UX & IA Design Thinking

You may say that Modal windows are what pop up were 10 years ago. Like them or hate them they have become an essential UI design element for almost any website or application. Recently I have started to see a transition of how these screens are being used. We first started seeing modals about 8 years ago when a developer named Lokesh Dhakar created a Javascript Library called “Light Box”. It was a very simple way of putting focus on one image at a time and graying out everything else. This became so popular that many people starting to throw anything and everything in these smaller focused screens. Some people call them Dialog boxes, others call them Modals but they really all mean the same thing. The main purpose is to present the user with additional information while putting the main parent page on hold until they are done. Of course with any UI design element they have been misused and abused in many different ways. I have seen some applications that have more than 3 levels of moda...

Over the last couple of years UCD (User Centered Design) has become a buzz word just like RWD (Responsive Web Design). 5 years ago when I wrote my SharePoint Branding book I use to call it the 4D’s of User experience. It included Discovery , Definition , Design , and Development . I had a nice little picture and everything to depict the different phases. Now the picture is much nicer and clean however, I really don’t think it matters what you call each phase it matters more what you do within them. I have seen so many different variations sliced and diced in different ways. To me it is about adjusting your approach based on the needs of your users and your client. In a more traditional waterfall project you have a tendency to over burden yourself with documentation because there is no chance of going back. Also those types of project are usually the ones where you scope out in the begging a full solution without ever fully knowing what the real need actually is. I would much rather on...