UT Libraries Technology Pros

Data science music recommendation efforts at Spotify.

In early May of this year, I was fortunate to be able to attend the annual DataEDGE conference hosted by the University of California, Berkeley School of Information. This is a conference that focuses on developments in data science with some emphasis on work going on at Berkeley and more broadly in the Bay Area, and offers a range of presentations dealing with technical developments, workforce, and broader implications of data science. There is much here that will interest various segments of the CNI community, I thnk.

As always, new fads, discoveries and creativity have at their heart basic principles that are sometimes forgotten or overlooked. Mobile should be part of your creative toolbox, but not necessarily the first one you pick up.

Practical advice on doing content strategy in conjunction with UX on a new project

A nice looking design tool that makes sharing out quick iterations very easy

Jade, the home page for LayerVault, says they're "shutting down" on 11 April. Link - https://layervault.com/ Darn. This looks like a nice tool to explore. Thank you for posting, though.

Just a really interesting concept for a site and one that Nir Eyal highlighted as making good use of his Hook model.

Nir Eyal's slides on how to build habit-forming products. Really interesting talk about the psychological aspects of design and how to scratch our users' itches.

If we decide to go further down the Agile path, we could evaluate this project management tool.

The short video is actually fun to watch. A new way to communicate that puts it all in one place. Integrates with Teamwork through Zapier: https://zapier.com/zapbook/teamworkpm/slack/

Putting something important in a graphic can backfire. Wonder if this applies to that Ask a Librarian Survey graphic that Joe asked for?

It's definitely a valid point to bring up banner blindness (as in the "article" linked). Banner blindness can easily be addressed by size, position and weight (just some of the principles of graphic design that will help a graphic be effective). The environment in which the graphic is placed is very key, of course, and must be addressed when determining whether or not a graphic will be used. Thanks for posting, Jade!

This one digs more into specifics of what makes a photo usable.

More on ornamental images and the myth that breaking up text with images increases usability.

(I'd like to bridge the gap between UX design/IA and graphic design by getting us thinking more about the usability of images) Images are used for navigation, content, or ornamentation. Navigation and content image offer clear value...ornamentation less so.

(I'd like to bridge the gap between UX design/IA and graphic design by getting us thinking more about the usability of images) Images are used for navigation, content, or ornamentation. Navigation and content image offer clear value...ornamentation less so.

Atomic is a browser based design application allows graphic/UI designers to create work that can be viewed and manipulated from within the browser. Designers can quickly share their ideas with a link and collaborators can give feedback right inside the product. (link sent by Aaron)

In-browser design/prototyping tool that could change the way we work in the future.

An article on Google backpeddling on its commitment to "archive information for mankind". Google drops the ball on archiving and internet activists step in to help society.

This list isn't necessarily up to date-for instance Smartsheet isn't listed but the ISO has already approved it-but it may be a place for us to keep an eye on in the future as we attempt to not reinvent the wheel/do original research when it comes to potential tools we could use

2014 Digital Scholarship Colloquium YouTube Channel The two keynotes come highly recommended by Cindy Fisher

This is not a ground-breaking site but there are a handful of things they're doing well that demonstrate how much simpler/better our design could be: 1. It's a visually interesting and attractive site without resorting to images sprinkled randomly throughout content. Each images has a home and a purpose. (We've got to move away from treating the web like a print layout where we allow our content folks to intersperse text with images) 2. The text on pages is structured well and utilizes nicely-styled headings and bulleted lists to make it easy to scan/digest lots of content. I also like how the B/W Feature images on the homepage become full color on hover. A nice touch. Also, nice use of white space to avoid overwhelming.

I only read the Executive Summary but it seems relevant to our discussion of better supporting DH/DS work.