Web App Summit: Usable Design with Frameworks

by April 27, 2009

Robert Hoekman's Web Anatomy: Usable Design with Frameworks presentation at the 2009 Web App Summit in Newport Beach, CA proposed the use of interaction design frameworks to bundle design patterns into more actionable resources.

  • Usability studies are not as scientific as we might think. Different issues found by different teams when they tested the same site wit a low level of overlap. So we need more than usability testing to make sure we are on track with our designs
  • Design patterns are building blocks to getting to usable Web sites. They allow users to transfer knowledge between sites
  • Design patterns solve small and specific patterns but they are presented out of context when documented
  • Frameworks are a set of design patterns compiled together for a solution to an entire task flow problem.
  • Sign up framework: elevator pitch, testimonial, feature description, call to action.
  • Frameworks are the next evolution of design patterns.
  • Framework elements: name, use, related, description, task flow, list of elements (links to design patterns in framework), design criteria.
  • Category pages are a framework you can apply to many contexts: e-commerce, design portfolio, news site.
  • Different design patterns apply to different contexts in the catalog framework.
  • Can go to sites and use motives to reverse engineer frameworks.
  • Frameworks allow you to move from ideas to design solutions with more confidence.