Archive for the 'Information Design' Category

How Google Images Doesn’t Work

Monday, September 27th, 2004

Google Images, a service from the lovely people of Google, allows you to search for images in much the same way you use ‘regular’ Google Search to find text. It’s a simple idea, but it’s implementation doesn’t work well.
How It Does Work
With any of Google’s technologies, we’re left to making easy assumptions and sometimes [...]

Color Choices Affect Web Usability

Monday, September 13th, 2004

I have noticed on occasion some sites choosing their palette by finding a base color and deriving two or more additional colors from it that are roughly the same color in a lighter or darker shade. I often find these sites pleasant to look at but difficult to use over time. Sure, all [...]

All I Want From RSS is Notification

Tuesday, August 31st, 2004

I don’t want RSS to be used to strip a site’s design away from it’s content, in effect homogenizing every site’s mark on the world.
I don’t want RSS to be used to consolidate every site I read into one insanely long scrolling page.
All I want from RSS is notification. I already [...]

The Case Against the Archive Calendar

Tuesday, August 17th, 2004

I have a simple request: stop using the WordPress calendar on your site. (Other blog software is included here.) At first glance, it looks like a worthwhile piece to keep around, but in truth it’s worth is extremely limited. Let’s take a look at what it does do and then decide for [...]

Obvious Diversion v2 is Now Open

Saturday, August 7th, 2004

Welcome friends, strangers, whomever to my relaunched personal site. To get it off on the right foot, here’s what you can expect from this site.
5 Things You Will See on Obvious Diversion

Projects that I’m working on
Code samples for Developers
Ruminations on Infomation Design
Resources for Artists and Designers
Occasional photographs from New York City

5 Things You Will [...]

About Obvious Diversion

Saturday, August 7th, 2004

Obvious Diversion is the online home of Christian Gloddy, an Internet Developer and Information Architect.
5 Things You Will See on Obvious Diversion

Projects that I’m working on
Code samples for Developers
Ruminations on Infomation Design
Resources for Artists and Designers
Occasional photographs from New York City & Seattle

5 Things You Will NEVER See on Obvious Diversion

‘Clever’ post titles that tell [...]

Accessibility Statement

Saturday, August 7th, 2004

Obvious Diversion is Section 508 approved and complies with all of the U.S. Federal Government Section 508 Guidelines.
What does this mean? Section 508 is a Federal guideline for making online material accessible to people with disabilities. For a specific example, there are 1.1 million blind people in the United States alone. (AFB [...]

Notes on the Site Design

Wednesday, August 4th, 2004

I wanted to write a little something about my goals with this site’s design and the process that I employed to get there.
This page deals with the design of the site in both the aesthetic and user-experience realms, but not with the technical side of things. You can find a technical summary of how [...]