LukeW Interface Designs
Functioning Form: Context, Consistency, Clarity, Control.
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Event: Web Form Design talk in Emeryville, CA

05.15.2008 by LukeW

On Monday, May 19, 2008 at 7:00pm, I'll be speaking at the East Bay Innovation Group (ebig) in Emeryville , CA about Web Form Design Best Practices.

WebDev/Web 2.0 SIG: Web Form Design Best Practices
7:00pm - 9:00pm May 19, 2008
Expression College for Digital Arts
6601 Shellmound Street
Emeryville, CA 94608

In my talk, I'll walk thorugh the importance of Web forms and a series of design best practices culled from live to site analytics, usability testing, eye-tracking studies, and best practice surveys. Some of the topics I discuss and provide patterns for are: label alignment, required form filed, input field sizes, content grouping, primary & secondary actions, help text & tips, dyanmic help systems, inline validation, error messages, progress indicators, success messaging, progressive disclosure, gradual engagement, tabbing, flexible data inputs, smart defaults, paths to completion, selection dependent inputs, and more...

From the official description
“In the world of Web applications, forms bridge the gap between people, their information, and your product or service. From registration forms that welcome new customers to checkout forms that finalize e-commerce transactions, Web forms frequently broker crucial online interactions.

In this session, Luke will walk you through the considerations and best practices of Web form design culled from international usability testing, eye-tracking studies, and over ten years of designing Web applications. He’ll outline how the interaction and visual design of Web forms can make the difference between acquiring a customer and completing a transaction or not.”

Hope to see some of you there

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Audio: Content page design best practices

05.13.2008 by LukeW

Boxes & Arrows has published audio from my Content Page Design Best Practices talk at IA Summit 2008, where I presented a framework for thinking about how to optimize content pages for the dynamic ecosystem of the Web instead of the structured hierarchy of a Web site.



Download the audio:
Content Page Design Best Practices (19.9MB ipod audio)

Download the slides:
Content Page Design Best Practices (4MB PDF)

Official Description:
In today’s social, distributed, search-driven Web, customers are finding their way to Web content through an increasing number of distinct experiences. Yet when people arrive at most Web pages, the experience they get isn’t optimized for this context. Instead, the vast majority of content pages online remain more concerned with their own context than the context of their users: where did a user arrive from and where are they likely to go next? These pages remain designed as if they were primarily accessed from a Web site’s home page or a carefully thought-out selection from the site’s information architecture.

To address these issues and more, this talk outlines a set of best practices for Web content page design that focuses on appropriate presentations of content, context, and calls to action. Specifically: how can content be optimized to meet user expectations as they arrive from a diverse number of access points; what is the minimum amount of context required to frame content appropriately; how can the most relevant calls to action be presented to maximize user engagement? Applying these considerations enables information architects to deliver content experiences that take full advantage of emerging opportunities online and the existing assets within their Web sites.

Much thanks to the Boxes & Arrows team!

 

Audio: Luke Wroblewski on Form Design

05.09.2008 by LukeW

I recently had the pleasure of talking with Tom Crawford, CEO of VizThink, about my Web Form Design book and its relevance for the visual thinking community.

Check out the podcast with video on the VizThink site.
Download the audio as an mp3 (21.6 MB)


In the interview we discuss:

  • Why web form design is important
  • If form design is everywhere, why are there so many bad forms?
  • What are some of the common mistakes web form designers make?
  • What are the Top 3 tips for improving web forms?
  • Why do good designers create bad forms?
  • What is the disappearing form?
  • How does web form design relate to visual thinking?

web form design
For more on Form Design...
Check out Luke's book about Web form usability, visual design, and interaction design considerations: Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks.

 

Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks

05.04.2008 by LukeW

web form design

My new book, Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks is now available for purchase in both paperback and digital editions.
order book!
Paperback and free PDF edition from Rosenfeld Media

Order the book from Amazon.com
(paperback only)

Description
Forms make or break the most crucial online interactions: checkout (commerce), registration (community), data input (participation and sharing), and any task requiring information entry. In Web Form Design, Luke Wroblewski draws on original research, his considerable experience at Yahoo! and eBay, and the perspectives of many of the field's leading designers to show you everything you need to know about designing effective and engaging Web forms. See Complete Description...

Testimonials
"Luke's book is by far the most practical, comprehensive, data-driven guide for solving form design challenges that plague every interface designer. It is an essential reference that will become a must-read for many years."
Irene Au Director of User Experience, Google

"Luke Wroblewski has done the entire world a great favor by writing this book. Online forms are ubiquitous and ubiquitously annoying but they don't have to be. Wroblewski shows Web designers how to present forms that gather necessary information without unnecessarily badgering and annoying visitors. With deft explanations and clear examples, he presents a clear case for better Web forms and how to achieve them. This book will help you every day."
Alan Cooper Chairman, Cooper; author, The Inmates are Running the Asylum

"If I could only send a copy of Web Form Design Best Practices to the designer of every web form that's frustrated me, I'd go bankrupt from the shipping charges alone. Please. Stop the pain. Read this book now."
Eric Meyer author of CSS: The Definitive Guide

"Form design has historically been an afterthought, a partial chapter in past web design primers. Thankfully, we now have Luke's indispensable best practices in print. This book will now sit on my desk whenever I'm designing an application."
Dan Cederholm Principal, SimpleBits; author of Bulletproof Web Design

More Testimonials...

Book ContentsThanks to everyone who helped make this book possible! Especially the teams at Rosenfeld Media and Etre, and all the designers who helped contribute ideas, perspectives, and review time.

 

Web Form Design: All 218 Images Online

05.01.2008 by LukeW

Web Form Design

All 218 images from my new book, Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks (including the front and back covers) are now available for download under a Creative Commons license:

Web Form Design: Filling In the Blanks (book illustrations)

The book itself is on its way to the warehouse and will go on sale tomorrow morning. That means your last chance to sign up for a notification email and discount on the book is today!

 

Audio: Filching Design

04.25.2008 by LukeW

Filching Design
At SxSW 2008, I had the pleasure of speaking on the Filching Design: When the Shoe Fits panel with Lindsey Simon (Google), and Skip Baney (Apple). We discussed the motivations, benefits, and drawbacks of reusing code or design elements (interactions, layouts, colors, etc.) found online.

An audio broadcast of the panel is now available:
Filching Design: When the Shoe Fits (27.4 MB MP3)

Notes on the panel:
SxSW 2008: Filching Design

 

Audio: Why Logos are Irrelevant

04.23.2008 by LukeW

Why Logos are Irrelevant
I had the opportunity to join Brian Zmijewski's Why Logos are Irrelevant panel at SxSW 2008 along with Christina Wodtke (LinkedIn), and Jeremy Britton (Zurb Inc.). While the panel title might suggest we advocated the death of all logos, the heart of the conversation was about the shifting value of logos in a world of infinite shelf space, digital identity, and the rapid iteration online products and services are afforded by low barriers to entry.

An audio broadcast of the panel is now available:
Logos: Why They're Irrelevant and Can Actually Hurt Your Business (27.9 MB MP3)

Notes on the panel:
SxSW 2008: Why Logos are Irrelevant

 
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