Here it site descriptions:
If you are interested in the subject of user interface design and usability, there are many great resources available to you. I´ve created a list of some of my favorites below. One of the great things about UI design is that it is really technology agnostic. The same rules apply (mostly) whether you are building a Notes application, a VB app, a website with Ruby on Rails, etc. Of course, these ideas and techniques can often be modified or enhanced for a particular platform, which is why I started writing about this subject on my blog, Interface | Matters (http://interfacematters.com).
Remember that interface design is as much art as it is science. In my opinion, there are really no hard and fast rules...you just have to use what is right for the particular job at hand. As Steve Krug says, this is all really just "advanced common sense"! With that in mind, here we go...in no particular order of importance:
Websites
useit.com - Jakob Nielsen´s website (http://www.useit.com): Love him or hate him, Jakob Nielsen is one of the leading UI guys...really considered the grandfather of "discount usability engineering". His website has a lot of great information for free, but full-blown technical reports from his company will cost you. And yes, his site is pretty ugly, but he says it´s on purpose! happy
OK/Cancel (http://www.ok-cancel.com/): A more humorous and sometimes tongue-in-cheek look into usability design can be found on OK/Cancel. This site is a collaboration between Kevin Cheng and Tom Chi. They often use a comic strip to get their ideas across and write some interesting (although often opinionated) pieces on usability, user interfaces and the computer industry.
Advanced Common Sense (http://www.sensible.com/): The website for usability consultant Steve Krug (author of "Don´t Make Me Think"): Although there is not a lot of original new content on his site, it serves as a good supplement to his book. You can also find links to interviews Steve has done and updates on what he is currently working on, workshop information, etc.
Usability Professional´s Association (http://www.upassoc.org/): From their website: "The Usability Professionals’ Association supports usability specialists, people from all aspects of human-centered design, and the broad family of disciplines that create the user experience in promoting the design and development of usable products." Here you will find resources such as articles, case studies, guidelines and methods and all kind of goodies related to usability.
Bad Designs (http://www.baddesigns.com/): A website with examples of many designs of everyday things that have poor usability. Sometimes it is just as important to learn what NOT to do as it is to learn what to do. happy
Interface Hall of Shame (http://homepage.mac.com/bradster/iarchitect/shame.htm): Another collection of poor UI design in action. Lots of great examples to learn from.
and finally, how could I leave out
Lotus Notes Sucks (http://lotusnotessucks.4t.com/index.html): While I certainly don´t agree with the title and although much of this site refers to old versions of Notes, there is still material of value here. Much of it comes from the user not understanding how to use Notes, but that´s exactly one of the problems isn´t it? Some of the content here may give you ideas on how to improve your application interfaces to work around some of Notes´ shortcomings.
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