I know this should be drilled into us by now but look at how many bad examples there are out there in the online world. Step 1 in designing a site or more importantly a web app or form, one needs to think about the users.

This topic came to me by way of a new blog recommended by Melissa (yet another great recommendation, thank you Melissa!!!) Jason Robb of UI Scraps brings up a very basic yet valid point. A poignant point if you will.

In his blog post: Redbox makes me think Jason points out that on their checkout form, Redbox indicates your credit card expiration date with the full month names in the drop down list. I started thinking that a lot of sites do this but the good ones usually don’t. All credit cards have a 4 digit expiration date on them, but their site makes you choose the month name instead. Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Dude, that’s being pretty damn picky no?” Well, actually, it isn’t. It reinforces the most basic element of designing for the web. Think about your users!

Jason even asks the question, “Hasn’t someone on their web team ever used a credit card before?” This is a great example of the kind of questions you (and all developers) should ask when first starting out designing a site.

• Who are we going after?
• What do they do?
• How computer savvy are they?

The list goes on and on but don’t overlook even the most simple of questions.

It’s funny, I overheard a conversation the other day that made me laugh and start thinking that this would be good blog fodder. A flight attendant was talking to some other attendants and she was asking everyone if they knew if Facebook showed when pictures were taken and what people could see when they looked at other people’s Facebook photos. The reason she was so worried was because she was planning on calling in sick the following weekend so she could go to a wedding.

Sites like Facebook and Myspace are getting people busted left & right.

People are getting fired and relationships are getting ruined because of pictures, status updates, and comments. People aren’t getting hired because more and more companies and hiring managers are checking up on people’s profiles online. I know this isn’t new but this recent article by Jake Widman on Computerworld talks about this and brings up some good privacy issues that come along part and parcel with social networking. I personally liked the quote, “Don’t do anything on Facebook you wouldn’t do in an airport.”

How Facebook mucks up office life.

Taking the Guesswork Out of Design

This article from A List apart brings to bear a very simple yet detailed plan for designing a site. We’ve been told a thousand times as students to plan out and set goals. But this article lays out a groundwork that is easy to follow and understand. It also gives good reasons why you ought to do these things and how both the client and other design team members can benefit from this style of planning.

Attention maps? You’ve got my attention.

The article brings up the use of attention maps. This is a great planning strategy. It’s a visual map of your prioritized list of topics. This leads into actual page layout as well. It will help you visualize what should have the best real estate on your page. Also, the use of sliding scales to define opposing design traits is a great idea that allows people to quantify ideas. Instead of saying things like, “This looks too crazy.” It allows you to show how “Crazy” you might think something is. Great tip! Check out the article y’all.

There has been a lot of recent backlash directed at Google and the Street View team. Last month in Buckinghamshire, residents blocked the Google Street View team from entering their community due to concerns over privacy. They lived in an affluent area and were worried that criminals would be able to target their neighborhood if Google was allowed to photograph their houses.

Now, they’ve been blocked in Greece. See this article from Webuser.co.uk: Street View cars blocked in Greece. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I recently spent a lot of time looking for a house and using Google maps was a fun way to check them out ahead of time. (As a side note, Why is it so damn entertaining to find funny pictures through Street View?!?!) Anyhoo, I never thought a bunch of criminals could be sitting at home on their stolen laptops and doing their B & E homework via Google Maps. Do they? And if they are scouting homes to rob in online map applications are these applications making them more efficient? And really, is this any different than them just getting in one of those new fangled things we call a car and simply driving around and using their eyes? I’m not sure if this should even be a big deal. How’s about you?

I’m glad you asked my friends. Here are a few articles on great plug-ins for WordPress.

1. 20+ great wordpress plugins @ mashable
2. 10-essential-wordpress-plugins-to-start-your-blog @ webesigner depot
3. useful-wordpress-plugins @ webdesignerwall

I know most of you are probably experts by now, but there’s a few out there still getting into the blogoverse. Plus, it’s always good to see what others are using and keep an eye on the competition if they are competition. The Mashable list has some good ones outside the normal ones that everyone and their dog is using these days. Take a perusal and see if anything looks like it might help you.

Have you ever tried to redesign anybody else’s Markup? Well, if you haven’t yet, you probably will have to in the not too distant future. If that person used sloppy code and extraneous CSS you’re gonna want to hunt them down and strangle them with your mouse (assuming yours isn’t wireless, then you can always throw it like it was some sort of Ninja throwing mouse, but I’d opt for shoving it down their throat. All I’m saying is it just seems more effective to me.) But I digress…
Why should you focus on good clean valid code and streamlined CSS?

Because, as we all know, times are a changing and the Web and its related technologies are changing even faster. You might not always be the one doing the redesign. Somebody else will probably come along after you and have to redesign a site you worked on. If you didn’t use clean markup you better watch out for mouse-wielding designers with an angry look to them! (remember above scenario involving mouse violence?) Anyways, this is a great article from Alvaro Guzman at the Web Designer Depot is a great study of the importance of clean markup. Enjoy, and discuss amongst yourselves. You have the topic…

Why Does Clean Markup Matter in Web Design?

I know I’ve written about inspiration before but that is always one of my sticking points. Getting started and getting inspired are my biggest stumbling blocks. I don’t know about you guys, but dang, just getting some of those first ideas rolling is my “Achilles Heel.”

This article by Micheal Shelton posted @ webdesignerdepot has some great tips to help get the creative juices flowing.

I especially like these ideas. finding an object, placing it on your desk and designing around it. Nice idea.

1. Pulling a random word from the dictionary and formulating ideas incorporating the word is an interesting idea.
2. Find an object, place it on your desk and design around it. Nice idea.
3. Get back to art history
4. Get out and take some pictures in nature

There are some really great ideas in this article. Definitely worth checking out.