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Articles
That Darn User Experience is Wrecking My Usability
Back in 2006 I wrote the article "The Battle between Usability and User-Experience", where I illustrated that usability and user experience are two different things. Since then, I think, the problem has grown in proportion. »
Finally a Useful Online Backup Solution
Online backup has, so far, been a joke. Most online backup solutions either limit your space to a couple of gigabytes, and if you need more (like everyone does) it costs a gazillion dollars. But, now HP has released Upline.»
The Right Kind of Efficiency
I often write about efficiency because it is the most important element in creating a great user experience. But efficiency is not just about getting things done, or doing something as fast as possible. Efficiency is really about optimizing the user experience. »
Simplicity Rarely Means Less
There has always been a lot of talk about simplicity. "Make it simple" is a very common approach to creating better products. But, unfortunately a lot of people think that you can achieve simplicity by removing features and creating less. This is rarely the case.»
Web Trends 2008 for Web Developers
It is 2008 and time for my annual look into the foggy future of the thing we call "the web"»
Three Pillars of Usability
Creating a usable product is one of the most important things you can do. Where would Apple's iPhone be if it wasn't because it was so damn usable? But many products have a kind of hit-and-miss approach. There is no overall plan; usability is done in areas that seem right at any given moment. »
The Climate Project
As you might have noticed this site has gone green - at least for the duration of this month. The purpose is to raise awareness to the "planet crisis", more specifically that we need to do something to prevent global warming. »
Is the Web ready for HD video?
Adobe has pre-released a new version of the Flash 9 Player which includes support for HD quality video including hardware acceleration. This is big news for video on the Web but how close are we really to HD in our browsers? The short answer is... not that close. »
A Question of Privacy
The question of online privacy is a very hot topic. Many people have an opinion, many companies talk about it - but few really protect your privacy. »
Lying is Not a Good Strategy
I was recently pointed towards NSyndrome - a viral campaign for the new Nokia N95. »
Design Makes a Difference
Bloomberg is undoubtedly one of the biggest players in the financial industry offering a wide range of products for people in and around Wall Street. One of their products is the Bloomberg Terminal. It is a 17" dual screen setup that displays the financial information from Bloomberg Profession Services - all in one tightly packed system.»
The Usability of Passwords
Security companies and IT people constantly tells us that we should use complex and difficult passwords. This is bad advice, because you can actually make usable, easy to remember and highly secure passwords. In fact, usable passwords are often far better than complex ones. »
Ugly Websites Stink
Gerry McGovern recently wrote that the best websites are the ugly ones - he is wrong. Only cheap companies can have ugly websites.»
Usable Graphs are Inaccurate Graphs
Making usable graphs is not as simple as it sounds because usable graphs are highly rich on detail, while showing a general trend. But, adding too much detail will make it hard to read, and you see the wrong trends if you don't.»
Blue is Dead, Hail the Red
Imagine if we lived in a world where Blue was the only color. All our houses would be painted Blue, we would have Blue cars, Blue shoes, (Blue-ray), Blue refrigerators, and Blue sidewalks. Many people even have Blue hair and makeup. Blue is how the world works. »
The Secret to Understanding Design
We often discuss design. Should it be simple or complex? Should it be colorful or grayish? Do you make it low-tech or media rich? The answer can be found by looking at how design breathe.»
Stop making it look like a System
One of the worst things you can do is to not design for real people and real content. It is obvious in the same way that you will freeze if you sit in a freezer. That, however, doesn't seem to stop people from making a mess of everything. »
Notes
Le Mans 2008 on Baekdal.com
The 2008 Le Mans is only a month away and people have already asked me if Baekdal.com is going to create a live tracker - like I did last year. The answer is: yes, of course!»
Facebook Reality
The comedy group "Idiots of Ants" has made this hilarious video about the perils of Facebook. I couldn't agree more. »
Meetings - The Practical Alternative to Work
Seth Godin recently published this excellent ad for the one thing we all hate - meetings. »
Dot.me
Big news for all those web developers who annoyed that del.icio.us is already taken, and wants to get a similar cool sounding domain name. »
Using Bandwidth like it was Free
Some of my readers have told me that my site is occasionally slow. And I agree. I have noticed it myself at times. So I took a look at my statistics - specifically how much bandwidth that is being used. And it's a lot. »
Is Twitter using Misleading Stats?
