TreeWorks Blog

When I buy a mobile phone I expect it to be able to ring, to save my messages and not to run off of battery in a day; because that’s why they call it “mobile”. The same, when I am searching something on the web or when I enter a page, I’d rather not install all kind of plug-ins just to see the page. I expect to see all the characters. I’d rather the ads don’t turn the navigation process into a winding maze.

The questions is: In what amount does your product respond to the users’ needs? Satisfying the need of simplicity and organization is not just the cherry on top, which you may offer as a favor. It is the dought itself.

About the usability of websites and web based applications. In other words, about making the searching / navigation process easier for the user. So that he comes to feel the things are working on their own and he does not have to stress in order to find the home link or the word he initially searched on Google. Because, unconsciously, we all have certain representations about a menu, about the place of the Shopping Cart or the link of the foreign language version. We are familiarized with Arial and Times NR and not with Haettenschweiler or Kartika.

Do not try to re-invente the wheel. Improve it. Because our expectations are based on what we already know. And when it comes to usability: the simplier, the easier. And more visited.

In connection with the yesterday link to the Apple UI posted by Ionut, here is the Yahoo user interface blog. The user interface bookshop code and documentation published by Yahoo can be accessed here. Great hints for those interested in usability.

A study determinated that people consistently attribute personality traits to a variety of fonts presented onscreen.

Using an online survey, participants rated the personality of 20 fonts using 15 adjective pairs. In addition, participants viewed the same 20 fonts and selected which uses were most appropriate.

Results suggested that personality traits are indeed attributed to fonts based on their design family (Serif, Sans-Serif, Modern, Monospace, Script/Funny) and are associated with appropriate uses. For example the Serif fonts scored highest on traits such as Stable, Practical, Mature, and Formal, Fonts in the Script/Funny factor had the highest means for Youthful, Happy, Creative; Modern Display fonts are associated with Masculine, Assertive, Rude, Sad and Monospaced had the highest means for Dull, Plain, Unimaginative, and Conforming.
For the entire article follow the link

This study examined six new ClearType fonts developed by Microsoft. These were compared to some of the traditional fonts used today for business documents, email and websites. Participants were presented individual characters from each font at very short duration and asked to verbally identify the character. The article reports the findings of the serif fonts only: Times New Roman, Cambria and Constantia.

Results also show that the legibility, as measured by the number of correct identifications of briefly presented characters, was highest for the new font Cambria, followed by Constantia, and then Times New Roman.

For entire article follow the link