In a digital age, computer literacy is darn near as important as reading and writing. In an information age, knowing the file formats that are used to create the documents we see should be right up there with knowing your ABCs. Any more, if you plan to create communication documents,
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My Rating: 3.5/5 About the Book Donald Norman is a very well-respected researcher in cognitive psychology. His theories have been widely adopted into interaction design, human-computer interaction, cognitive science, and other related fields. In this, perhaps one of his more popular books, Norman describes his perspective as to why we
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Whether you run a small business or a personal blog, your homepage is crucial to your website’s success. The homepage is often your first impression, after all, so it needs to send the appropriate message. But that isn’t always easy. There’s a lot to consider when creating a homepage; after
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If you have a sick penchant for ugly design, a sad day for you is coming soon. Phone books, the go-to resource for superbly ugly advertising design, are on their way out. Oh, sure, we occasionally sift through those nostalgic yellow pages, when we move to a new place and
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A couple decades ago or so USA Today did something monumental in the world of news: they made information much more visual. In an effort to boost readership (and sales) they did something that, at the time, seemed entirely radical: increase the size of the images to make the news
Read moreIf you’ve seen my other articles on résumé design, you know that I am a strong proponent of making résumés look, well, sexy. But, a good friend of mine recently asked me (and I’m paraphrasing): but, what about academic curriculum vitas? Especially if you’re in a field like literature? My initial
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My Rating: 4/5 About the Book The authors, founders of design firm Column Five, describe infographics as a relatively new and important form of visual communication in three areas: 1) science, academics, and business intelligence; 2) commercial; and 3) editorial or news-related. The authors address how to adapt infographics for
Read moreMy Rating: 5/5 About the Book Using decades of research to support, authors Lidwell, Holden, and Butler address 125 of the most well-established principles in design theory. This book covers principles such as the Red Effect, the Rule of Thirds, Color, Highlighting, Figure-Ground Relationship, Mnemonic Device, the Aesthetic-Usability Effect, and
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My Rating: 3.5/5 About the Book As advertised, the book is a handbook for designers interested in exploring the field of wayfinding design. The book covers a wide variety of introductory topics in the field, including how to plan wayfinding communication in public spaces (like parks, stadiums, airports, and so forth),
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At first glance, it looks like an ordinary teapot. The Michael Graves Design Bells and Whistles Stainless Steel Teapot (which retails at JCPenney for $40) is just that: a functional teapot made for heating water. But when the JCPenney marketing team used its image as a billboard in Southern California,
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