Category: Information Architecture

Answers to those Questions

Occasionally I get emails from aspiring User Experience professionals asking a bunch of questions about the industry and how I got into it. Over the years I’ve had people contacting me from around the world including the USA, Europe, The Philippines, India and New Zealand. I thought it might be useful to share some of these questions […]

Card Sorting Doesn’t Cut the Custard

Why I don’t use Card Sorting Card sorting is a simple technique in User Experience Design where a group of   users are guided to arrange subject-headings under pre-determined categories or into groups which make sense to them. For example, a card labelled “apples” might logically sit under a category labelled “fruit”. It can be […]

It’s Semantic

Throughout 2009 you’ll probably hear a lot of talk about the semantic web, aka “Web 3.0”. The semantic wave embraces previous stages of internet growth. The first stage, Web 1.0, was about connecting information and getting on the net. Web 2.0 is about connecting people – the web of social networks and participation. This was […]

Quantum Theory Perplexes Information Hippies in Nelson

Brendon Ford and I have just returned from a miniature junket in Nelson to present the mechanics behind the award-winning intranet we worked on for the Ministry of Transport back in 06/07. Quantum Content During my presentation I briefly tried to compare quantum theory to CMS-metadata-driven content – which for me has its similarities in […]

FullCodePress: User Experience Perspective

Occasionally I get emails asking about the (rapid) information architecture process I followed for   FullCodePress last year. Steve Batey from Meld Consulting asks all the right questions and has agreed to share my answers with you! [Steve] What were your thoughts going into the event about your role in the process? Were you concerned […]

Jakob’s Top 10 Provoked!

I’ve been hinting for a while that we had big news for 2008 : and now the word is out! Provoke – Project Management, Information Architecture, Implementation, Development. Capiche – Visual Design.From Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox, January 7, 2008 10 Best Intranets of 2008 The winners of the award for 10 best-designed intranets for 2008 are: […]

Unravelling Visual Design

At Provoke we’re increasingly focussing on visual design and how this influences a user’s comprehension of content, interactivity and pathways. Moments before unravelling…Coming up with a nice-looking visual design usually isn’t the greatest challenge – the real magic lies in the delicate interplay between the brand, content, navigation pathways, interactive tools and how the visuals […]

UX Industry Goes Loco

In New Zealand the demand for Information Architects, Interaction Designers, Web Designers and Usability Consultants is hotter than global warming. It’s so hot that the local industry is possibly nearing some sort of a meltdown – nearly everyone seems to be looking for User Experience (UX) experts – and you’ll find plenty of people who […]

Filtering Out Advanced Search

Last year I designed a prototype of an advanced search system for Student Job Search (SJS). I’d taken inspiration from the iTunes ‘smart playlist’ feature and created an ultra flexible tool for students to add multiple layers of search phrases and criteria. Then a few months ago SJS asked us to build the search for […]

I Aye?

I’m almost back home from my workshop and conference run – GOVIS, OZ-IA and this weekend PKS2006… OZ-IA in Sydney was kinda interesting, but in my experience it didn’t match the blurb which promoted the event as a “conference/retreat where you can engage with panels, and participate in group sessions”. Infact, the whole event was […]

Software Specifications With Vision

When it comes to building software many New Zealand companies unnecessarily struggle with design and development issues. Much of this is due to software specifications without adequate pictures. Below is the specification a building architect has written for a new house: …the total floor area of the building is to be approximately 250 square metres […]