UI Concepts

What UI Really Is (And How UX Confuses Matters) by Ryan Singer.

Vital Elements of the Product Design Process by Ryan Singer.

You can broadly separate product design into two phases. First you come up with the concept of what you are doing, and then you implement it. The concept you come up with is like a map for the implementation. It tells you where you are, what you are working on, and what’s left to do. Many of us use iterative processes to implement. We learn through the process of iterating and change our original plan. I am not going to talk about the implementation phase. (I wrote about it here.) This article is about how you define the problem to begin with and how you get from there to a concept.

On UI and Capability by Ryan Singer.

Given that we are interested in implementation as well, read the article on managing product development.

Making Workflows and Wireframes

A Shorthand for Designing UI Flows by Ryan Singer.

An Introduction for Using Patterns in Web Design by Ryan Singer (2004).

The Messy Art of UX Sketching by Peter Buick, published in Smashing Magazine (2011).

Some Additions

Here are some YouTube videos about some of the topics above. A wireframe is a different name for "mockups" or "sketch", a visual representation of elements in a website. Use the Settings to change the speed of the YouTube video.

What is a Wireframe by Kirsten Bonifant.

Creating Wireframes: Examples, Advice, and Tips by Mike Locke.

User Interface (UX) Techniques by Janne Jule Jensen.

Why you're overthinking your UI/UX by Rohan Puri.

Making Prototypes

Keynotopia a rapid prototyping tool. [Note: We might not be able to use it, because it is not free.]

Here is the page that has elements for Web Prototyping. Open "View Source" and click on images that you're interested.

For a free, open-source GUI prototyping tool, take a look at The Pencil Project.

Testing Prototypes

Quick and Dirty Remote User Testing by Nate Bolt, published in "A List Apart" (2010).

Usability Testing Demystified by Dana Chisnell, published in "A List Apart" (2009).

On Taking Responsibility

How Designers Destroyed the World - video of a talk by Mike Monteiro.

You are directly responsible for what you put into the world. Yet every day designers all over the world work on projects without giving any thought or consideration to the impact that work has on the world around them. This needs to change.

Mike Monteiro's talk won the Net Award for Talk of the Year. See all winners from 2014.

Slides from Nichole's talk (anyone with a Wellesley Gmail has access)