As 2009 comes to a close, I present a Functioning Form anniversary special: nine of 2009's public and personal favorites. For even further nostalgia, check out my eight favorites from 2008, seven favorites from 2007, six favorites from 2006, five from 2005, and four favorites from 2004.
2009 Favorites (the most popular articles this year)
Digital Product Platforms
The World Wide Web has been built on a foundation of rather simple capabilities (page markup, styling, and scripting) determined by what Web browsers can support. But new digital product platforms are introducing exciting capabilities that leave the Web browser behind.
On Data and Design
In reaction to the latest volley in the data vs. design debate, I argue: It’s not data versus design. It’s data and design.
Removing Abstraction
I had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview on interface design -its past and future. One of the more interesting topics that came up during our discussion was the incremental reduction of "abstraction" in computer interfaces over the years.
Influencing Strategy by Design
Over the past three years, Tom Chi & I have presented our Influencing Strategy by Design workshop to over a hundred professional designers across the World. This full-day course teaches mid to senior level designers how to influence and improve strategic decision-making within their organization. Here's a set of our workshop materials and presentations.
Audio: Product Excellence Principles
My Product Excellence Principles talk at the ZURB soapbox, where I discussed what defines great products and what organizations can do to deliver product excellence.
Audio & Articles: The Impact of Social Models
In my The Impact of Social Models talk at IDEA09 in Toronto, I presented an overview of the different ways social relationships are modeled in online software and examined if these distinct approaches resulted in different online behavior.
Testing Real Time Feedback in Web Forms
Because the majority of forms use a basic page submit and refresh model of interactivity, nothing happens until you hit the “Submit” button. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Real-time responses can help people complete Web forms with fewer errors, less time, less effort, and (surprise!) more satisfaction.
Video: Web Form Design at MIX09
In my Web Form Design talk at Microsoft's MIX09 conference in Las Vegas I showcased ten Web form design best practices illustrated through a redesign of a typical form's primary path to completion, label alignment, primary & secondary actions, organization, error messaging, inline validation, and more.
Video: Parti & the Design Sandwich
My Parti & The Design Sandwich talk at Interaction 09 outlined a structure to enable interaction designers to move toward a holistic product design in the face of many stakeholders, cross-functional groups, and diverse audiences.
More retrospectives: eight favorites from 2008, seven favorites from 2007, six favorites from 2006, five favorites from 2005, and four favorites from 2004.