Cybergangs? Scams? Oh the horror!

With that out of the way I must bring to queation why this is just now making the news?

I’m pretty sure plenty of users have seen this scenario one tooooooo many times.

Read the full article “Scareware’s pitches for fake security show up in odd places” at USA Today’s website

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2009-06-09-cybergangs-scareware-hackers_N.htm

I’m late to catch this post from Paul Annett of Clearleft, but I highly recommend checking out his presentation regarding easter eggs and the small visual ‘magic’ tricks web designers can add to a project.

View the post and presentation at http://paulannett.co.uk/sxsw09

It is very safe to say that the modern work industry is not only fast-paced but also an easy place to find yourself distracted. Below are five helpful tips that help me throughout the week.

Don’t Take On Too Much At Once
This is something we’re all guilty of. We want to jump out, show we can take on a heavy workload and get the job done. What we don’t realize is that after time it takes a threatening toll on our health, focus, and ability to perform. Pay close attention to the amount of time you have and the amount of time it will take to complete the tasks you take on. Remember - sleep and time outside the office dictate how stressed you get in the long run!

When Stumped, Dont’ Google Solutions First
What? We live in a digital age and I’m not recommending to hit Google first? That’s correct! Yes - there are a ton of message boards out there you can find through Google that have probably come across the same issue that you’re having. Sadly though, by going this route first you put yourself into dangerous area for procrastination.

If you’re stumped, try walking away from the situation for five minutes or so to catch your thoughts. Then, once back in the office, try drawing out your project and how you think it should work. Trace your steps and go into more detail on the task at hand. Weirdly enough, this has usually helped me find areas that I may overlook to being caught up in finishing a project.

Coordinate
Sometime’s it is tough to build a routine in the IT industry. If you can, try to implement certain elements of your day into a set schedule. Maintenancing your e-mail early in the morning, reviewing your calendar for tomorrow’s activities in the late afternoon, finishing projects in the early morning can all be effective ways to combat procrastination and loss of time. Try tackling projects early on in the day while you are the most awake and energetic. Finish your day off with the least important activities or the ones that require the least amount of energy.

Read Up!
It’s rather nice to keep up with all of the news in your related field. Although it may not relate to your company at large, a lot of what happens in the industry can either help or disrupt you in the long run. Keep up-to-date with whats going on. As cliche as it sounds, knowledge truly is power.

Retouch Your Skills
In this industry, it is impossible to use your entire skillset in one single day or week. I’ve found that retouching certain skills, techniques, or software can maintain your knowledge of the respective area. Who knows, you may even learn more about it than you knew before.

As you can see, these are 5 random points of advice. The IT industry is truly growing and with that comes with responsibilities that will only grow in time. Keep your mind healthy, knowledgeable, and free to think and you will find much more comfort in your abilities and career.

As a designer you can run into a lot of conflicts. What do I think looks the best? What do they think looks the best? I understand this but will they be able to comprehend? These are all valuable questions that designers face. For that, I am going into 3 common areas in which most designers either take sink or swim!

1) Assuming the User Understands
I don’t have the statistical research, but this is one of the biggest problems designers face today. As developers and designers we tend to take our own knowledge of what we understand for granted. Do all users know this type of link goes here? Is it common knowledge a house means that you will go to the index or home page?

Take into deep consideration how much your design speaks to the user. It is a safe route to break down navigation as simple as possible, add visulizations and tool-tips where needed, and to place objects where users can easily see them.

All and all - your design should tell the user what to do. That tends to eliminate the confusion.

2) Small Text Sucks. Period!
One of the biggest issues I have with design is small text. It could be the fact that I’m very close to being legally blind. Just think about it. Your site or application is used by the 17-50 year-old range. Will all of your users have the same eye sight? Will they even look at your site on the same screen resolution? This was especially an issue during the Dot Com days as Verdana with font-size 10px being the forerunner. Now, bigger text is in with the whole Web 2.0 movement.

Of course - your users could probably utilize the zoom feature in their browser. How convenient is that though? Remember folks - this is all about the user experience!

3) Your Browser Isn’t The Only One Bud
I really didn’t think it was such a problem ,but there are many designers that don’t think to test their applications in various browsers. This site is included! There are some subtle differences between all browsers that can hamper the user experience. It may seem like the tiniest fragment but trust me - it will hurt a lot more than you imagine.

Test, Test, Test! That’s the only way you can assure that your site is your site no matter the environment.

And we close…..
Those are three elements that can be overlooked, assumed, or can even lack the proper attention. Remember - every element put into your web site/ applicaiton interface dictate how your users will effectively use it. Your users can use it proudly. Yet again, they can move on to the next search result due to frustration.

I haven’t been in town long and I’ve already come across an article sparking my interest design-wise. What does it include? The Olympics of all things!

Recently the logo for the 2012 Olympic Games, which are to be held in London, was unveiled. It is a very rampant approach, tearing down the comfortable previous logo with a broad ravaging new look.

As a designer, what is my take? Honestly, I like the fact that London wants to spice up the games. By changing the logo I feel it shows that the games have their own flavor in each city which hosts them. Unfortunately in this attempt though, the logo conveys far too many things that contradict what the games stand for. For example - notice how all of the pieces are different, but are far from coming together? It’s a contradiction of what the Olympics does best- bringing people of different backgrounds, regions, countries, and all corners of the world together for friendly competition and to celebrate the gift of brotherhood.

Best of luck to London. They have started on a shaky road to the 2012 games and have no where else to go but up.

*Photo credit the AFP and Yahoo*