dsandler.org/wp

Be honest: Is dsandler.org usable? Just this once, comments are open.

Usability and UI/HCI are topics I care deeply about. I pay a great deal of attention to the info-architecture and visual design of the software and Web pages I build. I don’t do a lot of structured, Norman-esque stuff (viz., personas), but instead use the Method (so to speak) to be sure I’m getting the performance right. This site is a different story, however: It’s a sandbox, and I’m always playing in it.

Take the left-hand side of this page, for example. I have five distinct navigation mechanisms for you to choose from: tags, highlights (irregularly and arbitrarily chosen by me), recent articles, search, and chronological archives. I can’t decide which is best; clearly just one is insufficient. Shall I take the classic weblog route (chronological archives only)? Or is the semistructured delicious route the way to go (tag-based exploration with search fallback)? This site is where I experiment with these techniques, and (for better or worse) you (three) are along for the ride.

Colors are also a problem. I like to pick colors I like, but being somewhat colorblind I have to rely on math to help me. The current site is a washed-out blue, with complementary orange/rust for accent and linkage. To keep it from being too garish, the saturation is kept low. Classy or illegible?

Sound off. Your comment may not appear immediately, because I need to filter out the spam.