Nearly two years ago I published a post on 15 mac apps web designers should have in their dock.
I thought it was about time I updated this list with any new apps I’ve started using but turns out I’ve been using pretty much the same lot since then.
Here are 5 new apps I’ve been introduced to during that time and now use daily.
Back in June I had the pleasure of winning an iPad from the Onotate team. Don’t get me wrong, I’m extremely thankful but after less than 2 months of very little usage I’ve sold it. Why did it fail me?
You can now produce stunning animations with CSS3. Did you know that? Of course you did.
CSS3 animations are the new kid on the block. It’s a big step. Although they haven’t really taken centre stage yet as only the webkit browsers support them.
For this reason they’re used sparingly, in a lot of cases for experimental purposes or as ‘hidden gems’, but that doesn’t mean you should shy away from getting stuck in.
It was only recently I experimented myself so I thought I’d share a beginner’s demo with you.
Lets be honest. Sign up forms suck.
As designers we often get carried away with how a sign up form looks and forget about the user experience. Border here, rounded corners there, maybe a hint of shadow…
Truth is users don’t care about how it looks. They care about getting through the form as quickly as possible. They care about what information you’re asking for and why you need it. They care about getting access to your website or app so they can start using it.
I often hear designers talk about how they need to do 2 or 3 mockups for a project so the client can pick their favourite.
Back when I was starting out as a web designer, I undertook some work for a design firm. I too remember at the time being asked to come up with 2 or 3 mockups for each project that went my way, then the sales guy would show them to the client and the client would pick their favourite.
What happens when you go on a ride at Disney Land? Apart from queuing for ages, you get onboard, enjoy the experience, get off and leave. But you don’t just leave. They have carefully designed a next step so that as you leave, you walk through the gift shop, subtly encouraging you to spend more money on merchandise and photos of yourself screaming.
The same principle can be applied to web design. Once you have your user committed, whether that be reading your blog post, signing up, making a purchase or making a contribution, design the next step so that the user flow doesn’t just come to a halt.
Recently James at Helikopter Design asked myself and various other designers “What’s the one thing you couldn’t live without when designing a website?“.
Rather than going for Photoshop or Coda, which are understandably popular answers, I replied with:
I’ll go for A3 sheet of paper for sketching and notes – this is where all my web designs start.
Continuing my mission of reading and reviewing one book per month, I recently completed Steve Krug’s new book Rocket Surgery Made Easy.
Rocket Surgery Made Easy is Krug’s follow up to the successful Don’t Make Me Think, which introduced us to the world of common sense web usability.
When you’re designing a form most of you will mark required fields with an asterisk (*). Then you’ll add something like “* Required fields” to the top of the form. But surely we now live in a world where everyone already knows this. Do we really need to include a legend indicating what the asterisk means?
As a freelancer, or small business owner, it’s extremely important to get paid as soon as possible because more than likely you don’t have a Scrooge McDuck money bin to help you out. Money can be a tricky subject, and for one reason or another getting paid on time is something that will always crop up, no matter who you work with.
As a freelancer I’ve come across these obstacles myself and would like to share with you how I operate, and maybe you can share your own experience in return.