Loud Dog Links

October 31, 2008

• Prototyping with XHTML (Boxes and Arrows)
  Leverage code as a design and specification platform: by prototyping with HTML, you can skip right to building and naturally embed lots of notes, etc. Still, I like using Fireworks more.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: designDocumentation
• Atlas of Cyberspace
  Wow. Amazing, cool, interesting maps detailing the Internet. You can download the whole thing in several massive PDFs.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: informationDesign, technology
• Smart ideas for experience designers (Work•Play•Experience)
  Greg Allan's one-page list of theatrical tips are as good a guide to customer experience, service design or even presentation technique as you will find on any business bookshelf
  by: Josh Orum | tags: business
• Selling UX :: UXmatters
  This article examines what works and what does not work well when selling UX within an organization, identifies barriers you might encounter to the adoption of UX methods in your organization, and discusses how to package and present UX to stakeholders. In this article, we'll try to avoid just being prescriptive. Rather, we'll pose questions along the way, regarding what has worked well for you. (...) As industry's adoption of UX broadens and more of us find ourselves in situations where we need to sell UX, we need to be prepared to do so effectively.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: business, uxDesign
• The Magic of Metaphor (UXmatters)
  Metaphor teaches. Metaphor influences. Are you drawing on its power? Perhaps not, because many major works on writing for interactive products make little mention of it. To help encourage better use of metaphor, this column describes both the usefulness of shallow metaphors and the potential of deep metaphors, while offering tips and examples.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: marketing, uxDesign
• A funny thing happens when you copy and paste this character (Kottke)
  Surprising use of Flash (ha ha)
  by: Josh Orum | tags: funny
• Ponoko – Buy Make and Sell Jewelry and Everything Else
  Very cool site.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: coolStuff

October 28, 2008

• A hierarchy of pitches (Lessons Learned)
  Interesting identification of startup pitch patterns.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: patterns, startups
• Six Crucial Banner Tips From the Media Guy (ClickZ)
  Design and creative work plays a central role in successful banner ad campaigns, but don't let design get carried away: metrics drive the message.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: bannerAds, onlineMarketing

October 26, 2008

• Do Big Shiny Download Buttons Work? (The Poker Copilot Blog)
  The answer is yes, and the evidence is clear.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: usability, userResearch, webDesign

October 24, 2008

• Best Buy smashes the clock (BusinessWeek.com)
  Review of Best Buy's no set hours - no set location policies. Interesting; we'll see if it works, though it reminds me of hoteling several years ago.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: business, productivity

October 23, 2008

• B2B Ad Networks Are on the Rise (Adotas)
  Interesting note that more b2b networks are coming online.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: b2b, onlineMarketing

October 21, 2008

• Why talent is overrated (Fortune Magazine)
  The conventional wisdom about "natural" talent is a myth. The real path to great performance is a matter of choice. Awesome, inspiring article about deliberate practice.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: business, lifehack

October 20, 2008

• The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging ... And When To Use Each One
  Interesting take on blogging patterns.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: blogging, patterns
• Typocalypse - a set on Flickr
  The subliminal messages of fonts! Design geek humor.
  by: Martin Ferrini | tags: design, font, fonts, graphics, humor, typography
• Transactional Email and Confirmation Messages (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)
  Automated email can improve customer service, strengthen relationships, and help websites bypass search engines. But most messages fared poorly in user testing and didn't fulfill this potential.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: email, usability, webDesign
• Why You Don't Rank on Search Engines (ClickZ)
  Good point: if your site isn't worth linking to, no one's going to link to it, and it won't rank. If that's the case, of course, might as well by advertising.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: onlineMarketing, seo

October 19, 2008

• Three Trends and a Train Wreck (NYTimes.com)
  It’s tempting to blame the current financial/economic situation on specific politicians, decisions and laws (or the lack thereof), and leave it at that, but Tyler Cowen explains that the real problem is not some particular villain but rather the very fact that we cannot help but put the evaluation of risk into all-too-human hands.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: economics
• Google Analytics Plugins, Hacks and Tips Collection (FutureNow's GrokDotCom)
  Awesome group of Analytics tools.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: analytics, seo, tool
• Living Smaller (The Atlantic - February 1991)
  Homes have continuously grown larger since the fifties, allowing us to store more stuff. Less stuff means smaller homes, which means smaller costs, less energy and all sorts of things.
  by: Josh Orum | tags: social, urbanDesign