Paper Prototypes Rule

(Image from Jack Dorsey’s Flickr)

I have to admit that using Visio is superawesome when it comes to sketching out wireframes and interactions (especially with Nick Finck’s stencils), but you should never discount the importance of paper prototypes.

There’s a great post about it on Deep Linking called The Paper Version of the Web. Read it!

I wish I could sketch out wireframes and prototypes that are as good as the ones my creative director Paul Tinsley does.

But then, I suck at drawing, so I guess I’ll stick to computers. Meh.

Problems with your CMS? Call us now!

(Image from makspot)

Here’s another reason why information architects are such geeks; I mean, apart from the IA-inclined, who actually gives a damn about solving problems with Content Management Systems?

And who else would actually take the trouble to conduct a survey about it?

Well, The Information Architecture Institute did run a survey on CMS in 2003, which involved members of sigia-l, AIfIA, and the ia-cms.

Take a peek at the survey.

And tell me; do we really need to be that geeky? =P

Fitts’ Law

Thanks to Jared Spool‘s Usability Tools Podcast, I am no longer ignorant about Fitts’ Law.

Fitts’ Law, according to the Wiki, is

“a model of human movement which predicts the time required to rapidly move to a target area, as a function of the distance to the target and the size of the target.”

It’s a basic guide to the act of pointing; it helps you predict human motion based on rapid movement – which is great for interface design, especially on the Web.

I used to tune in a lot to Spool’s podcasts but I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t really had time to sit back with a cup of coffee and chill.

But that must be the upside to being busy, I guess. You get to periodically rediscover shit you’re into.