I was watching a video about Twitter, and one thing that caught my attention was when they said "People Twitter in average 3 times per day". My guess is that they are extremely wrong - or rather that the stats are misleading them. »
Flickr Video
Flickr has finally opened up for the one thing that, in my opinion, was holding it back - video. »
It's Time to Change that Metaphor
Icons has allowed interaction designers to create a friendly face for otherwise complex things - like saving a document, email text, backing up your hard disk etc. But then the world changed, and today, none of the traditional icons makes any sense whatsoever. »
Shine - Cool Introduction
Yahoo has created a new site - for women - call "Shine". The interesting thing about this site (apart from its nice design and content) is the way it introduces itself to newcomers. »
Photoshop Express Online - it's here!
About a year ago I was told that Adobe was going to create an online version of Photoshop - and that was big news. It is relatively easy to create an online mail application (it is just text), but an online version of Photoshop? That would be a spectacular example of advanced application design. »
Enterprise Application Complexity
Eric Burke posted this "screenshot" illustrating the complexity of company applications. And he is right. I cannot tell how many times I have seen enterprise applications that look exactly like this (or even worse at times). »
I hate Google AdSense...
It comes as no surprise (to my long time readers) that I do not particularly like Google AdSense. It is just "one of those things" that constantly annoys you. »
I want to be reincarnated as a cat
Yesterday, Carmine Coyote (one of my favorite bloggers) published this picture. It is a good example of how we should approach working with a computer - and I couldn't agree more. »
Being a CEO suddenly doesn't seems that great
Last week Jessica Hagy created this simple illustration - and I think it is true in most cases. »
I am NOT a Spammer!
A spammer has violated baekdal.com to send out spam emails in my name. This is something that I am very angry about, since I hate spam as much as anyone else. And, let me assure you that I am not the sender of these emails. »
Twitter in Plain English
The Common Craft Show has created yet another video. This time they are explaining what Twitter is in plain English. »
Design Inspiration
Concrete Art
The "art" of applying stickers to walls and windows is quite common, but it is rare to see somebody apply the same effect to a floor. Especially when you do it the way Transparent House has done - by making a permanent pattern in the concrete itself. »
Mother's Day Movie
Sunday is Mother's day - at least in many parts of the world. And video artist Yves Geleyn has created this cool video for Zune Arts. It tells the story of a child's struggle to get flowers for his mother on mother's day - with a funny ending.»
Zoudov is Incredible
If you like the The Incredibles (from Pixar), then you got to see this video from three talented artists; Laurent Gillot, Aurélia Verhnes and Clement Bolla. »
Origami Money
This is probably the only real use for paper money - in these days of credit cards and mobile micropayments. »
Sorgente
Italian Teuco has made a stunning bathtub - or maybe it's really a hot tub, but who can tell the difference anyway. »
Flare - Digital Wall Surface
What if the wall of your house could be made alive and used as a giant display. Now it can... in a way. »
Genesis - a floating park
Genesis is a new cruise ship from Royal Caribbean Int. coming in 2009. And unlike other cruise ships, this one features a park. And not just in the form of a few potted plants. This one has huge trees, grass and no roof.»
City Decoration
Granada Design has created these typographic decorations with city names. They measure 27x35 cm (app. 11x14 inch) and costs 38 EUR (60 USD).»
The Conference Table
The talented Andrew Chase, whom also created Timmy, recently sent me these pictures of a conference table he made for a local ad agency. I absolutely love his style.»
Tame Status Cube
Michael Roller has created Tame, which is a concept for updating all your status messages across whatever systems you happen to use. IM, Facebook, phones etc. »
Olympic Torch Design Special
Much can be said about this year's Olympics and China, but if you forget the politics for a moment, you will suddenly see all the stunning design. »
Simple Hanger
It is amazing how simple and yet functional and beautiful something can be made. Like these hangers/mirror from Reinier de Jong.»
All-in-One - Single Person Cooker
If you are living in a very small apartment, or like a few people in Japan living in shipping containers, then this all-in-one cooking platform is for you. And it has some interesting online features.»
I'm Not Very Good with Words
Artist Mike Monteiro is a guy who states "I'm not very good with words" and yet has created these very simple but powerful pieces of art. Cool!»