Reviews
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Redesigning Boxes and Arrows
by Christina Wodtke | [42 comments]
For a while we at B&A have been feeling unsatisfied with our software and website. It was perfect when we were young turks, but now that we have a larger body of articles, increasingly richer material, and a growing audience, we know we need something different, something that will tell the world we are a magazine on the rise. more...
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Visio Replacement? You Be the Judge
by Scott McDowell | [33 comments]
In the same way that the Internet took us to the next level of interaction, complete with rich visuals, simulations are doing the same for application definition. McDowell explores the ins and outs of new simulation tools. Will one of them work for you? more...
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Report Review: Nielsen/Norman Group's Usability Return on Investment
by Peter Merholz and Scott Hirsch | [23 comments]
In the business world, user experience endeavors are typically seen as a cost—a line item expense to be minimized to the greatest extent possible while still remaining competitive. This has led to a number of essays, articles, and books on proving the value of user experience, including a recent report by the Nielsen Norman Group. more...
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The Information Architecture of Email
by Dan Brown | [20 comments]
At least several times a year, I try (I really do) to set up folders to sort my email. I am an information architect, after all. Setting up folders is, according to my job description, my area of expertise. Actually, I suck at setting up folders for email. more...
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Yahoo! Mail: Simplicity Holds Up Over Time
by Jesse James Garrett | [15 comments]
It should come as little surprise that the basic flow of Yahoo! Mail has hardly changed at all since the portal first acquired the RocketMail service in 1997. But rather than offering an outdated solution to the web-based email problem, Yahoo! Mail demonstrates the lasting effectiveness of a simple approach. more...
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Slate: Calculated Refinement or simple inertia
by Jesse James Garrett | [14 comments]
From an information architecture perspective, a daily web publication presents challenges and possibilities no newspaper editor ever had to face. As one of the longest-running daily publications on the web, Slate has dealt with these issues for years. more...
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The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness
by Steve MacLaughlin | [12 comments]
Whether you have been paying attention or not we are living in an age of aesthetics. So says Virginia Postrel in her latest book, The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness. Postrel examines how the role of aesthetics and style are transforming our culture and economy in a variety of ways. more...
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Design Is Rocket Science
by Clifton Evans | [10 comments]
We all need help in creating the Next Great Design. Clifton Evans finds valuable support for our work in Interaction Design even as he cautions that there is not a scientific formula for design success. more...
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Zen and the Art of IA
by Clifton Evans | [10 comments]
Though Web 2.0 indicates promise for designing user experiences, Clifton Evans holds our feet to the fire of simplicity and draws us a map using Robert Hoekman's excellent book as a guide. more...
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Making the Invisible Visible: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer
by Steve MacLaughlin | [10 comments]
Hillman Curtis' minimalist approach to design also appears to be his approach to writing. In just a few words he captures the essence of what it means to be a New Media designer and what it takes to push into unknown territory. more...
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Our Favorite Books: Recommendations from the Staff of Boxes and Arrows
by B&A Staff | [9 comments]
To welcome in December and the holiday season, the staff at Boxes and Arrows has put together a list of their favorite books. These are the tried and true. The books we can't live without or have learned great lessons from over the years. more...
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Minding Your Ps And Qs
by Yaniv Nord | [7 comments]
In Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home Authors David Shipley and Will Schwalbe give advice on composing and sending email. Read Yaniv Nord's review of the book. more...
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An Open-Source Conference: BarCamp
by Anders Ramsay | [7 comments]
The BarCamp "un-conference" recently held in New York City featured presenters as participants and participants as planners. This community-developed event provided the opportunity for open-source supporters to share their newest ideas as well as float in-progress concepts. Read more about this unconventional approach to bringing together people and ideas. more...
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Small Pieces, Big Thoughts
by Andrew Hinton | [7 comments]
“Small Pieces Loosely Joined” is touted on the cover as “A Unified Theory of the Web.” But its author, David Weinberger, knows better. And he says as much in the book. It's a unified theory, but not the kind you sum up in a tidy little equation. more...
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Chicken Run: Summit Closing: Sunday
by B&A Staff | [7 comments]
Sunday morning found 240 tired IAs eagerly grabbing breakfast and pondering the chickens that had been set up in a little farm scene in the conference area of the hotel. All I can say is that a lot of pictures were taken of the chickens (and a few of them even "mysteriously" flew the coop). more...
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Intranet Design Annual: The Ten Best Intranets of 2001
by Jeff Lash | [6 comments]
The Nielsen Normal Group report “Intranet Design Annual: The Ten Best Intranets of 2001” is a worthwhile look into successful intranets that would otherwise not be available to the general public. It is a valuable guide for anyone (not just specialists) involved in intranet design and development. more...
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Demolition Derby
by James Robertson | [5 comments]
Scott Berkun demolishes the myths that surround innovation, as well as providing a solid foundation for understanding how innovation really happens. If you are involved making creative, powerful ideas real, this book is a must-read. more...
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Keeping Pace with Change
by Samantha Bailey | [5 comments]
Documentation isn't the most fun part of design and IA, but does it have to be the most painful? Samantha Bailey looks at a tool that may help. more...
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The Hidden History of Information Management
by Bob Goodman | [4 comments]
What strategies has society employed to manage information abundance, while making it meaningful to people? Bob Goodman reviews of Alex Wright's new book. more...
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Euro IA Summit Wrap-Up
by Deborah Gover | [4 comments]
The European IA Summit 2005 offered an outstanding line-up of speakers. Couldn’t make it? Find out when happened. In this article, Deborah Gover reviews some of the program highlights. more...