner anchors to use on e-mail | Ricardo Clerigo I also find that starting text with a “> [Keyword]” combination works great, as in: Agreed: text Follow-up: text Action: text

(via Memorizing a programming language using spaced repetition software | Derek Sivers ) I’ve been doing this for a year, and it’s the most helpful learning technique I’ve found in 14 years of computer programming. See also: Janki Method – Using spaced repetition systems to learn and retain technical knowledge. Effective learning: Twenty rules of formulating knowledge Software: Anki – friendly, intelligent flashcards