Andrew Malek

Any of these happen to you? * Tasked to develop a user interface with an incomplete design spec, so had to make guesses such as where to position on-screen elements? * Worked on a small team without a full-time designer, and requested to “just put a screen together for a demo”? * Been asked to consult with a user interface designer, but don’t know what types of questions to pose? Nowadays, everyone wants attractive, easy-to-use interfaces, so if you’re more comfortable sifting through Java or C# code than OmniGraffle or Visio mockups, learn about topics that can assist in creating more usable desktop applications, mobile apps, and websites. This talk provides easy-to-implement hints that can improve even a bad or “so-so” user interface. Areas of focus include the need for consistency; “negative space”; location, location, location (it’s crucial in screen real-estate, too!); contrasting colors; and the importance of action verbs.

This session explores why choosing a good responsive framework, while assisting in development and ensuring a consistent look-and-feel, is just one piece of the much larger process of creating a truly engaging website or web application. Topics include why using the latest swiping motion du jour may not immediately make sense to all users, how a site's layout and content must truly be thought of as an architecture project to get the most "bang for the buck", and what problems that interactivity in the form of form entry can result in driving potential users and customers away, never to be seen again.

It takes extra work to deliver a truly responsive website. Since larger tablets and hybrids such as iPad Pros and Windows Surface devices can fit the full size of a standard laptop/desktop website, a tempting thought is to deliver to them the exact same experience. Why spend extra effort providing different navigation or content since their screen resolutions equal, or exceed, that of many monitors?