NF WEB DESIGN STUDIO: blog of concepts

Educating the user

By Nick Fassolas

I firmly believe that one of my jobs is to try to “educate” users, in things that web designers take for granted, for instance: a good web designer knows that IE6 is an out dated browser, full of bugs and flaws. That’s the reason why most web designers choose to develop and design websites for modern browsers.
Users don’t know about these problems, they don’t understand CSS conflicts or other cross browser incompatibilities and even if they know or have heard about them… they just don’t care!

So what is there for a web designer to do?

Seriously now…education people, education. That’s what makes us better in all matters, why should it be any different in this case.

A couple of years ago when I decided to redesign my website I didn’t want to make it easy on ie6 users, I decided to get them involved and help them realize that, everything gets better, evolves into something new, it’s safer, more trustworthy and more functional, uses better technology and is faster than the one before, examples of that progress you can find anywhere and in anything! (Cars, computers, mobile phones, toys, sound systems etc).

For some one that visits my site with a modern browser (you know who you are) everything will look fine (unless green is not a color you like). On the other hand is some one visits my site with ie6 he will see it in black and white! (Like viewing an old television) No transparency, no colors or any other effects.

Why did you do such a thing? You might ask.

My answer is simple and it’s the truth, because it’s time for ie6 users to move into the 21st century.

I could have used a script of some sort, but doing that would be against my personal ethics, preventing the user to see things completely is like turning someone blind against his own will (and I’m not here to torture people), changing the colors and making it look slightly…grey, is my way of trying to educate the user.

Of course using a code to prevent ie6 from interpreting the html code that makes the site visible is something that could be done, but only as an extreme measure taken against Microsoft’s Browserosaurus! (Info: Internet Explorer 6 has been with us since August 27, 2001)

Hopefully in a couple of years (sooner I hope), by helping users see that things change in the world wide web, by showing them the way to a better browsing experience and informing them in a way that does not offend them, we might see a browser statistic that does not include an ie6 25% market share in it!

PS: And also save web designers a lot of time…we have kids too you know.

Labels: browsers, education, web design, web standards

posted by Nick Fassolas @ Friday, October 03, 2008 | Permanent link here 0 Comments Links to this post

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Notice! The Survey, 2008

Calling all designers, developers, information architects, project managers, writers, editors, marketers, and everyone else who makes websites. It is time once again to pool our information so as to begin sketching a true picture of the way our profession is practiced worldwide.

Possibly the most important invention of the past century, the web is undeniably one of the most robust engines of knowledge transfer, political and social change, artistic endeavor, and economic growth the world has seen.

Remove the web, and billions in trade disappear. Websites enable people who can’t walk to run to the store. They bring knowledge and freedom of thought to places where such things are scarce; make every person with a connection a citizen of the world; and allow every citizen to be heard.

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/survey2008

Labels: web design, web standards

posted by Nick Fassolas @ Wednesday, July 30, 2008 | Permanent link here 0 Comments Links to this post

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Firefox 3 is here!

The development name for Mozilla Firefox 3.0 was Gran Paradiso. "Gran Paradiso", like other Firefox development names, is an actual place; in this case the second-highest mountain group in the Graian Alps.

In 2006, the development team asked users to submit feature requests that they wish to be included in Firefox 3.

Download Day is here!
Set a Guinness World Record
Enjoy a Better Web

Sounds like a good deal, right? All you have to do to help us set the record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours is get Firefox 3 now – it’s that easy. We're not asking you to swallow a sword or to balance 30 spoons on your face, although that would be kind of awesome.

http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord

Labels: web design, web standards

posted by Nick Fassolas @ Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | Permanent link here 0 Comments Links to this post

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

What Everybody Ought to Know About Usability and Web Design

Below is a great article from blogdesignblog that is a guide for and about Usability and design in a website.

Even people who have no idea about usability feel the need to write articles about it to tell other people what they themselves should be doing. Usability has become a hot topic and everyone wants a piece of it by writing their own list of guidelines. Most of which end up just repeating what the other guy said. Yet even with the endless amount of articles on usability, there are still a lot of web designs that overlook easy ways to improve the usability of their design.

While there are many worthwhile guidelines to follow about usability, it really boils down to only two rule of thumbs. Those two are to make it easy to read and make it easy to find stuff. No matter what you do with your design, as long as you follow those two rule of thumbs then your design will be usable. Don’t stop there though and be satisfied. Take it to the next step and make it as aesthetic as possible and make it better all while still making sure your design follows the two guidelines.

Read the full post here: Blogdesignblog

Labels: web design, web standards

posted by Nick Fassolas @ Wednesday, June 11, 2008 | Permanent link here 0 Comments Links to this post

• 
• 
• 
• 
•