The Website of UX Designer Matthew Stephens

How to Design Forms for Better Conversions

Matt — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 21:15:33 +0000

Recently, I was asked to critique a web form in order to increase conversions. The first thing I did was put the labels above the input fields and the client asked me “Why?”. I told her about visual flows and how the user deals with cognitive disruptions within a form. It would’ve been much easier to just send them this link, had it existed then. This is a short, but sweet article that answers the question in a straightforward manner. Worth reading, for sure.

Why Users Fill Out Form Fields Faster With Top Aligned Labels | UXMovement.com.

Why Apple is Better than Dell

Matt — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:41:53 +0000

Many people ask my advice on buying laptops and computers in general. I always tell them that if they want the best experience money can buy, go with Apple. Without fail, the next question is always, “Why?”. I usually talk about UI design, hardware/software integration, and the basics on why Apple “just works.” I think this article is another great example of the little things that Apple does right. It’s the little things that Apple is so good at and it’s those things that other companies try to steal. Anyways, this article is short and definitely interesting. So check it out.

Flood Lite – Apple’s Attention to Detail.

Simplifying Decisions to Increase Conversions

Matt — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:25:24 +0000

This is a great article by Alexander Dawson that explains why simplifying the decision process on your website is conducive to higher conversions. I would definitely recommend reading it if you haven’t already. Here’s a good excerpt: “Many sites provide an array of methods to interact with their offerings, but excesses in decision-making pressure can render less empowered visitors into a cyclone of stress from the barrage of questions being asked. As an industry, we place a great deal of emphasis on getting visitors to make decisions, but are we turning a straightforward path into a labyrinth with our need to know?”

How Choice Impairs Your Visitors | UX Booth.

How to Simplify Your Website

Matt — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:28:00 +0000

This is a great article on how to reduce the amount of clutter on your website. As someone who strives for the simplest solution for any problem, I thought this article did a good job of summarizing my point of view.

via Reductionism in Web Design.

The Best Deal on Web Design Resources

Matt — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 22:30:41 +0000

BundleHunt – The Greatest Design Treasure.

This is an amazing deal, regardless of your experience level. For just $49, you get over $1,400 in design resources.

Billings, an amazing time-billing software, makes the deal worth it alone. But along with it, you get a ton of software, stock photos, icons, WordPress themes, hosting, eBooks, etc.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

How to Convert Flash to HTML 5 and Javascript

Matt — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 20:28:20 +0000

Smokescreen has released a conversion tool that, if successful, could deliver a major blow to Adobe’s Flash format. Finally, SWF’s will be a thing of the past. 10 years ago, it would have been impossible to imagine a world without Flash. But here we are! Good times ahead!

Metrics-Driven Design

Matt — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:29:20 +0000

This is a great presentation from Joshua Porter regarding intuition vs data-driven designs and why we must keep a balanced approach when designing user interfaces.

11 UI Kits for iPhone and iPad Development | Freebies

Matt — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 19:25:50 +0000

When it comes to designing for mobile devices, UI kits are a key element to the equation. Here is a great collection of frameworks to use, but the links that really caught my eye were the icons. What a great selection of high-quality, easy to modify icons! Definitely worth a bookmark, if you ask me.

11 UI Kits for iPhone and iPad Development | Freebies.

Amazing Buttons with CSS3

Matt — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 01:53:30 +0000

I’m starting to get really excited about HTML5 and CSS3, but I’m not sure if I’m ready to take the plunge. However, when articles like this one are written, it gets alot more enticing. What do you guys think? Is it worth it to jump at this point?

ZURB – Super Awesome Buttons with CSS3 and RGBA.

An Introduction to Color Theory

Matt — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:42:37 +0000

I have found that many of the people in this field are filling the role of both Usability Engineer and User Interface Designer, when their only background is in requirements gathering, wireframing, prototyping, etc. For those people, I suggest that you go back and get the basics on design. Here is a great link that I found that is a simple introduction of Color Theory. I would advise you to read this and other articles to get a good reference on which colors work well together and which don’t.

Simple, Practical Color Theory | Tutorial9.