Chasing My Own Tale
Well it’s about time he got online in a proper fashsion. Love him or hate him, he’s put a lot of thought into his books: http://www.edwardtufte.com/
I highly recommend “Envisioning Information”, which has direct application to Web page design.
This is another set of notes regarding questions that I’ve used for scoping out a site. This is very very rough.
Questions:
Client and Audience
Client Profile?, Client technologies?, Audience profile?, Audience non-profile?, Audience technologies?
Objectives and Goals
General concepts to accomplish, Suggestions: Sales/Income, Branding, Marketing, Customer Support, Employee Support, Client support, Collaboration, Community Building
Content and Functions
Specific Goals and Content, Suggestions: Catalogs, Shopping Carts, Product Specs, PDF Specs/Brochures, Videos, Contact Info, Portfolios, Message Boards, Newsletters, Press Releases, Mailing Lists, Web Mail
InfoArch and Tool Flow
Classifications, Organizations, Labels and groupings, Divisions and subdivisions
Navigation and Interface Elements
Flash, Page Template Elements, Java/JavaScript Elements, Side Bar navigation, Search Tools, Indexes, Ads, Frames, Site Maps, Domain Name
Visual Design
Colors, Fonts, Logos, imergry, Screen Dimensions, Color Depth, Connection Speed, Browser Compatibility
Site development
Server Hardware platform, Server Software platform, Datebase Software, Programming Tools
Answers
Time Lines, Development Costs, Ongoing Costs: Hosting, Site Maintenence, Mail Hosting, Connectivity.
Just some notes to myself that I wanted to get down on a more accibile place. These may eventually develop into articles.
Steps:
My Inbox is up to 122 pieces of unresponded-to correspondence. I have a cold sore just in front of a poorly angled canine.
But I’m happy. I’m in the midst of a project that is deep, and has a large knowledge space, where so many variables are playing off each other, with people thrown into the mix. Time, money, computers, risks, responsibilities, organization are all at stake.
And I get to put the user at the center of the development. Not for this round, but for the next. Needs, use, methods that are centered around the user. Damn the engineers, damn the designers. The user, the guest, the person that this is really here for will be on center stage.
Once the next revision starts.
Wow, I woke up this morning, checked my web sites and found 3 sites all pointing a BBC article noting the death of Douglas Adams. I’m one of the many many who have enjoyed his books, both fictional and non-fictional. I certainly can’t say that the books were an influence in my life, but I can say that they are one of the net.culture’s books of holy scripture.
Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy is referenced all over the place. H2G2 was transformed into one of the first commercial “interactive-fiction” pieces by Infocom, the people who made Zork. I remember H2G2 references in Tradewars, an online BBS-based game in the mid/late 80’s. A lot of Fidonet lists and boards had conversations liberaly sprinkled with Zaphod quotes.
H2G2 and William Gibson’s Neuromancer are a part of the culture I was raised on electronically. In that way DA’s books, works, words, thoughts will never be lost. They are part of the bedrock, the foundation of this new culture.
So long Mr. Adams, and thanks for all the fish. You will not be missed – you will be remembered.
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