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ASP
This is one of the most overused acronyms in the interactive industry. Most common
are "Application Service/Software Provider" and "Active Server
Page." This site doesn't really address either issue in much detail (if at
all). This site runs on Active Server Pages.
Creeping Featurism
See "Feature Creep," below.
Ergonomics
The Oxford English Dictionary defines ergonomics as "The field of study that
deals with the relationship between people and their working environment, as it
affects efficiency, safety, and ease of action." In the context of this site,
said "working environment" is usually understood as being the web.
Feature Creep
This is the term generally used to identify the tendency on the part of designers,
administrators, and projects in general to slowly begin to acquire(or insist on)
new components not included in the original strategy or specification. This is
usually understood as a bad thing. When things are tacked on, post planning, to
a product (especially one like a web site), the product takes on an unwieldy and
patchwork character that contributes to the decay of overall usability.
Gestalt
"An integrated perceptual structure or unity conceived as functionally more
than the sum of its parts." This is a "branch" of psychology that
drives much of what is said on this site regarding the "wholeness" that
necessarily accompanies good visual design.
GUI
Graphical User Interface. This is usually anything on a computer screen that enables
you to interact with the functions of the computer. This site is primarily concerned
with a GUI several levels down, namely, the space within a web browser that represents
a rendered web site, and is under the control of the individual site developer.
HCI
Human-Computer Interaction. This is the "official" term that most often
gets bandied about in discussions regarding usability and interactive electronica.
Solid academic research on many of the issues discussed on this site will likely
be identified under the "HCI" heading.
HTTP
HyperText Transfer Protocol. This is the network protocol that the majority of
internet traffic uses.
Ice
On this site, and often elsewhere, this refers to a particular type of web design
that freezes the display at certain dimensions. The page's width (and often, height)
do not adjust relative to the size of the browser window or display resolution
of the computer viewing it. MSNBC.com is a good example of ice.
Marshall McLuhan
A communications theorist whose ideas have been given new life in the "internet
age," as much of his thought revolved around the fundamental world-reshaping
possibilities of worldwide communication technology networks. He coined the phrase
"the medium is the message."
Meta-audience
This is a term I use to mean "the audience behind the audience."
These are the people that are not the active target demographic of an interactive
project, but rather the people driving it. In short, I am talking about your boss.
These are the people who can kill a project much more swiftly than difficulty
on the part of the real users.
Pragnanz
This is used to mean "good gestalt," or a positive whole. Site designs
that "come together" well can be said to have pragnanz.
Schema
This is essentially a term do describe how a person sees the world. It comes from
cognitive theory on learning, indicating that for
an individual to truly acquire knowledge, it must be integrated into their existing
"schemas" of knowledge. For more details on "Schema Modification
Theory," see the cognition page.
Sistine Chapel-itis
This is the tendency, usually on the part of more visually-oriented designers,
to produce a product, that is, above all, a work of art. This is usually understood
as a bad thing. An interactive design project is, most often, intended to be interactive,
and masterpieces of art, generally, don't allow for viewer contribution.
Zeigarnik Effect
This is the tendency, explained on the perception
page, for an individual to remember tasks that were interrupted much better than
tasks fulfilled. This theory has been pulled into the realm of visual perception,
suggesting that imagery that suggests a whole, rather than offering one in its
entirety, might be more memorable to the viewer.
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