In the latest months I continued the dive into the Rich Internet Applications concept, but switching from Flex to HTML5, user interface design, typography – in a word, modern web design. I am reading 2 new e-books – in fact, a collection of articles written on Smashing Magazine during the latest years. Thanks to the retina display, I rediscovered the joy of reading interesting things before going to sleep 🙂
So, after some weeks, here is what is worth mentioning (read what I remember):

1. Responsive web design

Guidelines for responsive web design:
-you can use CSS media queries to target a specific browser, or even a specific design
-you can get the device orientation without reloading the page
-you can server low-res or high-res images for a mobile/normal device to save bandwidth
-there are some meta tags specific to Apple devices

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0">

-keep in mind that most users are right handed and they have fat fingers [#]

2. User psychology

10 Principles Of Effective Web Design
-don’t give the users too many options. They make hundreds of choices every day [#]
-moreover, don’t you dare to make them think 🙂 Be obvious and self-explanatory. If you have a multi-step form, make sure that the user always knows where he is and how long until he’s done.
-users want instant gratification
-keep it simple
-users want to be in control: don’t open the links in a new window. If you still do, at least warn the user (use a marker next to the link to suggest the new window). When you ask users to fill a form, make sure that your submit button doesn’t say ‘Submit’ – but an explanatory expression: Why your form buttons should never say Submit
–users don’t read, they scan: See the f-shaped pattern of scanning the web content
-users are really good at ignoring the ads
-users hate unknowing (uncertainty). That’s the Cliffhanger-Effect (Zeigarnik-Effect). And the people in advertising know it.
-users do not like change. 90% of them never change the default settings. But they eventually get used to the change (see facebook redesign)
-sometimes, users don’t know what they want. You must show them what they want. At least that was Steve Jobs’ philosophy.

To be continued🙂 Read part 2