There are gender wars, and then there are casualties. It wasn’t until 2011 that the behemoth toymaker LEGO acknowledged girls’ desire to build with bricks, even though the company had long before made a seemingly effortless pivot to co-branding, video games, and major motion pictures. So it’s little wonder that girls face all-too-real obstacles when […]
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Author: Elisa Warner Utilizing a variety of project management strategies will help ensure success. Problem Some projects have clear objectives and goals while others’ end results are uncertain. Each type of project has its own set of management challenges. Solution Implement different project development methodologies based on project conditions and team size. Discussion Organizations should
Author: Elisa Warner Nonprofit organizations face special challenges in project development and management. Project management in the non-profit world carries unique challenges. While comparisons can be made to corporate teams, the unique structure of a non-profit creates special conditions for project leaders and supervisors. The non-profit leadership structure may create a divorce between project development
Enabling visitors to email a web page supports the user experience. Problem Visitors can’t easily share your site with others or archive its contents. Solution Add an “email this page” link to every page on the site, and allow visitors to add a brief note to the email. Discussion If you want to track how
Knobs
December 1st, 2005 by IDEA
Mimicking real-life knobs and switches enhances usability. Problem You need to make knobs on your site immediately obvious. Solution Use a consistent style of knobs. Discussion There are many styles of knobs, but the best designs are reminiscent of real-life knobs and switches, are convenient to use, and are similar to other widgets used on
Buttons
December 1st, 2005 by IDEA
A consistent button style aids navigation. Problem You need to make buttons on your site immediately obvious. Solution Use a consistent style for all buttons, which are objects on the screen that the visitor can click. Discussion Thousands of button designs appear around the Internet. Two common styles are to depict a slightly embossed shape
Icons
December 1st, 2005 by IDEA
Enhancing navigation by marrying icons and text. Problem You need to make the icons on your site immediately obvious. Solution Except for a few concepts where icons are part of our common visual vocabulary (such as the travel icons at right), use text labels rather than icons. The icon or thumbnail can augment the text,
User interface
December 1st, 2005 by IDEA
Developing user-centered interfaces for increased accessibility. Problem You need a web interface that is accessible to all types of users. Solution Use universal techniques for ease of navigation. Discussion Much has been written about human-computer interaction and the importance of the user interface. The overall key is to be “user-centered.” When designing your web site,
Bringing 3D images to life through animation. Problem You can’t adequately show a 3D object or scene on your web site. Solution Allow the visitor to rotate, spin, or navigate a 3D world on screen, using one of two techiniques: Pre-render. You can make a pre-recorded animation in the form of movie clip; use an
Zooming in
November 1st, 2005 by IDEA
Enlarging images to provide visitors with more detail. Problem A computer monitor has low resolution, which can make detail difficult to see. Solution Allow visitors to zoom into an image using one of the following methods: An enlarge button. An easy method is to put a small “Enlarge” button next to an image. In current